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February 16, 2018 – Canada’s Family Sponsorship immigration is a two-stage process. First the Canadian citizen or permanent resident is assessed to see if they are eligible to sponsor, then secondly the person being sponsored is assessed in a number of areas including health and criminality.

A sponsor must satisfy several requirements which look onerous from the outset, but can be simply navigated with the right Canada immigration advice.

Canada plans to welcome more than 90,000 permanent residents via the Family Sponsorship Program by 2020, according to the latest immigration levels plan published by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

The category is second only to the economic streams among the government’s immigration priorities. Canada immigration authorities have a 12-month processing target for Family Sponsorship immigration applications.

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Family Sponsorship Immigration Targets

	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Spouses, Partners, and Children	60,000	64,000	66,000	68,000	70,000
Parents and Grandparents	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,500	21,000
Total Family	80,000	84,000	86,000	88,500	91,000

Source: IRCC

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Below are some of the considerations a Canada immigration offer with take into account when deciding whether a sponsor is eligible.

The authorities will typically assess various factors to determine the eligibility of the sponsor, requiring a range of documents as proof. This could include proof of age, Canadian citizenship or permanent residence, finances and connection to Canada.

The documents that sponsors could typically provide for this include birth certificates, citizenship cards, passports, records of landing and permanent resident cards. The authorities could also refer to the Field Operations Support System (FOSS) for verifying permanent residence.

Sponsors cannot use the following documents as proof of Canadian citizenship:

• Baptismal certificates or,
• A Citizenship Commemoration Certificate

Residency Requirement for Sponsors

The authorities will typically need to assess residency requirements for sponsorship purposes. To accomplish this, the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) Appeal Division ruled that a sponsor will need to maintain a significant connection to Canada.

Therefore, officers will need to consider whether the prospective sponsor:

• Maintains a residence in Canada
• Has spouse and/or children resident in Canada
• Has assets in Canada
• Pays Canadian income tax on global income
• Visits Canada regularly and,
• Maintains investments, bank accounts, health insurance or club memberships in Canada.

The authorities could find sponsors ineligible to sponsor, if they:

• Maintain residences in two countries at the same time.
• Have a house in Canada, but work abroad.
• Have interrupted their residence in Canada or spend little time in Canada.
  • Indications that officers will need to heed that the sponsor might not be residing in Canada include:
    • Foreign stamps or post marks on the envelope
    • A foreign employer or,
    • The sponsor’s non-Canadian address.
  • Cannot satisfy officers in the face of evidence that suggests that these sponsors will leave Canada soon after the sponsored applicant becomes a permanent resident.
    • The authorities require sponsors to satisfy officers that they will continue to reside in Canada even after the member of the family class becomes a permanent resident.

However, the officers cannot deem sponsors ineligible if they take short holidays or business trips outside Canada.

Note:

• Situations could arise where officers need additional information pertaining to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) Appeal Division ruling.
• For this, they would need to go through the case details of Athwal v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, 1998.

Guidelines for Sponsorship by Canadian Citizens Living Abroad

The following requirements apply to Canadian citizens living abroad:

• The authorities permit Canadian citizens who reside abroad to sponsor only their spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or a dependent child who does not have dependent children of their own.
• Canadian citizens living abroad will need to submit their sponsorship application package and fees to the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga (CPC-M) in Canada and not to the visa office.
• Canadian citizens who are tourists in a foreign country, even if for extended spans of time, continue to remain residents of Canada.
• The authorities will consider Canadian citizens who are long-term workers or students in another country as residents of that country.
• Canadians who have spent little or no time in Canada might also seek to sponsor
  • In this case, if these individuals have never worked in Canada and do not have the educational or language skills to find employment in Canada, officers could consider refusing the applications.
  • However, before refusing the applications, the officers will need to verify that the arrangements for the care and support of the sponsored person are not satisfactory.
• Sponsors will need to provide evidence that they will reside in Canada after the sponsored persons and their family members become permanent residents.

Officers might need evidence in some cases that shows that the sponsors will continue to reside in Canada after the sponsored persons and their family members become permanent residents. Such evidence could typically comprise:

• A letter from an employer.
• A letter of acceptance to a Canadian educational institution.
• Proof having rented or purchased a dwelling in Canada.
• Reasonable plans for re-establishing in Canada or severing ties to the other country.

Interested employers: Kindly contact us here to receive further information.

Interested candidates: 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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