FAMILY SPONSORSHIP

Sponsor your eligible relatives

Some relatives may be eligible to immigrate to Canada as permanent residents. You can sponsor certain relatives if you are a citizen or permanent resident of Canada and if you are 18 or older.

Determine your eligibility

To be a sponsor you must:

be 18 years of age or older;
be a Canadian citizen, Registered Indian or permanent resident;
be sponsoring a member of the family Class;
live in Canada;
sign an undertaking promising to provide for the basic requirements of the person being sponsored;
sign an agreement with the person you are sponsoring that confirms that each of you understands your mutual obligations and responsibilities;
have an income that meets or exceeds the minimum necessary income, which is published yearly by the Canadian government in the Low-Income Cut-offs (LICO). You will have to provide us with documents that show your financial resources for the past 12 months and prove you are financially able to sponsor members of the family class. You may also have aco-signer.

If you live in Quebec, see also Sponsors living in Quebec.

Who is not eligible to sponsor

You may not be able to sponsor a relative if you:

sponsored another relative in the past and did not meet the terms of the sponsorship agreement,
are in default of alimony or child support payments,
got government financial help for reasons other than being disabled,
were convicted of a violent crime, any offence against a relative or any sexual offence, depending on details of the case, such as
- the type of offence,
- how long ago it was and
- whether a record suspension was issued
did not pay back an immigration loan, made late payments or missed payments,
are in prison, or
have declared bankruptcy and have not been released from it yet.

Other things not on this list may stop you from being able to sponsor a relative.

Who you can sponsor

Depending on your circumstances, there are two options for who you can sponsor.

Option 1 – Orphaned close relatives

You can sponsor close relatives, related by blood or adoption, such as brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, or grandchildren only if they meet all of the following conditions:

They are orphaned,
They are under 18, and
They do not have a spouse, common law partner, or conjugal partner.

Option 2 – Other relative

You may sponsor one relative, related by blood or adoption, of any age if you meet all of the following conditions:

you do not have a spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner, or one of the following living relatives you could sponsor instead:
- son or daughter,
- parent,
- grandparent,
- brother or sister,
- uncle, aunt,
- nephew or niece.
you do not have any of the above-named relatives who is a:
- Canadian citizen,
- permanent resident, or
- registered Indian under the Indian Act.

If the relative you want to sponsor has a spouse, partner, or dependent children who will come with them to Canada you must include them on the same sponsorship application.

If your relative does not qualify for sponsorship they may still be able to come to Canada as a skilled immigrant through Express Entry. Express Entry manages applications for certain economic immigration programs and selects applicants for their skills, experience and ability to contribute to Canada’s economy. Express Entry candidates may be awarded points for having a family member living in Canada. More information is available on the Express Entry web page.