Your spouse or common-law partner may help you meet the income requirement by co-signing the sponsorship application. A common-law partner is a person who is living with you in a conjugal relationship and has done so for at least one year prior to the signing of the undertaking.

The co-signer must:

• meet the same eligibility requirements as the sponsor;
• agree to co-sign the undertaking; and
• agree to be responsible for the basic requirements of the person you want to sponsor and their family members for the validity period of the undertaking.

The co-signer will be equally liable if obligations are not performed.

YES!

There are foreign residents, refugees, and/or a person with temporary status who could be sponsored. The sponsored person must be admissible to Canada.

• Spouse: Person with whom you are legally married (proxy marriage is not allowed);
• Common-law partner: Person with whom you are not legally married but have been living together for at least 12 months in a conjugal relationship;
• Conjugal partner: Person with whom you are not legally married or in a common-law relationship due to exceptional circumstances.

The acceptable age of a spouse is above 18 years in Canada (except Quebec, where it is above 16 years).

There are two types of spousal or common-law sponsorship applications: 

• Inland: The application can be made from within Canada because the person you wish to sponsor is currently in Canada. This type of sponsorship allows applicants to continue to live in Canada while their application for permanent residence is being processed.

If the application is made from within Canada, the person you are sponsoring may apply for an  open work permit that would allow them to work for any employer in Canada while the sponsorship application is being processed.

It is possible for spouses or partners to come to Canada by first applying for a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV).

• Outland: The application is made from abroad through an Embassy or Consulate.

In this case, the person you are sponsoring and who resides abroad will normally wait for permanent residence outside of the country but may visit you in Canada. 

YES!

You do not need to be employed in order to be a sponsor. However, you cannot be on social welfare if you are applying to be a sponsor. CERB, EI, or disability payment, are not considered social welfare. This applies to both In-Canada Sponsorship and Family Class (Overseas) Sponsorship applications.

How much money you need to make depends on who you are sponsoring.

NO!

Social assistance income doesn’t count toward your total income when assessing if you meet the income requirement.

• food
• shelter
• clothing
• fuel
• utilities
• household supplies
• health care not covered by public health care (extra benefits paid by the government to low-income people or others in need)

• Employment Insurance
• provincial student loans
• immigration loans
• subsidized housing
• tax credits
• child care subsidies
• public health care (services your province or territory gives to all people who live there)
• other benefits widely available to residents, including people who are working

Provinces and territories have created temporary programs to help people cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. IRCC don’t consider these benefits to be social assistance if they aren’t considered as such by the province or territory.

Also not considered social assistance:

• Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit
• Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit
• Canada Recovery Benefit (now closed)
• Canada Emergency Response Benefit (now closed)
• Canada Emergency Student Benefit (now closed)

As of October 24, 2017, a child must be in one of the following situations:

• under 22 years of age and not a spouse or common-law partner;
• 22 years of age or older, have depended substantially on the financial support of the parent since before the age of 22 and be unable to support themselves financially due to a physical or mental condition (it is the financial dependency that must have been ongoing since before the age of 22. It is not necessary for the physical or mental condition to have existed before the age of 22)

In regards to civil status, a dependant who is single, divorced or widowed, whose marriage has been annulled or who is no longer in a common-law relationship at the time of the initial receipt of the application is considered to meet the definition of a dependent child and must continue to meet the definition of a dependent child for the duration of processing.

YES!

If the child is depended substantially on the financial support of the parent since before the age of 22 and be unable to support themselves financially due to a physical or mental condition (it is the financial dependency that must have been ongoing since before the age of 22. It is not necessary for the physical or mental condition to have existed before the age of 22).

In regards to civil status, a dependant who is single, divorced or widowed, whose marriage has been annulled or who is no longer in a common-law relationship at the time of the initial receipt of the application is considered to meet the definition of a dependent child and must continue to meet the definition of a dependent child for the duration of processing.

YES!

Your adopted child should meet the definition of a dependent child to be eligible for sponsorship.

The Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Program (PGP), which opens once in a year, 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.

YES!

The sponsored individual is required to submit the results of a medical exam at the time of application. Medical conditions are acceptable, provided they are not:

• Danger to public health
• Danger to public safety
• Excessive demand on health or social services

The Minimum Necessary Income benchmark has to be meet in-order to sponsor a family member (except spouse, common-law-partner, conjugal partner) for last 3 years (1 year for Quebec) plus 30% (except in 2020 and for Quebec residents).

Canada (except Quebec): Low Income Cut-off

Quebec: Financial Capacity Evaluation

You are legally and financially responsible for the family member you are sponsoring. If that family member should need government social assistance, you will have to repay this money.

Duration of undertaking (Federal):

• Spouse, common-law, or conjugal partner: 3 years
• Dependent child: 10 years OR when the child reaches age 22 (whichever comes first); 3 years for a dependent child over age 22
• Parent or grandparent: 20 years
• Other Relatives: 10 years

Duration of undertaking (Quebec):

• Spouse, common-law, 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 over): Minimum 3 years (or until age 25), whichever is longer
• Other Relatives: 10 years

A sponsored person needs to be medically and security admissible in Canada to be eligible.

Police clearance certificate from every country that you lived for more than 6 months after the age of 18 is required. In case of any criminal inadmissibility, a pardon or record suspension is required.

The certificate should not be more than 6 months old.

The sponsored individual is required to submit the results of a medical exam at the time of application. Medical conditions are acceptable, provided they are not:

• Danger to public health
• Danger to public safety
• Excessive demand on health or social services

The sponsorship programs are administered by Canadian Federal government.

Once the application is submitted to the Canadian Federal government, a separate application and undertaking is to be submitted to Quebec. The Quebec Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) is responsible for determining whether or not to approve a sponsorship undertaking for sponsors who live in Quebec.