Find out how Canadian citizens and permanent residents may reunite with their loved ones in Canada.
Concept of Family Sponsorship Immigration
You can sponsor certain family members to become Canadian permanent residents if you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada and above the age of 18. Your relative will then be able to live, study, and work in Canada.
Basic requirements for family sponsorship:
To be a sponsor:
- You must be at least 18 years old.
- you must be a Canadian citizen, or a permanent resident or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act.
- You and the sponsored relative must sign a sponsorship agreement in which you pledge to providing financial help to your relative if necessary. This agreement also states that the individual becoming a permanent resident will make every attempt to sustain himself or herself.
Other requirements may be imposed depending on the person you sponsor.
Who you can sponsor:
- A spouse, a common-law partner or a conjugal partner
- Your dependent children
- Your parents and grandparents
- Your brothers or sisters, nephews or nieces, granddaughters or grandsons who are orphaned, under 18 years of age and not married or in a common-law relationship
- Another relative of any age or relationship but only under specific conditions
- Certain accompanying relatives of the above
Spousal Work Permit
While their immigration petitions are being processed, spouses and common-law partners in Canada may be allowed to work under the Spousal Work Permit Pilot Program. Candidates must apply under the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada category and have a valid temporary status as a visitor, student, or worker.
