Family Sponsorship
There are various ways that you can apply to sponsor your family based on your situation.
Types
- Spouse, Partner or Dependent Children
You can sponsor your spouse, partner or dependent children if you can support them financially and do not depend on social assistance
If you’re a Canadian citizen living outside Canada, you can sponsor your:
- Spouse
- Common-law partner
- Conjugal partner
- Dependent child
You must show that you’ll live in Canada when the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident.
Eligible Relationships
The following relationships with a Canadian citizen or permanent resident are considered functionally equivalent under Canadian law for the purposes of immigration to Canada.
Spouse: To qualify as a spouse, you must be legally married to the sponsor. The marriage must have been considered valid when it was entered into under the law of the jurisdiction where you were married and under Canadian law, regardless of where you lived after you were married.
Common-Law Partner: You are considered a common-law partner under Canadian law if you have cohabited with your partner in a conjugal relationship for at least one year (12 consecutive months, not necessarily an entire calendar year). This 12-month period does not have to be absolutely continuous; short absences for business or family reasons are acceptable.
Conjugal Partner: The conjugal partner category is designed for partners who would have qualified under the spouse or common-law partner categories but were prevented from doing so by local law or other factors beyond their control such as an immigration barrier or marital status
Relatives
You can sponsor Orphaned brother, sister, nephew, niece or grandchild.
Canada welcomes over 100,000 family class immigrants per year.
Orphaned brother, sister, nephew, niece or grandchild
IRCC states you can sponsor an orphaned brother, sister, nephew, niece, or grandchild if all of these conditions are met:
- They are your relative either by blood or through adoption
- Both of their parents passed away
- They are below the age of 18
- They are not married or in a common-law or conjugal relationship
On the other hand, IRCC says you can not sponsor this family member if any of the following applies:
- They have a parent that is still alive
- The location of their parents is unknown
- They were abandoned by their parents
- They are being cared for by someone else while one or both of their parents are still alive
- Their parent is in jail or otherwise detained
