Family Sponsorship

With its immigrant friendly rules, the Canadian Government allows its citizens and permanent residents to realise their dream of reunification with other family members. A family member can be a spouse, common law partner, parents, grandparents or children (biological or adapted).

For each of the sponsorship program, the sponsor needs to prove his financial status of sufficient income or low income cut off threshold. To determine the income is sufficient, below given deductions should be done from the amount mentioned in line 150 of notice of assessment issued by Canadian Revenue Agency:

  1. Province provided social assistance.
  2. Income supplement paid under Old Age Security Act.
  3. Any kind of employment insurance benefits paid under Employee Insurance Act.
  4. Provincial instruction or training allowance.

In case the sponsor is not able to prove financial accountability, his/her spouse can act a co-signer by providing a proof of their combined income meeting the financial requirement.

V9 Immigration with its surfeit of experience, is definitely your one stop destination to get a clear and updated picture of family sponsorship and ways to avail each facility.

Spouse or Common Law Partner Sponsorship

Under this subsection, a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident can sponsor his/her spouse or common law partner for Canadian permanent residency. To receive the same, both sponsor and his family member should have an approval of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenships, Canada (IRCC).

Definitions given below qualify for the family member in this category:

  1. Spouse: A person of opposite sex married to the sponsor with valid marriage certificate or proof as per legal rules.
  2. Common Law Partner: A person or same or opposite sex living together with the sponsor in a conjugal relation for at least a year.

Canadian immigration laws support below given types of sponsorship:

  1. Outside of Canada Sponsorship: It is possible for a sponsor residing outside Canada to apply for an outland application wherein the sponsored person can travel to and from Canada during the application process. An outland application is processed by the visa offices of the applicant’s country of origin or residence for at least a year.
  2. Inland Sponsorship: A couple residing in Canada with one of the partners having a temporary visa status (work, student or permit) can apply for inland sponsorship for the latter. The sponsored person is also eligible to apply for open work permit during his/her course of application.

Following requirements are mandatory for sponsoring a spouse/common law partner

  1. Sponsor must be 18 years of age and should not be involved in any kind of criminal procedure.
  2. Sponsored person is at least 16 years of age and is not related to the sponsor by blood.

Note: Once the sponsored spouse/common law partner receives permanent residence through sponsorship program, he/she is entitled to financial accountability from the sponsor for a minimum of 3 years henceforth. Also, the sponsored person is not allowed to sponsor another spouse for the next 5 years.

Child Sponsorship

Owing to its commitment of keeping families together, Canadian Government has a generous immigration policy of allowing permanent residents and citizens to sponsor their family members for permanent residence, especially at times when citizens/permanent residents have their dependent children abroad.

This category allows adopted or biological child to be given sponsorship for a stay or permanent residence in Canada, provided either party is in compliance with the IRCCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Canada) rules and regulations.

The following conditions are required for sponsoring a dependent child:

  1. The sponsor should be 18 years of age and should not be involved in any kind of legal procedures (being in prison, bankrupt or debarred from permanent residence)
  2. The sponsored person is less than 22 years of age or in case he/she is 22 years or older, financially dependent on parents and is physically or mentally challenged.
  3. The sponsored person must be a biological parent of the child (in case child is not adopted by a person other than spouse or common law partner) or should be a adopted child.

Note: Once a child receives permanent residence through sponsorship, he/she is entitled to study and work in Canada.

Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship

Canadian Government allows its citizens/permanent residents to bring their parents or grandparents through the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) and/or the Super Visa Program

Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP)

The PGP program involves completing the online Interest to Sponsor Form on IRCC’s website. The following information needs to be provided to complete the concerned form:

  1. Family name (last name or surname) and given name.
  2. Date of birth.
  3. Country of birth.
  4. Primary residential address in Canada.
  5. Email Address.
  6. Number of family members.
  7. Number of members likely to be sponsored.
  8. Details of grandparents and parents (names and ages) who are liable to be sponsored.
  9. Document number of Proof of status in Canada.
  10. Electronic signature

The proof of status document can be any of the following:

  1. Confirmation of permanent residence (IMM 5292 or IM5688)
  2. Canadian citizenship certificate or card (both sides)
  3. Permanent resident card (both sides)
  4. Canadian birth certificate
  5. Canadian passport
  6. Secure certificate of Indian status

Once the Interest to Sponsor form is submitted, the potential sponsors are likely to get an invitation to submit a sponsorship application. Once the invitation is received, the concerned person should submit the complete application including supporting documents (income tax records, civil status documents, etc.) and fees within a specified window.

We at V9 communications assist you in preparing the said supporting documents beforehand to avoid any kind of hullabaloo at the last hour.

During the course of application, the sponsored persons are subjected to inquiry regarding their biometric fees, medical exams, police certificate, and other important documents, by the IRCC.

The processing time for a complete PGP application is around 20 to 24 months.

The following requirements must be met for a person to sponsor his/her parents and/or grandparents:

  1. An agreement to provide financial assistance to the sponsored relative (parent/grandparent) for a period of 20 years, should be signed between the sponsor and the relative.
  2. In case, the sponsored person is coming to Quebec, an undertaking of the province should be submitted.
  3. The sponsor should meet the Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) (as given in table below).

The person should provide their notice of assessment from the Canada revenue agency (CRA) for the last 3 taxation years before applying.

Note: In the below given table, the MNI figure includes the Low Income Cut Off (LICO) figure plus 30 percent.

Family Size MNI 2019 MNI 2018 MNI 2017 MNI 2016 LICO
1 person 24,949 $
2 persons $40,379 $39,813 $39,371
3 persons

 

Parents and Grandparents Super Visa Sponsorship

This scheme allows parents and grandparents of the sponsors to stay for at least 2 years in Canada during their initial visit, without having the need to renew their status. The visa can be valid till 10 years.

The super visa can be seen as an ideal replacement for the conventional Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) for entry into Canada. The sponsored person is exempted from the hassles of re-applying for the TRV.

Though the application is similar to a regular TRV, the additional step requires the additional requirements as given:

  1. Documents to prove sponsor meets the low income cut off threshold.
  2. Invitation letter from the sponsor residing in Canada.
  3. Proof of relationship with sponsor (birth certificate or another related certificate).
  4. Canadian medical insurance coverage proof for at least a year.

The application is assessed based on the below given two factors:

  1. Purpose of visit to Canada
  2. Assessment of the sponsored person’s ties with his/her country of origin or permanent residence through family ties, finances or other connections.

Below given requirements are mandatory for super visa sponsorship:

  1. Sponsor must be an offspring or grandchild of the sponsored person (with valid certificate).
  2. Sponsored person should be coming to Canada as a visitor.
  3. Sponsor must provide a written commitment for financial support and meet the minimum income threshold.
  4. Sponsored person should have bought a Canadian medical insurance coverage for at least a year.
  5. The sponsored person should undergo an immigration medical examination.