A number of Canadian residents have family overseas whom they wish to be reunited with in Canada. Government of Canada offers citizens the opportunity to sponsor their loved ones to live with them in Canada.
If you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada, you have the option of sponsoring your family members. In order to apply for your family member and sponsor them to settle in the province you live in, you must prove to the Government that you can:
• Meet the basic needs for yourself and the family member you are sponsoring (i.e. food, shelter, clothing, etc);
• Support your family member financially and ensure they will not seek government assistance for financial help.
Following are the most common form of family sponsorship programs made available to Canadians:
Spouse or Common-law Sponsorship
Citizens and permanent residents have the ability to sponsor their loved one to the country such as their spouse or common-law partner. The objective of this program is to reunite close family members in Canada and allow them to sponsor their partner to become a permanent residence of Canada. Both the sponsor and the sponsored person will have to undergo assessment by CIC and be approved by them prior to the processing of their application and to be issued a visa.
Dependent Child Sponsorship
Citizens and permanent residents have the ability to sponsor their children under the age of 19 who are dependent on them. Children – either adopted or biological – have the chance to live their parents and settle into Canada. Both the sponsor and the sponsored person will have to undergo assessment by CIC and be approved by them prior to the processing of their application and to be issued a visa.
To learn more about this program, click here (link to your form) and one of our representatives would be happy to assist you with a free assessment and consultation.
Parent and Grandparent Super Visa
Citizens and permanent residents have the ability to sponsor their parents or grandparents on an extended visit visa to Canada. Unlike other sponsorship programs the applicants are granted admission to Canada regardless of the basis of their health but may be required to meet specific conditions by the visa office at the time of the application. All sponsored parties under this program and eligible for long-term visitation. The sponsoring individual, the child or grandchild of the sponsored party, must write an invitation letter to CIC, officially asking them to allow their parent/grandparent to visit them in Canada. Another important aspect is that he sponsoring family member must provide medical insurance for at least one year with a Canadian insurance company for their sponsored parents/grandparents.
To learn more about this program, click here (link to your form) and one of our representatives would be happy to assist you with a free assessment and consultation.
Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship
Similar to other programs under the Family Class sponsorship section, Canadians are allowed to sponsor their parent or grandparent to settle permanently in Canada. For Quebec residents, each sponsoring Canadian must sign an “undertaking” to sponsor their parents or grandparents. The sponsor must be at least 18 years of age or older and must either be a citizen or permanent resident in order to be eligible to apply for their parents/grandparents. Also, there is a specific minimum necessary income level that all sponsors must exceed, depending on the family unit size. Particularly for Quebec, sponsors must meet different MNI figures. Sponsors are assumed qualified of fulfilling an undertaking if, over the past 12 months, they have had gross income from Canadian sources equal to the total of the income appearing in Table 1 and Table 2 below. The income in both tables is indexed each year.
Table 2 below indicates information related to the persons being sponsored. The sponsor (principal applicant) must add the figures from the above table to the relevant figure in the right-side column of Table 2 to calculate the minimum income that is required to sponsor their parent or grandparent.
