If you are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada, age 18 or over, you can sponsor certain family members to become Canadian permanent residents. If you become a permanent resident, you can live, study and work in Canada. The Canadian family member may sponsor:

• His or her spouse

• Common-law partner

• Conjugal partner

• Dependent child

• Adopted children

• Parents

• Grandparents

Criteria

You can sponsor your spouse, partner or dependent child if:

• You’re at least 18 years old

• You’re a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act

  • If you’re a Canadian citizen living outside Canada, you must show that you plan to live in Canada when the persons you want to sponsor become permanent residents.

  • You can’t sponsor someone if you’re a permanent resident living outside Canada.

• You’re able to prove that you’re not receiving social assistance for reasons other than a disability

• you can provide for the basic needs of any persons you want to sponsor

If you live outside Quebec

To become a sponsor, you must promise to financially take care of the persons you are sponsoring for a period of time. We call this promise an undertaking.

The undertaking commits you to:

• providing financial support for your sponsored family members, starting when they become permanent residents

• repaying any provincial social assistance your sponsored family members get during that time

Also, you and your sponsored family members need to agree to certain responsibilities during the undertaking period. We call this the sponsorship agreement.

The sponsorship agreement means that:

• you’ll provide for the basic needs of your sponsored family members

• the person you sponsor will make every effort to support themselves and their family members

When you apply, you’ll have to complete and sign a form that includes the undertaking and the sponsorship agreement.

Income requirement

In most cases, there isn’t an income requirement to sponsor your spouse or partner or dependent child. You only need to show that you have enough money to meet the income requirements if:

• you’re sponsoring a dependent child that has 1 or more dependent children of their own, or

• you’re sponsoring a spouse or partner that has a dependent child, and their dependent child has 1 or more children of their own.

The Financial evaluation form instructions explain how much money you’ll need and how to fill out the form.

You’ll get the form when you download your application package.

If you live in Quebec

You must meet Quebec Immigration sponsorship requirements after we approve you as a sponsor. You must sign an undertaking with the province of Quebec.

The Quebec ministry in charge of immigration will assess your income.