Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) knows it is important to help families who come from other countries to reunite in Canada. If you are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada, you can sponsor your spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, dependent child (including adopted child) or other eligible relative (such as a parent or grandparent) to become a permanent resident.
CIC refers to the immigrants who are eligible to use this family sponsoring process as the Family Class.
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. As a sponsor, you must make sure your spouse or relative does not need to seek financial assistance from the government.
The process to sponsor your family begins when you, as a citizen or permanent resident in Canada, apply to be a sponsor.
There are two different processes for sponsoring your family. One process is used for sponsoring your spouse, conjugal or common-law partner and/or dependent children. Another process is used to sponsor other eligible relatives.
Sponsoring your family: Spouses and dependent children
A Canadian citizen or permanent resident may sponsor her or his spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner, or dependent children to come to Canada as permanent residents. See the Who can apply section below to find out if your relationship qualifies.
You can then find out if your spouse, partner or child meets the requirements for you to sponsor them.
Sponsoring your family:
Spouses and dependent children—Who can apply
Your spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or dependent children may be eligible to immigrate to Canada as permanent residents.
An application for Family Class sponsorship can be made if your spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or dependent children live inside or outside Canada.
Sponsoring a spouse, partner or dependent child
You can sponsor a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or dependent children if you are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada. To be a sponsor, you must be 18 years of age or older.
You can apply as a sponsor if your spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or accompanying dependent children live with you in Canada, even if they do not have legal status in Canada. However, all the other requirements must be met.
You can also apply as a sponsor if your spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or dependent children live outside Canada, and if they meet all the requirements.
When you sponsor a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or dependent children to become permanent residents of Canada, you must promise to support them financially. Therefore, you have to meet certain income requirements. If you have previously sponsored relatives to come to Canada and they have later turned to the government for financial assistance, you may not be allowed to sponsor another person. Sponsorship is a big commitment, so you must take this obligation seriously.
To be a sponsor:
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.
You must provide financial support for a dependent child for 10 years, or until the child turns 25, whichever comes first.
failed to provide financial support you agreed to when you signed a sponsorship agreement to sponsor another relative in the past
defaulted on a court-ordered support order, such as alimony or child support
receive government financial assistance for reasons other than a disability
were convicted of a violent criminal offence, any offence against a relative or any sexual offence—depending on circumstances such as the nature of the offence, how long ago it occurred and whether a pardon was issued
defaulted on an immigration loan—late or missed payments
are in prison or
have declared bankruptcy and have not been released from it yet.
If you live in Quebec, you must also meet Quebec’s immigration sponsorship requirements, after Citizenship and Immigration Canada approves you as a sponsor. For more information, see the Related Links section at the bottom of this page.
Spouse
You are a spouse if you are married to your sponsor and your marriage is legally valid.
If you were married in Canada:
You must have a marriage certificate issued by the province or territory where the marriage took place.
The marriage must be valid under the law of the country where it took place and under Canadian law.
A marriage performed in an embassy or consulate must comply with the law of the country where it took place, not the country of nationality of the embassy or consulate.
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 are allowed short absences for business travel or family reasons, however.)
joint bank accounts or credit cards
joint ownership of a home
joint residential leases
joint rental receipts
joint utilities (electricity, gas, telephone)
joint management of household expenses
proof of joint purchases, especially for household items or
mail addressed to either person or both people at the same address.
A son or daughter is dependent when the child:
is under the age of 22 and does not have a spouse or common-law partner;
is over the age of 22 and has been continuously enrolled as a full-time student and depended substantially on the financial support of a parent since before the age of 22;
became a spouse or a common-law partner before the age of 22 and has been continuously enrolled as a full-time student and depended substantially on the financial support of a parent since becoming a spouse or common-law partner, or
is over the age of 22 and depended substantially on the financial support of a parent since before the age of 22 because of a physical or mental condition.
You cannot be sponsored as a spouse, a common-law partner or a conjugal partner if:
you are under 16 years of age
you (or your sponsor) were married to someone else at the time of your marriage
you have lived apart from your sponsor for at least one year and either you (or your sponsor) are the common-law or conjugal partner of another person
your sponsor immigrated to Canada and, at the time they applied for permanent residence, you were a family member who should have been examined to see if you met immigration requirements, but you were not examined or
your sponsor previously sponsored another spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner, and three years have not passed since that person became a permanent resident.
