 Family
Class Immigration
Both permanent residents and citizens of Canada can sponsor
certain family members to come to Canada as new permanent
residents. Sponsors must be at least 18 years of age. They must be
living in Canada, or, in the case of citizens, they must intend to
return to Canada once the relative arrives. Unlike the United
States, Canada has no quotas or waiting periods for family
members, other than the time required to process the application.
You can sponsor the following relatives:
- Your husband, wife, or common-law partner, including a partner of the same sex.
- Your children if (a) the child is unmarried and less than 22
years old or (b) continuously enrolled as a full time student
since the age of 22 and supported by you or (c) wholly
dependent on you due to a physical or mental disability.
- Your parents.
- Your grandparents.
- A child under 18 whom you intend to adopt under certain circumstances.
The relative you sponsor must take a physical examination.
Sponsorship may be refused if the relative has a serious health
problem that will cause excessive demands on Canada's health
system. However, Canada now exempts spouses, common-law partners,
and children from this bar. Sponsorship may also be refused as a
result of almost any criminal conviction. If the conviction is
more than 5 years old, it is possible to apply for rehabilitation.
If an application is refused because the relative is inadmissible,
sponsors can appeal to the Immigration Review Board on
humanitarian and compassionate grounds. In addition, the
government will sometimes issue a "Temporary Resident Permit," previously known as a Minister's Permit, to
allow an inadmissible person to come to Canada.
In every case, the sponsor must sign an agreement to provide
financial support, if needed, to the relative for a period of three to ten
years. Spouses and common-law partners are subject to the shorter three-year requirement as are dependent children 22 years of age or older. If the relative applies for welfare, the sponsor must repay
the government. If you are sponsoring a relative other than a
spouse or child, you must prove your income meets a "low
income cut off" figure known as LICO. The government has
issued specific income requirements for LICO based on where you
live, and how many family members you support. The income must be
earned in Canada. Therefore, new arrivals in Canada cannot sponsor
parents or grandparents until they have been employed long enough
to meet the income requirements.
There is a two step process for sponsorship. First, the sponsor
files in Canada for approval of the sponsorship, including
approval of the financial undertaking. Then the case is transferred to a consulate abroad for issuance of the immigrant visa. However, the entire
application may be filed within Canada if the relative is already
in Canada, and there are humanitarian and compassionate reasons
for granting an exemption from the visa requirement. Spouses and common law partners now have the right to apply for residence from within Canada if they are in valid legal status.
Recently, the immigration minister has announced a new policy
allowing out-of-status spouses to file from within Canada as well.
Canada is the most accepting country in the world of same-sex
and unmarried opposite-sex partners. See our
article on this topic for more
information. For more information on U.S.-Canada marriages,
click here.
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