Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has operated a lottery system for the Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Program since January 2017.

From 2019, the system will change to a first-come, first-served process.

Sponsors will still be required to complete an ‘interest to sponsor’ form during January, but instead of the IRCC drawing names at random, candidates will be invited to apply in the order they submit the form.

Those invited must submit a complete application within 90 days.

To qualify to sponsor parents and grandparents, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident must meet, in addition to the general requirements for sponsorship, the following enhanced criteria:

  • Demonstrate, for a period of 3 consecutive years prior to sponsorship, income greater than the annual Minimum Necessary Income published by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada;
  • Sign an undertaking to financially support the parent or grandparent, and reimburse the government for any social assistance paid out to the relative, for a period of 20 years from the date of permanent residence;

To establish whether a sponsor meets the income requirements, the following rules apply:

  • Only official documents issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will be accepted to demonstrate income for the three years prior to submission;
  • If a co-signer is included in the sponsorship application, the combined income of the co-signer and the sponsor will be considered;
  • Any amounts from the following sources will be deducted from the sponsor and co-signer’s income for the purposes of financial eligibility:
  • Provincial allowances received for a program of instruction or training;
    • Social assistance received from a province;
    • Financial assistance received from the Government of Canada under a resettlement program;
    • Amounts received under the Employment Insurance Act, other than special benefits;
    • Monthly guaranteed income supplement received under the Old Age Security Act;
    • Canada child tax benefit received under the Income Tax Act;

In practice, the requirement to demonstrate past income through CRA issued documents means that new permanent residents to Canada will have to wait a minimum of 3 years from landing before being eligible to sponsor their parents and grandparents, unless they held temporary status in the country prior to receiving permanent resident status.

As well, the minimum required income must be met from the date on which the sponsorship application is signed until the day the sponsored family members become Canadian permanent residents.

Individuals who meet the above criteria, and also meet the general criteria for sponsoring family members, will be eligible to sponsor their parents and grandparents for Canadian permanent residence. Parents and grandparents of qualified applicants, who do not meet the annual application intake threshold, may continue to apply for temporary admission to Canada. Parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents intending to obtain temporary residence to visit their close relatives may apply for extended visitors’ visas known as Super Visas.

Find out whether you qualify to Canada by completing our free on-line evaluation. We will provide you with our evaluation within 1-2 business days.

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Family Sponsorship Immigration Overview

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.

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Basic requirements for family sponsorship:

To be a sponsor:

  • You must be 18 years of age or older.
  • 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.

Individuals interested in applying under the Family Class sponsorship category may obtain an assessment of their eligibility by completing our Free Online Evaluation

You can sponsor:

Spouse – You are a spouse if you are married to your sponsor and your marriage is legally valid.

Common-law partner – 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 will need proof that you and your common-law partner have combined your affairs and set up a household

Conjugal partner – This category is for partners, either of the opposite sex or same sex, in exceptional circumstances beyond their control that prevent them from living together and therefore cannot qualifying as common-law partners or spouses.

Dependent children – 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 depended substantially on the financial support of a parent since before the age of 22 because of a physical or mental condition.

Spousal Work Permit Pilot Program

Spouses and common-law partners who are in the country and the subject of immigration applications are allowed to work under the Spousal Work Permit Pilot Program.

The program is designed to allow spouses and partners to work while their immigration applications are being finalized.

Eligible candidates must be in Canada and in the process of being sponsored for permanent residence under the spouse or common-law partner class. Candidates must also have valid temporary status as a visitor, student or worker.

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Sponsorship Obligations:

All sponsors are required to sign an undertaking to provide the sponsored person with the basic requirements from the day they enter Canada until the term of the undertaking terminates. The undertaking is a contract between the sponsor(s) and CIC that the sponsor will repay the government for any social assistance payments made to the sponsored person. Sponsors remain obligated to the undertaking agreement for the entire period of the contract, even in a change of circumstances such as marital breakdown, separation, divorce, or a financial change in circumstances.

In the case of a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner, a sponsor is required to sign an undertaking to reimburse the federal or provincial governments from the date in which they become a permanent resident for the period of three years.

In the case of a child under the age of 19 years, of the sponsor or the spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner, the obligation commences on the day that the child becomes a permanent resident of Canada for the period of 10 years or until the child reaches the age of 25 years, whichever is earlier.

In the case of a dependent child over the age of 19 years, of the sponsor or the spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner, the obligation commences on the day that the dependent child becomes a permanent resident, for a period of three years.

In the case of parents and grandparents, the sponsorship obligation extends for a period of 20 years from the date in which the member of the family class becomes a permanent resident. For all other family members, the obligation is of a duration of 10 years.

The Supreme Court of Canada, in its 2011 judgment of Attorney-General of Canada vs. Mavi, the court decided that while a sponsor’s obligation to reimburse the state for benefits collected by his or her relatives can be deferred in some circumstances, it cannot be wiped off the books entirely.

Sponsors living outside Canada:

Canadian citizens living outside of Canada may sponsor their spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent children without dependent children of their own, who have not been convicted of an offense causing bodily harm, provided that they are able to demonstrate that they will reside in Canada after their sponsored landing(s).

Permanent residents residing abroad may not sponsor their family from outside Canada. Furthermore, a spouse or common-law partner in Canada may only file an in-Canada application to sponsor their spouse or common-law partner if they are cohabiting in Canada; otherwise, the application must be filed through a visa office. These are areas which give rise to various complexities and challenges for sponsors.

Sponsors and sponsored persons in Quebec:

Sponsor (guarantor):
You can sponsor a close relative who has not been convicted of an offense causing bodily harm if you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Quebec, you are at least 18 years of age and you satisfy the prerequisites.

Sponsored person (close relative):
You can sponsor:

  • your spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner
  • your dependent child
  • your father, mother, grandfather or grandmother – Additional conditions apply
  • your orphaned brother, sister, nephew, niece, grandson or granddaughter, who is under the age of 18, and not married or in a common-law relationship
  • a child you plan to adopt (international adoption).

Individuals interested in applying under the Family Class sponsorship category may obtain an assessment of their eligibility by completing our Free Online Evaluation

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