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Category Archives: Family Sponsorship

May 28, 2025

Family sponsorship remains a key part of Canada’s immigration system. It allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents to bring close family members to live in Canada. In 2025, Canada plans to welcome tens of thousands of newcomers through family sponsorship. Here’s a clear guide on who can sponsor, who can be sponsored, and how the process works.

Who Can Sponsor a Family Member?

To sponsor someone, you must:

  • Be at least 18 years old.

  • Be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or registered under the Indian Act.

  • Live in Canada or plan to return if sponsoring a spouse, partner, or dependent child.

  • Agree to financially support the sponsored person so they don’t need social assistance.

Sponsors must sign a legal agreement to provide financial support for a set time. This ensures sponsored family members can settle without relying on public funds.

Who Can Be Sponsored?

You can sponsor close family members such as:

  • Spouses, common-law partners, or conjugal partners.

  • Dependent children (including adopted children).

  • Parents and grandparents.

  • Other relatives in special cases, like orphaned siblings or nieces under 18.

Each category has specific rules and requirements. The process and timelines vary depending on the relationship.

Definitions of Relationships

It’s important to understand how Canadian immigration defines relationships:

  • Spouse: Legally married partner.

  • Common-law partner: Living together in a marriage-like relationship for at least one year.

  • Conjugal partner: A partner in a marriage-like relationship for at least one year, but unable to live together due to special circumstances (like immigration barriers).

  • Dependent child: A child under 22 who is not married or in a common-law relationship, or an older child who depends on the sponsor due to a physical or mental condition.

Spousal Open Work Permit Rules

If you sponsor a spouse or partner who is already in Canada, they may be eligible for an open work permit while their application is processed. This allows them to work without a job offer.

This rule helps families stay together and reduces financial stress during the sponsorship process.

Sponsorship Obligations

Sponsors must support their family members financially for a set period:

  • 3 years for spouses or partners.

  • 10 years or until the sponsored person turns 25, whichever is longer, for dependent children.

  • 20 years for parents and grandparents.

If the sponsored person receives social assistance, the sponsor must repay the government.

Sponsorship from Outside Canada

Canadian citizens living abroad can sponsor family members if they plan to return to Canada when the sponsored person arrives.

Permanent residents must live in Canada to sponsor.

Quebec Sponsorship Process

Quebec has its own immigration rules for family sponsorship. Sponsors and applicants must follow Quebec’s specific procedures.

Quebec requires a separate application for a Quebec Selection Certificate before applying to the federal government.

Steps to Apply for Family Sponsorship

  1. Check eligibility: Confirm you meet sponsorship and applicant requirements.

  2. Gather documents: Prepare forms, proof of relationship, and supporting papers.

  3. Submit sponsorship application: Include all forms and fees.

  4. Wait for sponsorship approval: IRCC reviews the sponsor’s eligibility.

  5. Apply for permanent residence: The sponsored person submits their application with medical and security checks.

  6. Wait for decision: Processing times vary by category and country.

  7. Arrival in Canada: Once approved, the sponsored family member can move to Canada.

Why Family Sponsorship Matters

Family reunification is a top priority for Canada’s immigration policy. It helps newcomers settle better with family support. Families provide emotional and financial stability that helps immigrants succeed.

This program also reflects Canadian values of keeping families together.

Final Words

Family sponsorship offers a clear path for Canadians to reunite with loved ones. The rules can be complex, but knowing the basics helps you prepare your application with confidence.

If you plan to sponsor a family member in 2025, start by checking your eligibility and gathering documents early. Following the process step-by-step improves your chance of success.

For detailed advice, consider consulting an immigration expert who knows the latest rules and procedures.

October 4, 2022

If you want to go through the process of immigration to Canada I think you are at the right place. Well, let me tell you that Immigration is the process of entering a country and becoming a citizen. Canada is one of the most popular immigration destinations for people from all over the world. Canada has a number of immigration programs that are designed to match different types of immigrants with their needs. Canada has an expansive list of opportunities for immigrants. Whether you are looking for a way to immigrate permanently or temporarily, there is something for everyone in Canada’s immigration programs.

