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FAMILY & SPOUSAL SPONSORSHIP

Family & Spousal Sponsorship

Moving abroad and leaving your loved ones on the opposite coast is not easy.

Moving abroad and leaving your loved ones on the opposite coast is not easy. One of the objectives of the Government of Canada is to see that families are reunited. Certain family members may qualify to settle in Canada long-term and become permanent residents under the family class category. After becoming permanent residents, they can live, study, and work in Canada, thus you no longer need to apply for a visitor visa and provide a letter of invitation. Like other immigration categories, family class sponsorship has certain requirements, such as minimum necessary income which should be met by the sponsor.

If you are wondering how to sponsor someone to Canada, you should start by reviewing family sponsorship applications, eligibility, and requirements. You may be eligible to sponsor a child, spouse, or a common-law partner living outside or inside Canada, if you are 18 years of age or older, and you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.

When you are sponsoring a family member, whether it is your dependent child or spouse/common-law partner, you promise the Canadian government to support them financially. Therefore, you must work in Canada and meet certain income requirements. Sponsoring a family member to Canada is a big commitment, as you must sign an undertaking agreement. Below you’ll find more information on how to sponsor a relative to Canada, what are family sponsorship income requirements, how you should be sponsoring a child born outside of Canada, as well as surrogacy and immigration considerations.

Parents

Moving abroad and leaving your parents on the opposite coast is not easy. One of the objectives of the Canadian government is to see that families are reunited in Canada. Along with spousal sponsorship, grandparents and parents sponsorship is the second highly demanded immigration stream under family class immigration.

In 2017 The Government of Canada introduced a new application intake process for parents and grandparents program (PGP). Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) decided to randomly select 10,000 applications of Canadian citizens and permanent residents who wish to sponsor their parents or grandparents to Canada.

While the parent’s immigration program might not be an option for you at this time, you may also consider temporary residence programs such as a super visa and visitor visa. If you are not invited to sponsor your parents and/or grandparents this year, you may submit interest to sponsor form in the next year.

If you’re invited to apply to sponsor your parents or grandparents, you must submit a complete application package before the deadline specified in your invitation. After you are approved as a sponsor and your parents pass eligibility assessment, they’ll immigrate to Canada.

Spouse

The spousal sponsorship program is the most demanded stream under family class immigration. Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) strongly support family reunification, thus spousal sponsorship application processing is given the highest priority at Canadian Visa Offices. Processing time was recently reduced from 26 to 12 months for 80% of applications for both in-Canada and outside of Canada cases.

The spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner looking to immigrate to Canada under the spousal sponsorship category must be sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. If you applied to sponsor spouse outside Canada, once a decision is made and sponsorship application is approved, Canadian immigration authorities will issue the applicant Canada Spouse Visa (a confirmation of permanent residence).

Applicant (person being sponsored) will become a permanent resident upon landing in Canada and must enter Canada before the expiry date, which appears on the temporary visa.

If you are looking to apply for spousal sponsorship inside Canada, the application is being processed first, and once approved, the applicant’s status will change from temporary to permanent. Spousal sponsorship within Canada gives an opportunity to a person being sponsored and living in Canada to apply for an Open-Work Permit.