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Sponsorship
What does it mean to "sponsor?"
When you sponsor
persons who are members of the family class, you must sign a contract,
called an undertaking, with the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
(or with the Ministère des Relations
avec les citoyens et de l'Immigration
(MRCI) if you live in Quebec) promising to provide financial support
for their basic requirements and those of their family members
immigrating to Canada with them.
Basic requirements
are food, clothing, shelter and other basic requirements for everyday
living. Dental care, eye care and other health needs not covered by
public health services are also included. The undertaking ensures these
persons and their family members do not have to apply for social
assistance. Its length varies according to their age and/or their
relationship to you.
Your obligations as
a sponsor begin as soon as the person you are sponsoring and, if applicable,
his or her family members arrive in Canada. The following table shows
when your obligations end.
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If
that person or his or her family member is
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Your
obligations end
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· your spouse or your common-law
or conjugal partner,
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· three years after that person
becomes a permanent resident;
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· your dependent child or a
dependent child of your spouse, common-law or conjugal partner and
under 22 years of age on the day he or she becomes a permanent
resident,
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· ten years after that child
becomes a permanent resident or on the day that child reaches age 25,
whichever comes first;
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· your dependent child or a
dependent child of your spouse, common-law or conjugal partner and 22
years of age or over on the day he or she becomes a permanent
resident,
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· three years after that child
becomes a permanent resident;
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· any other person (e.g., your
father, your mother, your grandparents or a dependent children of
your parents),
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· ten years after that person
becomes a permanent resident.
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Note: An immigrant who comes to Canada to live permanently does not become a
permanent resident before having satisfied immigration officials that
he or she meets all applicable requirements. The decision to grant
permanent residence to an immigrant may coincide with that immigrant's
arrival in Canada or may be reached at a later date.
If payments from a
federal, provincial or municipal assistance program are made during the
validity period of the undertaking to the person you are sponsoring or
his or her family members, you
- will be considered to
be in default of your obligations,
- may have to repay to
the government concerned any benefits they received, and
- Will not be allowed to
sponsor other members of the family class until you have
reimbursed the amount of these payments to the government
concerned.
Who can be
sponsored using this application package?
Your spouse,
common-law partner or conjugal partner and your dependent children. If
you want to sponsor your parents, grandparents, adopted children or
children to be adopted, orphaned relatives or one other relative if you
have no one else you are able to sponsor, you will have to use another
application package.
Who can be
sponsored as your spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner?
You can sponsor a
person as your spouse if that person is of the opposite sex, 16 years
of age or older and married to you. The marriage must be legally
recognized in the country where it took place and in Canada.
You can sponsor a
person as your common-law partner if that person is of the opposite or
same sex, has cohabited in a conjugal relationship with you for a
period of at least one year and is still cohabiting with you.
You can sponsor a
person as a conjugal partner if that person is residing outside Canada and you have maintained with
this person a conjugal relationship for at least one year, but you have
not cohabited with him or her.
Note: if your
sponsorship is successful, your conjugal partner becomes a permanent
resident of Canada but cannot exercise any
rights or privileges associated with common-law status until you have
cohabited for at least one year.
Who cannot be
sponsored as your spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner?
You cannot sponsor
a person as your spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner if
- that person is under 16
years of age;
- you are a permanent
resident and at the time you made your application for permanent
residence, that person was a non-accompanying family member,
former spouse or common-law partner and was not examined; or
- You previously sponsored
another spouse, a common-law partner or a conjugal partner and
three years have not passed since that spouse, common-law partner
or conjugal partner became a permanent resident.
Further, you cannot
sponsor a person as your spouse
- if you or this person
were the spouse of another person at the time of your marriage, or
- If you have lived
separate and apart from this person for at least one year and are
in a common-law relationship with another person.
Who is a
dependent child?
Dependent children may
be your own children or those of the person you are sponsoring. They
must
- be under the age of 22
and not a spouse or common-law partner; or,
- have depended
substantially on the financial support of a parent and have been
continuously enrolled and in attendance as full-time students in a
post secondary institution accredited by the relevant government
authority since before the age of 22 (or since becoming a spouse
or a common-law partner, if they married or entered into a
common-law relationship before the age of 22); or,
- Have depended
substantially on the financial support of parents since before the
age of 22 and unable to provide for themselves
due to a medical condition.
Children included
in the application must meet the definition of "dependent children"
both on the day the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga, Ontario,
receives a complete application and, without taking into account
whether they have attained 22 years of age, on the day a visa is issued
to them.
Who can sponsor?