Canada is among the lowest birth rates and has one of the oldest populations in the world. It also has one of the oldest populations. This results in strains on the economy and the government’s finances. The natural rate of population increase in Canada is rather low, which contributes to slow rates of expansion in both the labour force and the economy. The low economic activity makes it challenging for Canada to generate the necessary taxes to fund social expenditure on services like education and health care, as well as other significant sectors that contribute to the country’s high quality of life.

As a direct consequence of this, since the late 1980s, Canada was elevating the percentage of its population that is comprised of immigrants in order to accelerate its pace of population growth, raise the size of its labour force, and expand its economy. Immigration is presently the primary driver of the population as well as labour force growth in Canada, and where the largest contributor to the country’s overall economic expansion.

Since 1988, Canada was consistently welcomed more than 200,000 new citizens into the country each year. Over the last several years, it has concluded that it should expand its levels to more than 400,000 every year. The current immigration rate in Canada is somewhere in the range of 1.1 percent. To put it another way, on a population-by-population basis, Canada is home to three times the number of immigrants that the United States of America does.

Family sponsorships in Canada are rising After the Pandemic:

There is a rise in family sponsorships in Canada after the pandemic. Immigrants are more willing to sponsor their family members due to the thought of them being safe and sound in Canada.

Family sponsorships offer a sense of security for immigrants. The goal of family sponsorships is to help immigrants integrate into society with less difficulty. A lot of these sponsorships are from refugees who have been living abroad for years. They want to help their families by sponsoring them as soon as they can, so that they have a place to live on Canadian soil, and can start studying or working soon after arrival.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, Canada has seen a rise in family sponsorships. Canada’s immigration policy was mainly focused on economic immigrants. But now, with the population requiring more help to be self-sufficient, family sponsorships are rising. The Canadian government has a program called the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) which is designed to help new immigrants reunite with their family members in Canada. This program allows qualified sponsors to sponsor their parents and grandparents for immigration to Canada.

Canada is one of the few countries in the world that allows for family sponsorship. The Canadian government has a program called the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) which is designed to help new immigrants reunite with their family members in Canada. This program allows qualified sponsors to sponsor their parents and grandparents for immigration to Canada. There are some qualifications that need to be met before someone can apply as a sponsor including:

  • Being 18 years or older
  • Having enough income or assets that they can support their parents or grandparents without relying on any other place.

Expanding Immigration:

Canada is not just a popular tourist destination but also a migrant-friendly country. The country has seen an increase in the number of people migrating there. The numbers of migrants coming to Canada vary from year to year, but overall their numbers are on the rise. They are drawn by the country’s openness and social liberalism, as well as its economic stability.

It looks probable that Canada would continue to progressively expand its immigration numbers over the course of the foreseeable future, based on the demographic realities of the country and the tendencies shown by its immigration. Immigration will continue to be an essential component in maintaining a robust economic and stable budgetary condition in the nation.

In addition, there is a compelling case to be made that the significance of immigration has grown as a direct result of the widespread coronavirus epidemic. In the short term, COVID-19 has been detrimental to the Canadian economy, and it has caused the government to spend more money on social services. In 2019, the birth rate in Canada plummeted to an all-time low with 1.47 children per woman, making it the country with the lowest birth rate in history.

The birth rate in Canada was already low before the epidemic, and there is a potential that the pandemic may cause the birth rate to drop even more owing to economic instability. As a result, Canada will become more reliant upon immigration because of its population growth over the years to come. If Canada’s population growth continues low, immigration will make up an increasingly higher part of the expansion in the country’s labour force within decades to come. In conclusion, after COVID-19, Canada will be required to increase its revenue base through immigration in order to sustain current levels of government expenditure. Canada has always been an attractive destination for those looking to improve their lives by moving to a country with a higher quality of living and better access to modern conveniences. Canada is the ideal place to immigrate as a family because of its large geographical area and temperate temperature, little pollution, high-quality schools and low crime rate.

Canada is among the nations that provide exceptional support to new arrivals and their families. Modifying the current immigration laws and requirements of the Federal Express Entry Program as well as other comparable immigration programmes. This has greatly simplified the process of family reunification in recent years. Among Canadian immigration programmes, Express Entry is by far the most used and expedited option. In order to bring your parents and kids along with you to Canada, you may include them in any PR visa application using the EE System.