SPONSOR YOUR FAMILY FOR IMMIGRATION TO CANADA
What is Family Class Sponsorship?
Canada being the most prevalent country for its immigration policies, welcomes a lot of immigrants every year to settle in.There are many ways on how you can reside in Canada. One of the most popular ways in which you can settle with your family as well is the Family Class Sponsorship, under which Canada welcomes more than 100,000 immigrants each year. There are two main features under this sponsorship:
- One is that it allows your family members to immigrate to Canada and get Permanent Residency (PR).
- Secondly it requires you, as an individual, to make an assurance to provide for basic necessities and to support your family members financially.
Advantages of family Sponsorship programs
Here are some advantages for the same:
- One of the most important advantage of this program is that it allows sponsored family members to to come in canada without any requirement of clearing any points in the cut offs.
- The members of the family who receive PR Visa via this program have all the rights to live , work or study in Canada.
- In addition to the above stated advantages, the sponsored family members gets an access to all the benefits provided by the government like free healthcare, education till 18 years of age, Pension Plans, security for old age, and Guaranteed Income Supplement.
- Last but not the least, after three years of staying in Canada , Parents who are on dependent Visa , can apply for citizenship of Canada.
Eligibility Criteria to sponsor a family member
To sponsor a family member, it is obligatory for an individual to meet the following criteria:
- The sponsor must be a Canadian citizen/Permanent resident of Canada
- 18 years of age or over
- Provide for financial support for a dependent child for 10 years, or until the child turns 25, whichever comes first.
- Able to support the sponsored family member for several years
Who isn’t eligible to sponsor a relative?
A sponsor may be ineligible if they:
- Are currently in judicial custody
- Haven’t paid alimony or child support payments
- Have been declared insolvent or bankrupt and are not yet released
- Unsuccessful attempts in paying back an immigration loaner missed payments
- Have earlier sponsored another relative and was unsuccessful to meet the conditions of the sponsorship agreement.
Who can I sponsor to come to Canada?
- Spouse, Common-law, or MatrimonialPartner (Conditions Applied)
- Parent or Grandparent (Additional Conditions Applied)
- Child or other Dependent
- Orphaned siblings, nephew, niece, or grandchildunder 18 years of age and not married
- Other relatives (under exceptional situations)
Cost of sponsoring a family member in Canada
A $150 payment will be required for each child included in the application in case you are sponsoring your child along with your spouse.
Moreover,if you are including the spouse or partner of your relative, an additional $1,050 is required.
Following is the processing fee in each case to sponsor a relative in Canada:
- Sponsorship fee $75
- Principal applicant processing fee $475
- Right of permanent residence fee $500
- Biometrics: $85
- Total: $1135
NOTE: The fee to reside in Quebec is $289 CAD in addition to the fees mentioned above.
Income requirement for Canadian family sponsorship
As a sponsor, you are needed to sign a Sponsorship Agreement stating that you are committed you to provide for the basic needs of the person you are sponsoring. In order to be eligible for family class sponsorship the sponsor must meet the Minimum Necessary Income (MNI).
MNI is different for each class depending on the number of members the sponsor is sponsoring. It usually ranges around $32,270 to $35000 for two persons.
Sponsorship undertaking
The sponsor will be required to sign an "undertaking" stating that he/she will take full responsibility for the family member they are sponsoring. If the family member needs any government social help, the sponsor will have to repay the money on family member’s behalf.
The undertaking will stay in effect for a period of time and will not be canceled even if situations change (i.e., if the person they are sponsoring becomes a Canadian citizen, divorce or separation or financial problems).
Following table shows the time span of the undertaking the sponsor will be required to sign:
- Spouse, common -law partner or conjugal partner
Length of undertaking – 3 years - Dependent child
Length of undertaking – 10 years, or until age 25, whichever comes first - Dependent child
Length of undertaking – 3 years – 22 years of age or older - Parent or grandparent
Length of undertaking – 20 years - Other relative
Length of undertaking - 10 years
Note: For Quebec residents, the length of the undertaking is quite different.
How to Apply for Family Sponsorship?
Step 1: Meet eligibility criteria to be a sponsor.
Step 2: Check whether the relatives you intend to sponsor meet eligibility criteria or not.
Step 3: Submit your and your family’s sponsorship application and the permanent residence (PR) status application together. Once you have met the eligibility criteria to sponsor, your PR application will be reviewed.
Step 4: Pay the sponsorship application fee.
Step 5: Send your application with the assistance of VS4U. Additionally a sponsorship guide is available on the government website, check out for more info regarding the same.
What is the processing time for Family Class Sponsorship ?
The processing time is dependent on various factors like the time at which the application was sent, type of family member who are being sponsored and many more. It usually takes 12 months or more nevertheless it takes about a month or two for Spouses, common-law partners, and dependent children as they are considered as priorities however it can take upto three years or more in case of parents and grandparents. Hence , completely dependent on each case.
Other FAQs
1) How many relatives can be sponsored?
Though there is no limit on the number of family members which can be sponsored for Canadian permanent residency however the applications for each family member must be submitted separately.
2) What is the age limit for sponsorship in Canada?
No, there is no maximum age limit. In order to sponsor a family member , the candidate must be at least 18 years old.
3) Is there a job required to sponsor a family member?
Though, it is not necessary to have a job in order to sponsor family members, however , the candidate must meet the requirements of the MNI and there must be a proof of funds shown by the candidate that he/she can support their family members whom they are sponsoring.
Planning to Relocate?
Contact us at +91-9551251295 or mail at enquiry@visasolutions4u.com and get your profile evaluated by our experts who will guide you throughout the process and will sure that you land at your dream destination.