Canadian
citizens and permanent residents living in Canada, 18 years of age
or older, may sponsor their close relatives and/or family members
who intend to become permanent residents of Canada.
Sponsors
must make a promise to support their relative or family member and
their accompanying family members for a period of 10 years
to help them settle in Canada .
You can
sponsor relatives or family members from abroad if they are:
- parents and
grandparents;
- dependent
children, including adopted children;
- children under
18 years of age whom you intend to adopt;
- children under
guardianship;
- brothers,
sisters, nephews, nieces or grandchildren who are ORPHANS; under
the age of 18 and not married or in a common-law relationship;
or
- you may also
sponsor one relative of any age if you do not have an aunt,
uncle or family member from the list above who you could sponsor
or who is already a Canadian citizen, Indian or permanent
resident.
A son or daughter
is dependent when the child:
- is under the
age of 22 and does not have a spouse or common-law partner;
- is a full time
student and is substantially dependent on a parent for financial
support since before the age of 22, or since becoming a spouse
or common-law partner (if this happened before age 22); or
- is financially
dependent on a parent since before the age of 22 because of a
disability.
Sponsoring
a Relative or Family Member
If you want to
sponsor any of the above listed above relatives or family members,
certain income requirements must be met. Family Class immigrants
can only be sponsored by a relative who is a Canadian citizen or a
permanent resident of Canada .
Low Income Cut Off
Citizenship and
Immigration Canada requires a financial assessment, in order to
determine whether or not sponsors are financially capable of
sponsoring a relative from the family class. The Low Income Cut
Off is the mandatory minimum amount of annual income that sponsors
are required to have.
Co-Signers
If
the sponsor's income is under the Low Income Cut-Off point, the
sponsor's spouse, or common-law partner, is allowed to co-sign the
financial undertaking, in order to have their income added to the
sponsor's. Co-signers are equally responsible for supporting the
sponsored immigrant, and is jointly liable if there is a default
in the agreement.
