Sponsor your Family to Immigrate to Canada
Overview of Canadian Immigration Family Sponsorship
Family reunification is one of the pillars of Canada’s immigration system. Since the end of the Second World War, Canada has sought to welcome immigrants to strengthen its economy, bring families together, and on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. The family class is the second largest category of newcomers welcomed by Canada under its Immigration Levels Plan.
The country’s immigration system is managed by the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada or IRCC for short. IRCC establishes and administers Canada’s family sponsorship program. This entails establishing program criteria, accepting and reviewing family sponsorship applications, and providing permanent and temporary resident visas.
What is Canadian family sponsorship?
There are two main aspects to sponsorship:
1) It allows your family member to immigrate to Canada and get permanent residence (PR).
2) It requires you, as an individual, to make a commitment to provide for basic needs and to support that person financially.
Can I be a sponsor?
To sponsor a family member, you are required to meet several requirements such as being:
- a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada
- 18 years of age or older
- able to support the sponsored person for several years
Who can I sponsor?
- Spouses and common-law partners
- Dependent children
- Parents and grandparents
There are exceptions to this rule, however, and it may be possible to sponsor a non-immediate family member (for example, a sister, niece, or uncle) if:
- you do not have any other immediate family members you could sponsor, or
- you have legally adopted them and they meet the definition of a dependent child.
What are the income requirements to sponsor?
As a sponsor, you are required to sign a Sponsorship Agreement with your sponsored family member. This is a commitment by you to provide financial support for the basic needs (food, clothing, shelter, and health needs not covered by public health services) of the person you are sponsoring.
For some types of sponsorships, you will also have to meet or exceed the Low Income Cut-off (LICO), for instance if:
- you are sponsoring a spouse or partner who has a dependent child and that dependent child has one or more children of their own, or
- you are sponsoring a dependent child who has one or more dependent children of their own, or
- you are sponsoring a parent or grandparent.
If you reside in Quebec, you will have to meet Quebec’s sponsorship requirements and your income will be assessed by the Quebec immigration ministry.
What is a sponsorship undertaking?
You will be required to sign an “undertaking” making you legally responsible for the family member you are sponsoring. If that family member should need government social assistance, you will have to repay this money.
The undertaking will stay in effect for a period of time based on the family member you are sponsoring and will not be cancelled even if circumstances change (i.e. if the person you are sponsoring becomes a Canadian citizen, if you divorce or separate, if you have financial problems).
The length of the undertaking you will be required to sign will depend on the family member you are sponsoring and, in the case of children, their age:
| Sponsored person | Length of undertaking (excluding Quebec) |
| Spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner | 3 years |
| Dependent child | 10 years, or until age 25, whichever comes first |
| Dependent child 22 years of age or older | 3 years |
| Parent or grandparent | 20 years |
| Other relative | 10 years |
In Quebec, the conditions of an undertaking also involve helping the sponsored individual(s) learn French, and access public services in the province to help their integration. As of November 2023, if a person being sponsored is between 18 and 55 the sponsor must complete and sign a welcome and integration plan in section 9 of the Undertaking form.
For Quebec residents, the length of the undertaking also depends on the family member you are sponsoring and, in the case of children, their age:
| 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 |
How to Apply for Family Sponsorship
Step 1: Ensure you meet eligibility criteria to be a sponsor.
Step 2: Ensure that the relatives you intend to sponsor meet eligibility criteria.
Step 3: You will need to apply at the federal level to the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and, if you are a Quebec resident, at the provincial level to the Ministry of Immigration, Francization, and Integration (MIFI). You must submit your sponsorship application and the permanent residence (PR) status applications of your family members or relatives together. Once you have been deemed eligible to sponsor, your PR application will be reviewed.
Step 4: You will be required to pay the family sponsorship application fee.
Step 5: Send your application to the right address. You will find this information in the sponsorship guide that is available for download on the government website.
Sponsor your Parents or Grandparents
Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship
The Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Program (PGP) and the Super Visa Program are two programs that offer Canadian citizens and permanent residents the opportunity to bring their parents and grandparents to Canada.
To be eligible under the Parents and Grandparents Program, you must:
- be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Canada,
- be at least 18 years of age,
- be the child or grandchild of the person(s) you are sponsoring,
- meet the Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) required for the size of their family unit and provide Canada Revenue Agency issued notices of assessment as proof,
- sign a sponsorship agreement that acknowledges your promise to provide for the basic needs of family member(s) for a period of 20 years,
- sign an additional agreement if you live in Quebec.
Your spouse or common-law partner can help you meet the income requirement by co-signing the undertaking.
If a co-signer is helping you meet the MNI requirements, the co-signer must meet the same eligibility criteria as you, the sponsor. In addition, your co-signer must:
- not be the person being sponsored,
- have cohabited with you in a conjugal relationship for at least one year.
