Sponsorship
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.
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
| Sponsored person | Length of undertaking |
|---|---|
| Spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner | 3 years |
| Dependent child under 16 years of age | Minimum 10 years (or until age 18), whichever is longer |
| Dependent child 16 years of age and older | Minimum 3 years (or until age 25), whichever is longer |
| Other relatives | 10 years |