You may be eligible
to sponsor if:
- The person you want to
sponsor is a member of the family class. If he or she is not, you
will be found not to be a sponsor;
- you are 18 years of age
or older;
- you are a Canadian
citizen or permanent resident;
- You reside in Canada;
Canadian citizens not residing in Canada may sponsor their
spouse, common-law or conjugal partner and/or dependent children
who have no dependent children of their own. They must satisfy
immigration officials that they will reside in Canada at the time their
sponsored spouse, common-law or conjugal partner and/or children
become permanent residents of Canada. Canadians traveling
abroad as tourists are not considered to be residing outside Canada.
- you sign an undertaking
promising to provide for the basic requirements of the person
being sponsored and, if applicable, his or her dependent children;
- You and the person
being sponsored sign an agreement that confirms that each of you
understands your mutual obligations and responsibilities.
Unless you are sponsoring
only
- your spouse, common-law
or conjugal partner who has no dependent children, or
- your spouse, common-law
or conjugal partner whose dependent children have no children of
their own, or
- your dependent child
who has no children of his or her own,
You will also have
to prove you have an income that is at least equal to the minimum
necessary income, the amount of which is published yearly by the
Canadian government.
You will have to
provide us with documents that show your financial resources for the
past 12 months and prove you are financially able to sponsor members of
the family class. You may solicit the help of a co-signer (must be your
spouse or common-law partner). If you reside in Quebec, see also Sponsors living
in Quebec.
Who cannot sponsor?
You are not
eligible to sponsor, if you are in default of a previous sponsorship
undertaking, of an immigration loan, of court ordered support payment
obligations or of a performance bond (an amount you agreed to pay as a
guarantee of performance of an obligation under the immigration
legislation); Default of a previous sponsorship undertaking means
persons you sponsored in the past have received social assistance
during the validity period of the undertaking.
Default
of an immigration loan means you received a transportation, assistance
or Right of Permanent Residence (previously Right of Landing) fee loan
and have not made a required payment or are in arrears with your loan
payments.
Default of any
court ordered support payment obligations means you were ordered by a
court to make support payments to your spouse, common-law partner or
child and have neglected to do so. Default of a performance bond means
you have not paid the sum of money that became payable to the Canadian
government following a promise you made to pay this sum if the person
specified in the performance bond that you signed or co-signed did not
comply with the conditions imposed on him or her by immigration
authorities.
If you are in
default of a previous sponsorship, of an immigration loan, of court
ordered support payment obligations or of a performance bond and you
submit an application to sponsor, it will be refused even if you are
sponsoring your spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, or child.
Should you want to
sponsor again, you will have to
- repay the full amount
of any social assistance payment or repay the debt to the
satisfaction of the provincial, territorial or municipal
authorities that issued the benefit or ordered you to pay, if you
are in default of a previous sponsorship,
- pay all arrears on your
loan, if you are in default of an immigration loan,
- resolve the family
support matter to the satisfaction of the provincial or
territorial authorities who ordered the payment, or
- pay any outstanding
bonds for which you are a signer or a co-signer and that became
payable;
- submit a new
sponsorship application;
- pay new processing
fees; and
- Meet all the
eligibility requirements for sponsorship at that time.
You cannot sponsor
a person for whom you have submitted a previous sponsorship application
and no final determination has been made with respect to that
application.
You are ineligible
to sponsor if:
- you are in prison;
- you are an undischarged bankrupt;
- you are in receipt of
social assistance for a reason other than disability;
- you were convicted of a
sexual offence or an offence against the person with respect to
one of your family members, unless you were granted a pardon or
five years have passed after the expiration of the sentence
imposed on you;
- you were adopted
outside Canada and subsequently
obtained a revocation of your adoption for the purpose of
sponsoring an application for permanent residence by your
biological parent;
- you are a permanent
resident and subject to a removal order;
- Have been convicted of
a serious criminal offence, have provided false information to
Immigration, or have not met conditions of entry.
Under what
circumstances may processing be suspended?
If any of the
proceedings below apply to you and you send a sponsorship application
to the CPC, your application will not be processed until a final
decision is rendered with respect to that proceeding.
- You have been charged
with the commission of an offence that is punishable by a maximum
term of imprisonment of at least 10 years.
- You are subject of a
report that would render you inadmissible to Canada.
- You are the subject of
an application to revoke your citizenship.
- You are the subject of
a certificate signed by the Minister of Citizenship and
Immigration and the Solicitor General of Canada stating you are
inadmissible on grounds of security, human or international rights
violation, serious criminality or organized criminality.
- You are appealing the
loss of your permanent resident status.
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