CIC refers to the immigrants who are eligible to use this family sponsoring process as the Family Class.
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. As a sponsor, you must make sure your spouse or relative does not need to seek financial assistance from the government.
The process to sponsor your family begins when you, as a citizen or permanent resident in Canada, apply to be a sponsor.
There are two different processes for sponsoring your family. One process is used for sponsoring your spouse, conjugal or common-law partner and/or dependent children. Another process is used to sponsor other eligible relatives.
Sponsoring your family: Spouses and dependent children
A Canadian citizen or permanent resident may sponsor her or his spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner, or dependent children to come to Canada as permanent residents. See the Who can apply section below to find out if your relationship qualifies.
You can then find out if your spouse, partner or child meets the requirements for you to sponsor them.
Sponsoring your family:
Spouses and dependent children—Who can apply
Your spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or dependent children may be eligible to immigrate to Canada as permanent residents.
An application for Family Class sponsorship can be made if your spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or dependent children live inside or outside Canada.
Sponsoring a spouse, partner or dependent child
You can sponsor a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or dependent children if you are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada. To be a sponsor, you must be 18 years of age or older.
You can apply as a sponsor if your spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or accompanying dependent children live with you in Canada, even if they do not have legal status in Canada. However, all the other requirements must be met.
You can also apply as a sponsor if your spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or dependent children live outside Canada, and if they meet all the requirements.
When you sponsor a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or dependent children to become permanent residents of Canada, you must promise to support them financially. Therefore, you have to meet certain income requirements. If you have previously sponsored relatives to come to Canada and they have later turned to the government for financial assistance, you may not be allowed to sponsor another person. Sponsorship is a big commitment, so you must take this obligation seriously.
To be a sponsor:
You must provide financial support for a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner for three years from the date they become a permanent resident.
You must provide financial support for a dependent child for 10 years, or until the child turns 25, whichever comes first.
defaulted on a court-ordered support order, such as alimony or child support
receive government financial assistance for reasons other than a disability
were convicted of a violent criminal offence, any offence against a relative or any sexual offence—depending on circumstances such as the nature of the offence, how long ago it occurred and whether a pardon was issued
defaulted on an immigration loan—late or missed payments
are in prison or
have declared bankruptcy and have not been released from it yet.
If you live in Quebec, you must also meet Quebec’s immigration sponsorship requirements, after Citizenship and Immigration Canada approves you as a sponsor. For more information, see the Related Links section at the bottom of this page.
Spouse
You are a spouse if you are married to your sponsor and your marriage is legally valid.
If you were married in Canada:
A marriage performed in an embassy or consulate must comply with the law of the country where it took place, not the country of nationality of the embassy or consulate.
You are a common-law partner—either of the opposite sex or same sex—if:
joint ownership of a home
joint residential leases
joint rental receipts
joint utilities (electricity, gas, telephone)
joint management of household expenses
proof of joint purchases, especially for household items or
mail addressed to either person or both people at the same address.
A son or daughter is dependent when the child:
is over the age of 22 and has been continuously enrolled as a full-time student and depended substantially on the financial support of a parent since before the age of 22;
became a spouse or a common-law partner before the age of 22 and has been continuously enrolled as a full-time student and depended substantially on the financial support of a parent since becoming a spouse or common-law partner, or
is over the age of 22 and depended substantially on the financial support of a parent since before the age of 22 because of a physical or mental condition.
You cannot be sponsored as a spouse, a common-law partner or a conjugal partner if:
you (or your sponsor) were married to someone else at the time of your marriage
you have lived apart from your sponsor for at least one year and either you (or your sponsor) are the common-law or conjugal partner of another person
your sponsor immigrated to Canada and, at the time they applied for permanent residence, you were a family member who should have been examined to see if you met immigration requirements, but you were not examined or
your sponsor previously sponsored another spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner, and three years have not passed since that person became a permanent resident.
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