Family Sponsorship in Canada: who qualifies and how to apply

Who may sponsor

• You must be at least 18 and be "a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or a person registered in Canada under the Canadian Indian Act", and you must live in Canada.
• If you are a Canadian citizen living outside Canada, IRCC requires that "you must show that you plan to live in Canada when the people you're sponsoring become permanent residents". Treat this as a substantive requirement, not a declaration.
• If you are a permanent resident living outside Canada, IRCC states plainly that you cannot sponsor.
• In most spouse, partner and dependent child cases there is no minimum income test. An income requirement applies only in narrow situations involving a dependent child who has a dependent child of their own. Parent and grandparent sponsorship is assessed against income for three consecutive tax years.
• Only your spouse or common-law partner may co-sign a sponsorship application, and a co-signer takes on the same undertaking obligations.

What stops a sponsor

• You previously sponsored someone and did not repay social assistance they received while the undertaking was in place.
• You are in default on an immigration loan or performance bond, or you did not pay court-ordered alimony or child support.
• You have an undischarged bankruptcy, or you are receiving social assistance for a reason other than a disability.
• You were convicted of a violent offence, a sexual offence, or an offence against a relative causing bodily harm. Whether it bars you depends on the offence, the sentence and how long ago it was.
• You are in prison or under a removal order.
• You are sponsoring a partner and were yourself sponsored as a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, and became a permanent resident less than five years ago.
• You signed an undertaking for a previous spouse or partner and it has not been three years since they became a permanent resident.
• A family member you did not declare and have examined on your own earlier permanent residence application generally cannot be sponsored by you later. IRCC describes this consequence as a lifetime bar on sponsoring that person.

Which partner category you fall into

This is the question couples get wrong most often. The categories are defined, not chosen, and an application filed in the wrong one is refused on the definition regardless of how strong the evidence is.

For a spouse, IRCC requires a valid marriage certificate or proof of registration and states that "a record of solemnization (obtained in Canada) or marriage license will not be accepted". It also does not recognise proxy, telephone, fax or internet marriages where one or both parties were not physically present, subject to narrow exceptions for applications received before 10 June 2015 and certain Canadian Armed Forces members.

For a common-law partner, the test is that "you've lived together continuously for 1 year in a conjugal relationship, without any long periods apart". Twelve months added up across separate visits does not qualify.

For a conjugal partner, the defining element is a barrier: the partner "may not be able to live with you in their country of residence or marry you because of legal, immigration, social, cultural, religious or other reasons". IRCC's examples are marital status where divorce is not possible, sexual orientation where same-sex relationships are not accepted, and persecution. Distance, visa difficulty and busy lives are not barriers, which is why most couples who reach for this category do not qualify for it.

Children, parents and grandparents

• A dependent child must be under 22 and not married or in a common-law relationship, or older but dependent on a parent because of a physical or mental condition.
• Parents and grandparents are sponsored through their own program, which has run by invitation from a pool of interest forms in recent years and carries an income requirement for three consecutive tax years. The Super Visa is the alternative route for long visits.
• Siblings, nieces, nephews and grandchildren can only be sponsored in narrow circumstances, such as an orphaned relative under 18 who is not married or in a common-law relationship.

1. Confirm the sponsor's eligibility first, including any previous undertaking, loan default, bankruptcy or conviction, and for a citizen abroad, the evidence of the plan to return to Canada.
2. Fix the category. Spouse, common-law or conjugal is a legal question about your facts, and it determines which documents actually matter.
3. Choose the route. A partner already in Canada with status may be able to apply inland and apply for an open work permit at the same time. A partner abroad applies as a member of the family class, and inland applicants who leave Canada during processing risk the application if they cannot return.
4. Build the relationship record: the marriage certificate or the statutory declaration of common-law union, evidence of cohabitation or of the barrier to it, joint finances and leases, photographs across time, communication records, travel evidence, and statements from people who know you as a couple.
5. Complete the Relationship Information and Sponsorship Evaluation form (IMM 5532). Both accounts must agree with each other and with the documents. Inconsistency between the two versions is the thing officers notice first.
6. Submit the sponsorship application and the permanent residence application together with the undertaking. IRCC then sends an acknowledgement of receipt once it has checked the application is complete, and status can only be tracked after that.
7. Give biometrics when the letter arrives. IRCC allows 30 days from the date of the letter, and the applicant must bring the letter and their passport.
8. Complete the medical exam when IRCC sends instructions. It must be done by an approved panel physician, not your own doctor, and family members must be examined even if they are not coming to Canada.
9. Provide police certificates for every country outside Canada where an applicant aged 18 or over spent six or more months in a row since turning 18.
10. Respond to any request for documents by the date IRCC gives, and attend an interview if one is required.
11. On approval, IRCC issues the Confirmation of Permanent Residence and a permanent resident visa if one is required. The applicant lands at a Canadian port of entry before the documents expire, and an officer completes the COPR by signing and dating it with the entry date.

Can I sponsor my spouse if I am living outside Canada?

If you are a Canadian citizen, yes, but IRCC requires you to show that you plan to live in Canada when the person you are sponsoring becomes a permanent resident. If you are a permanent resident living outside Canada, IRCC states that you cannot sponsor. Evidence of the plan to return should be built into the application.

Do I need a minimum income to sponsor my spouse or partner?

In most cases no. IRCC states that there is usually no income requirement to sponsor a spouse, partner or dependent child, with a narrow exception where a dependent child being sponsored has a dependent child of their own. Parent and grandparent sponsorship is different and does test income.

What is the difference between common-law and conjugal?

Common-law means you have lived together for at least twelve consecutive months in a conjugal relationship without long periods apart. Conjugal means you have been in an exclusive, mutually interdependent relationship for at least a year but could not marry or live together because of a real barrier such as marital status, sexual orientation or persecution. A conjugal partner must be living outside Canada.

How long does the undertaking last?

Three years for a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, three years for a dependent child aged 22 or over, and ten years or until age 25, whichever comes first, for a dependent child under 22. The period starts on the day the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident, not when you apply.

Does the undertaking end if we separate or divorce?

No. IRCC is explicit that you remain responsible even if your relationship with the person you sponsored changes, even if they become a Canadian citizen, and even if you have financial problems. If the sponsored person receives social assistance during the period, you have to repay it and cannot sponsor anyone else until you have.

Can my spouse work while we wait?

If your spouse is in Canada with valid status and you apply inland, they can usually apply for an open work permit at the same time as the sponsorship application. A partner outside Canada cannot work in Canada on the strength of a pending sponsorship.

Can my partner visit Canada while the application is in process?

IRCC says a person may travel to Canada as a tourist before receiving a permanent resident visa, but strongly advises against making definitive arrangements for the stay beforehand, and notes that a valid visitor visa does not guarantee entry. The officer at the port of entry decides.

What happens if our circumstances change after we apply?

Tell IRCC. You must keep your address, email and phone number current, and IRCC asks you to report changes to your family situation such as a marriage, birth, divorce or death. A renewed or replaced passport must also be reported. Failing to keep contact details current can lead to an application being refused or treated as abandoned.

We are expecting a baby before a decision. Can we add the child?

You must send IRCC a request to add the child, and IRCC will then tell you what documents to submit. IRCC confirms the application will take longer, and that a child cannot be added once the applicant has already become a permanent resident.

Can I sponsor my parents or a sibling?

Parents and grandparents have their own program, which has run by invitation from a pool of interest forms and carries an income requirement. A sibling can only be sponsored in narrow circumstances, such as an orphaned sibling under 18 who is not married or in a common-law relationship.