Canada Family Sponsorship (Spouse/Partner/Parents/Children)

The family class is one of the major categories of the Canada’s immigration system. According to the latest Immigration Levels Plan 2021-2023, Canada targets to welcome over 100,000 new immigrants per year from family unification.

If you are 18 years old or above and a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident living in Canada, you may sponsor certain relatives to become permanent residents of Canada. The rules and requirements for sponsoring different relatives differ in some ways and it can be broadly classified into following three different classes:

Your spouse, partner or dependent children
Parents and grandparents
Other family members

You will need to demonstrate that you can provide basic needs for yourself and the sponsored persons financially and sign an “undertaking”. The length of undertaking varies for different family classes.

There are also some differences in rules and procedures in sponsoring while you are living in Canada or outside Canada. Here we focus on the scenario that you are living outside of Canada and intend to move into a Canada destination other than Quebec.

Spouse and Dependent Children

For spouse or partner, you may sponsor …

your legally married spouse; or
your common-law partner for at least 12 months; or
your conjugal partner

And the relationship

can be between people of the opposite-sex or same-sex
must be genuine

For dependent children, you may sponsor …

those under 22 years old who don’t have a spouse or common-law partner
those 22 years old or older who have depended on you since before the age of 22 and are unable to financially support themselves due to a mental or physical condition
those of your own or those of your spouse or partner

Length of undertaking:

for spouse or partner, 3 years
for dependent child under 22 years old, 10 years or until age 25, whichever comes first
for dependent child over 22 years old, 3 years

An important note:

You must show that you will live in Canada when the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident.

Official links:
Notice – Supplementary Information for the 2021-2023 Immigration Levels Plan
Family sponsorship