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Family Sponsorship


The Canadian Government is dedicated to keeping families together whenever possible. As such, Family Class Sponsorship is available for qualifying Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents of Canada to sponsor certain family members to become Canadian Permanent Residents.

Family Sponsorship

One of the most important pillars of Canadian immigration is the reuniting of families. Many Canadian citizens and permanent residents have loved ones abroad that they wish they could bring to Canada. The Canadian government offers a number of ways to allow this dream to become a reality under its Family Class Sponsorship class. Canada's Family Class Sponsorship programs are some of the most generous family reunification programs in the developed world. There are a number of relationships that qualify for Family Class Sponsorship, including spouses and common-law partners, parents and grandparents, and dependent children.

You can Sponsor your Spouse, Common-law Partner or Conjugal Partner:

  • Dependent child (or child you plan to adopt): must be 21 and younger;​
  • Parents and Grandparents: father, mother, grandfather or grandmother;​
  • Orphaned Relatives: brother, sister, nephew, niece, grandson or granddaughter, who are orphaned, under the age of 18, and not married or in a common-law relationship; and​
  • Other relative: only Lonely Canadians are eligible to sponsor (have no other family living in Canada).​

Basic Requirements for Family Sponsorship

To be a sponsor:

  • You must be 18 years of age or older;
  • 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;
  • You must provide financial support for a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner for three years from the date they become a permanent resident; and
  • You must provide financial support for a dependent child for 10 years, or until the child turns 25, whichever comes first.​

Sponsor your Spouse, Common-law Partner or Conjugal Partner to Immigrate to Canada

You can sponsor your partner to immigrate to Canada with you, regardless of their gender, as long as you both are at least 18 years old and legally married, in a common law relationship or in a conjugal relationship. If you are in a common law relationship, you and your partner must have been living together for at least 12 consecutive months, without any long period apart.

You may be able to sponsor a conjugal partner if you and your partner cannot legally live together in your country for reasons such as: current marital status, sexual orientation or persecution. Please talk to one of our Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants for a case evaluation.

In order to apply, you must gather documentation that proves that your relationship is genuine. In addition, you must provide personal documents and information from both you, your spouse and dependent children, if any.

If you are a Canadian citizen living outside Canada, you can still apply to sponsor your spouse or common-law partner, as long as you plan to return to Canada once the application is approved.

Preparing a complete and well-organized application increases your chances of success and may also result in a faster processing. Count on one of our experienced Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants to assist you in preparing your application.

Sponsor your Dependent Children to Live in Canada with You

You can sponsor your children if they are still a dependent family member. For a child to be considered a dependent family member, they must be under 22 years old and not be legally married or in a common law relationship. However, if your child is 22 or older, they can still be considered dependent if:

● They are unable to financially support themselves because of a mental or physical condition;
● They have depended on you for financial support since before the age of 22.

If your dependent children have dependent children, they can also be sponsored by you to come to Canada. Please note that it is mandatory that your dependent child must continue to meet these requirements until the end of your application process, with the exception of age.

Definitions of Relationships

Spouse - You are a spouse if you are married to your sponsor and your marriage is legally valid.

Common-law partner - You are a common-law partner, either of the opposite sex or same sex, if you have been living together in a conjugal relationship for at least one year in a continuous 12-month period that was not interrupted. You will need proof that you and your common-law partner have combined your affairs and set up a household.

Conjugal partner - This category is for partners, either of the opposite sex or same sex, in exceptional circumstances beyond their control that prevent them from living together and therefore cannot qualifying as common-law partners or spouses.

Dependent Children - A son or daughter is dependent when the child:

  • Is 21 and younger and does not have a spouse or common-law partner;
  • Is older than 21 and depended substantially on the financial support of a parent since before the age of 22 because of a physical or mental condition.
    Please Note: Dependant children who are 21 and younger became eligible to be sponsored on November 11, 2017, when changes to immigration legislation will come into force.

Sponsorship Obligations

All sponsors are required to sign an undertaking to provide the sponsored person with the basic requirements from the day they enter Canada until the term of the undertaking terminates. The undertaking is a contract between the sponsor(s) and IRCC that the sponsor will repay the government for any social assistance payments made to the sponsored person. Sponsors remain obligated to the undertaking agreement for the entire period of the contract, even in a change of circumstances such as marital breakdown, separation, divorce, or a financial change in circumstances.

In the case of a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner, a sponsor is required to sign an undertaking to reimburse the federal or provincial governments from the date in which they become a permanent resident for the period of three years;
In the case of a child under the age of 19 years, of the sponsor or the spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner, the obligation commences on the day that the child becomes a permanent resident of Canada for the period of 10 years or until the child reaches the age of 25 years, whichever is earlier;

In the case of a dependent child over the age of 19 years, of the sponsor or the spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner, the obligation commences on the day that the dependent child becomes a permanent resident, for a period of three years;

In the case of parents and grandparents, the sponsorship obligation extends for a period of 20 years from the date in which the member of the family class becomes a permanent resident. For all other family members, the obligation is of a duration of 10 years.

The Supreme Court of Canada, in its 2011 judgment of Attorney-General of Canada vs. Mavi, the court decided that while a sponsor’s obligation to reimburse the state for benefits collected by his or her relatives can be deferred in some circumstances, it cannot be wiped off the books entirely.

Sponsors Living Outside Canada

Canadian citizens living outside of Canada may sponsor their spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent children without dependent children of their own, who have not been convicted of an offence causing bodily harm, provided that they are able to demonstrate that they will reside in Canada after their sponsored landing(s).

Permanent residents residing abroad may not sponsor their family from outside Canada. Furthermore, a spouse or common-law partner in Canada may only file an in-Canada application to sponsor their spouse or common-law partner if they are cohabiting in Canada; otherwise, the application must be filed through a visa office. These are areas which give rise to various complexities and challenges for sponsors.

Sponsors and sponsored persons in Quebec:

Sponsor (Guarantor)

You can sponsor a close relative who has not been convicted of an offence causing bodily harm if you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Quebec, you are at least 18 years of age and you satisfy the prerequisites.

Contact us for more information about the Family Sponsorship application process or for assistance in preparing an application.

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