“Helping you reunite with your family”
Spousal Sponsorship in Canada
The objective of facilitating family reunions in Canada has long been upheld by the country’s immigration policy makers, which is why Canadian citizens and permanent residents are permitted to use spousal sponsorship to sponsor their spouses (or common-law partners) for immigration. Aiming to bring together family members already living in Canada, Spousal Sponsorship Canada was created. Your spouse or common-law partner may be able to immigrate to Canada permanently or acquire Canadian citizenship through this family sponsorship process.
The Canadian government works to keep families together as much as possible, provided that all parties (the principal applicant and their spouses, common-law partners, children, or other family members) fill out the appropriate immigration applications and adhere to the spousal sponsorship Canada requirements. In keeping with this idea, family sponsorship can assist in your parents’, grandparents’, and other immediate family members’ immigration to a country or citizenship.
For spousal and family sponsorship, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the government agency in charge of the Family Sponsorship program, must grant approval to both the sponsor and the sponsored person. Processing times differ depending on a variety of variables,but this strategy has helped countless families, and it might be able to help your family build the foundation for a new life in Canada.
Meeting the requirements for Spousal sponsorship in Canada
A sponsored person can either be spouse or dependent child
Spouse, common law partner and conjugal partner
A spouse is a partner to whom you have a valid marriage license.
A common-law partner is someone with whom you have lived together continuously for at least a year (12 consecutive months) but are not legally wed. For family or work-related reasons, briefseparations are acceptable throughout the year.
An individual with whom you have a mutually dependent relationship for at least a year and share the same level of commitment as a marriage or common-law union is considered your conjugal partner.
Remarkably, same-sex unions are recognized in Canada. Because of this, same-sex partners may apply for the spousal sponsorship program under any of the three categories mentioned above, provided they satisfy the requirements for eligibility as a spouse or common-law partner.
If you have any questions, you can contact us and we will help you out!
Dependent child
The Canada Dependent Visa allows you to bring your dependents to Canada and also allows them to work or study full time once they have the relevant permits. Under the Canada Dependent Visa, you can sponsor the following relations for a dependent visa:
- Your spouse or common-law partner or conjugal partner
- Dependent children under the age of 21
- Dependent parents or grandparents
- A child you adopted outside Canada while you held a Canadian citizenship or PR
- Your brother, sister, niece, nephew, uncle, aunt or other close relatives
The relations you sponsor can live with you in Canada. Your spouse or conjugal partner can also apply for a Work Permit in order to work in Canada.
You can use IRCCs online tool to find out if your child is a dependent
The Requirements
The IRCC demands that all sponsors for family or spousal sponsorship be.
1. 18 years of age or older.
2. a person who is either a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or someone who has been recognized as an Indian by the Canadian Indian Act.
3. capable of meeting the fundamental requirements of any person you wish to sponsor for a specific period of time.
The following is a list of basic requirements for spousal sponsorship:
1. The necessities of life include food, clothing, shelter, and other things.
2. Other healthcare requirements not covered by Canada’s public health services include dental, vision, and other care.
3. To be eligible for spousal and family sponsorship, you must sign an undertaking, an agreement in which you pledge to take financial responsibility for the people you are supporting and to meet their basic needs.
The length of the undertaking varies depending on the type of person you are sponsoring and begins the day they are granted permanent residency. This period is 3 years for a spouse, common-law spouse, or a conjugal partner, 10 years for dependent children under the age of 22 (or until they turn 25, whichever occurs first), and 3 years for dependent children over the age of 22.
Parent and Grandparent
The Canada Dependent Visa allows you to bring your dependents to Canada and also allows them to work or study full time once they have the relevant permits. Under the Canada Dependent Visa, you can sponsor the following relations for a dependent visa:
- Your spouse or common-law partner or conjugal partner
- Dependent children under the age of 21
- Dependent parents or grandparents
- A child you adopted outside Canada while you held a Canadian citizenship or PR
- Your brother, sister, niece, nephew, uncle, aunt or other close relatives
The relations you sponsor can live with you in Canada. Your spouse or conjugal partner can also apply for a Work Permit in order to work in Canada.
- You can sponsor your own parents and grandparents, if you’re invited to apply
- you’re at least 18 years old; you live in Canada; you’re a Canadian citizen, a PR of Canada
- you have enough money to support the people you want to sponsor
- to show that you have enough, you’ll have to provide your proof of income
- you may have a spouse or common-law partner co-sign to combine your incomes
- you meet all other requirements under IRPA and IRPR
MNI Table (Minimum Necessary Income= LICO +30%)
To prove you meet the income requirements, you must include your Notice of Assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for the last 3 tax years before you apply . The easiest way to prove your income is to give us permission to get your Notices of Assessment directly from the CRA.
Other relatives (under exceptional circumstances as a “Lonely Canadian”- the sponsor has no spouse, common-law partner, child, parent, or grandparent)
This is to sponsor a relative that falls outside of Canada’s current Family Class definition.
(Orphaned brother, sister, nephew, niece, or grandchild, Other relative)
Orphaned relative
Sponsoring orphaned relative (brother, sister, nephew, niece, or grandchild)
Canadian citizens and/or permanent residents who meet general eligibility requirements can sponsor certain orphaned relatives or family members (e.g. brother, sister, nephew, niece, grandchild). It is possible only if the relatives meet following requirements:
- They are related to you by blood or adoption.
- Both their mother and father passed away.
- They are under 18 years of age.
- They are single (not married or in a common-law or conjugal relationship).
Family sponsorship would not be an option if one of the parents is still alive, unknown, abandoned a child, in jail or detained, or if someone else is taking care of them while one or both parents are alive.
Other relatives
You may be able to sponsor certain relatives to immigrate to Canada under the Family Class if you’re at least 18 years old and a:
- Canadian citizen or
- person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act or
- permanent resident of Canada
If you sponsor a relative to come to Canada as a permanent resident, you must:
- support your relative financially when they arrive
- be able to meet basic needs for yourself and your relative, such as:
- food
- shelter
- clothing
- make sure your relative doesn’t need social assistance