Family Sponsorship for Canada

Are you someone who currently lives in Canada but have relatives living elsewhere? Do you live somewhere else, but want to move to Canada to be with your family? A good option for those wishing to relocate into Canada is to look into Family Sponsorship. The next question you may ask yourself is how do I get started? What is Family Sponsorship? Well, don’t worry. This article will answer those questions and more, so keep on reading!

What are the kinds of Sponsorship?

When looking at a Sponsorship, you have to know there are several different types of Family Sponsorship depending on what you’re looking for. The most common types are:

• Spousal sponsorship. This type of sponsorship includes those who are common law married or are in a conjugal partnership. Spousal obviously means they are married. Common law marriage sponsorship means that they are a couple who have lived together for at least one year. Conjugal partner sponsorship is defined as a couple who cannot marry and cannot live together for any kind of extenuating circumstances. All of these types of couples fall under the umbrella of Spousal Sponsorship. Along with this type of sponsorship you must prove that you are a couple. There are many cases where they will ask for not only marital certificates, but also travel tickets, photographs, and other ways to verify that you are not only a couple on paper, but also intend to continue your relationship once you get your sponsorship. 
• Child Sponsorship. This type of sponsorship refers to both your own dependent children and the dependent children of dependent children (your grandchildren). It also includes adopted children or children of other relatives. As with the marital sponsorship, you will need to prove that the child is your child or that you intend to have them live with you when they become citizens. A dependent child can be a child who is under the age of 22. If your child is over the age of 22, then he or she will have to be a full time student who will have to be getting most of their financial support from their parents. For every additional child you would like to sponsor, you must fill out a separate application form. 
• Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship. This includes your own parents and your own grandparents. For this type of family sponsorship, there are two different types; permanent residence and temporary residence, so you will need to know which type of residency will be required for these types of family sponsorship. For this type of family sponsorship, it is also a requirement to show proof of income so that it can be made clear that the sponsor can afford to take care of those who will be taking residency with them. During this evaluation, the processors of the applications will be looking back for the last 12 months of income. The reason for this is to make sure that whatever adult takes up residency with you will be in a stable home and won’t wind up homeless. 

Now you know the types of sponsorship but what about the why. Why would someone need to get family sponsorship for Canada? Canada puts a lot of emphasis on the importance of families and their bonds. Therefore, if you are a Canadian citizen and are eighteen years or older, you will have the opportunity to “sponsor” your family, children, or spouse to become citizens of Canada as well. 

What is the cost?

Now you know what the types of Sponsorship there are but what about the cost. How much is it for a person or persons to become Canadian citizens through a family sponsorship program? Well, like the types of sponsorship, there are also layers of cost to the process. 

In order to sponsor any adult (whether it be a spouse, adult child, or parent) you will be charged a non-refundable fee of $550 CAD. By adult, we mean any person who has a familial relationship to you or is a spouse, that is 22 years of age or older. In the case of a child, they must be financially independent and not be a full time student. 

If you’d like to sponsor a dependent child, the cost is $150 CAD. Again, to be considered a dependent child they must be under the age of 22 or be a child that is a full time student that will require most or all of their income to come from the family sponsor. 

As with the sponsorship of an adult, there is a distinction between the cost of a permanent or temporary residency. If you are wanting to apply for permanent residency there is a different fee called the Right to Permanent Residency Fee in the amount of $500 CAD. 

Can anyone be a family sponsor?

So, at this point you should know the types of sponsorships and who can be sponsored, but what about the current Canadian citizen? You might be surprised to know that there are stipulations for those who can become a family sponsor. The sponsor must not have a history of sexual offences or have any convictions of any violent offences. 

As stated earlier, a sponsor must be able to show the financial ability to sponsor someone and have them live in their home, so someone receiving government or social assistance, not counting a disability income, wouldn’t qualify for sponsorship. Along with the income requirements, someone may not be a sponsor if they are currently or recently went through the process of bankruptcy.

A person may not fill out an additional sponsorship application while one application is still currently pending or failed to pass. You must wait for the results of your sponsorship application before you can apply for another application. 

Knowing all these facts, it’s best to know that you should expect a full background and financial check to be done on you at the time you fill out the application for sponsorship. Being prepared is key, so we hope that with the information you’ve learned in this article, you will be able to be fully ready for the application process of being a family sponsor in Canada.