Sponsor Eligibility Requirements

Canada offers sponsorship programs for Canadian permanent residents or citizens who want to bring a loved one to Canada. These programs allow certain families to become permanent residents of Canada. One of the most popular streams of Canadian immigration.

Family sponsorship programs allow citizens and permanent residents to easily bring their spouses, children, and other immediate family members as follows to Canada.

• Spouse, Common-law, or Conjugal Partner
• Parent or Grandparent Sponsorship (PGP)
• Child or Other Dependent Sponsorship
• Orphaned brother, sister, nephew, niece, or grandchild
• Other relatives

Sponsor Eligibility Requirements

• Be a Permanent resident or Canadian citizen
• Be at least 18 years old
• Lives in Canada (if sponsor is a permanent resident), or plans to return to Canada once your spouse or partner becomes a permanent resident of Canada
• Be able to provide the basic financial needs of your family member
• Will be required to sign an "undertaking" to be legally responsible for the family member

Note:
- If you were sponsored by a spouse or partner, you may not be a sponsor yourself until 5 years have passed since you became a permanent resident.
- The sponsor is financially responsible for the person sponsored for 3 years after the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident.

Spouse, Common-law or Conjugal Partner Sponsorship

If you are a permanent resident or Canadian citizen of Canada, you may sponsor:
- your spouse (you are legally married)
- common-law partner (you are not legally married but have been living together in a conjugal relationship for at least 12 consecutive months).
- conjugal partner (you are not legally married or in a common-law relationship and they are living outside Canada)

There are 2 types of spousal or common-law sponsorship applications:
- Inland: The application can be made from within Canada because the person you wish to sponsor is currently in Canada. Inland sponsorship allows applicants to continue to live in Canada while their application for permanent residence is in process. If the application is made from within Canada, the person you are sponsoring may apply for an open work permit that would allow them to work for any employer in Canada while the sponsorship application is being processed.
- Outland: In this case, the person you are sponsoring and who resides abroad will normally wait for permanent residence outside of the country but may visit you in Canada on a temporary resident visa.

Dependent Child Sponsorship

Children must meet the following definition of a dependent child to be eligible for sponsorship:
- A child is considered “dependent” if he or she is not married or in a common-law relationship and is under 22 years of age.
- If a child is over 22 years of age, they may be considered dependent if they have a physical or mental condition that prevents them from being able to support themselves.

Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship (PGP)

To be eligible under the Parents and Grandparents Program, you must:
- be at least 18 years of age;
- be the child or grandchild of the person(s) you are sponsoring;
- meet the Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) required for the size of their family unit and provide Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) issued notices of assessment (NOA) as proof;
- sign a sponsorship agreement that acknowledges your promise to provide for the basic needs of family member(s) for a period of 20 years,
- sign an additional agreement if you live in Quebec.

Your spouse or common-law partner can help you meet the income requirement by co-signing the undertaking.

If a co-signer is helping you meet the MNI requirements, the co-signer must meet the similar eligibility criteria as a sponsor. In addition, a co-signer must:
- not be the person being sponsored,
- have cohabited with the sponsor in a conjugal relationship for at least 1 year.

Length of Undertaking for Sponsored Person (excluding Quebec)

Minimum Necessary Income tables for 2022 (for all provinces except Quebec)