Family 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. If you become a permanent resident, you can live, study and work in Canada. If you sponsor a relative to come to Canada as a permanent resident, you are responsible for supporting your relative financially when he or she arrives.

Who you can sponsor:

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

Other relative: *only Lonely Canadians are eligible to sponsor (have no other family living in Canada)

Basic requirements for family sponsorship are

These apply to you if:

a permanent resident or Canadian citizen is sponsoring you,

you and your sponsor have been in a relationship for two years or less,

you have no children in common and

we got your application on or after October 25, 2012

There are two steps to the application process for your spouse, partner or children to become permanent residents.

As a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, you must apply to sponsor your family member.

Your spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or dependent children must apply for permanent residence. Sponsorship eligibility is a very subjective process and because of numerous cases of marriage fraud, CIC officers need to be convinced that the spousal sponsorship is a legitimate bond.

Mistakes can happen. If you do not know the laws and an application is improperly completed it can be a nightmare and can lead to shattered dreams of reuniting loved ones. At Opallite Immigration we are Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants and have a expansive knowledge of the regulations to help guide you in this matter.