Family Sponsorship Immigration Overview
If you are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada, age 18 or over, you can sponsor certain family members to become Canadian permanent residents. Your relative can then live, study and work in Canada.
Basic requirements for family sponsorship:
To be a sponsor:
- You must be 18 years of age or older.
- you must be a Canadian citizen, or a permanent resident or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act.
- You and the sponsored relative must sign a sponsorship agreement that commits you to provide financial support for your relative, if necessary. This agreement also says the person becoming a permanent resident will make every effort to support her or himself.
- Depending on the person you sponsor, additional obligations may be imposed.
Find out if you are eligible to sponsor your relative
Who you can sponsor:
- A spouse, a common-law partner or a conjugal partner
- Your dependent children
- Your parents and grandparents
- Your brothers or sisters, nephews or nieces, granddaughters or grandsons who are orphaned, under 18 years of age and not married or in a common-law relationship
- Another relative of any age or relationship but only under specific conditions
- Certain accompanying relatives of the above
Sponsor Your Spouse or Common-Law Partner
Canadian citizens or permanent residents who meet certain conditions can sponsor their spouse, common-law or conjugal partner to become permanent residents of Canada.
Sponsor Your Parents & Grandparents
The Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents outside Quebec to sponsor their parents and/or grandparents to become permanent residents of Canada.
The federal government’s immigration levels plan currently targets an intake of 23,500 new permanent residents per year under the PGP.\
Parents and Grandparents Super Visa
Parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents intending to obtain temporary residence to visit their close relatives may apply for extended visitors’ visas known as Super Visas. The maximum validity date for the multiple entries Super Visa is ten years, or one month prior to the applicant’s passport’s expiry, whichever is earlier. Within that time, Super Visa holders can remain in Canada for periods of up to 5-years. In comparison, a regular visitor visa is usually valid for a maximum period of 6-months.
Sponsorship of Adopted Children
Canadian citizens or permanent residents who meet certain conditions can sponsor their adopted children to become permanent residents of Canada.
There are two processes to go through when adopting a child from another country: the adoption process and the immigration process.
The immigration process includes:
After the child arrives in Canada as a permanent resident, sponsors can apply for citizenship on the child’s behalf. However, the adoption must be finalized before the child can be granted citizenship.
Sponsor your children
Canadian citizens or permanent residents who meet certain conditions can sponsor their dependent children to become permanent residents of Canada.
