Sponsor your relatives

About the program

You may be able to sponsor certain relatives to immigrate to Canada under the Family Class if you’re at least 18 years old and a:

• Canadian citizen or
• a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act or
• permanent resident of Canada

If you sponsor a relative to come to Canada as a permanent resident, you must:

• support your relative financially when they arrive
• be able to meet basic needs for yourself and your relative, such as:
  • food
  • shelter
  • clothing
• make sure your relative doesn’t need social assistance

Requirements

Sponsoring your relatives is a way to reunite the family in Canada. Family Class sponsorship is a top priority for the Canadian Government. To be able to sponsor someone, you must: 

• Canadian citizen
• A person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act.
• Permanent resident of Canada
• Support your relative financially when they arrive
• Have the ability to meet basic needs for yourself and your relatives, such as food, shelter, and clothing.
• Make sure your relative doesn’t need social assistance 

1. Who can sponsor

To sponsor a certain relative, you must satisfy these eligibilities below:

• At least 18 years of age, not in prison, not bankrupt, not under a removal order (if a permanent resident), and not charged with a serious offense.
• Living in Canada or planning to live in Canada once your sponsorship application has been completed
• Able to meet set income guidelines for the application type
• Agree in writing to give financial support to your relative and any other eligible relatives coming with them for up to 10 years, depending on their age and how you are related.

2. Who you can sponsor

Relations you can sponsor to Canada under the family class:

• Spouse / Common-Law Partner / Conjugal Partner
• Parent (including adoptive parents)
• Child
• Grandchild
• Brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, or grandchildren who are orphaned AND are under 18 AND do not have a spouse or common-law partner

Important: You can’t sponsor your relatives if:

• One of their parents is still alive
• Nobody knows where their parents are
• Their parents abandoned them
• They are nurtured by someone else while one or both their parents are alive
• Their parent is in jail or otherwise, detained

How to apply

To apply to sponsor your eligible relatives you must:

Step 1. Get the application package

The application package includes the:

• For spouse, partner, dependent child, adopted child or other relatives
• • Document Checklist — Sponsor [IMM 5287] (PDF, 821.91 KB) 
  • Application to Sponsor, Sponsorship Agreement and Undertaking [IMM 1344] (PDF, 478.72 KB)
  • Financial Evaluation [IMM 1283] (PDF, 1.24 MB) 
  • Generic Application Form for Canada [IMM 0008] (PDF, 652 KB)
  • Additional Dependants/Declaration [IMM 0008DEP] (PDF, 424.19 KB) 
  • Schedule A – Background/Declaration [IMM 5669] (PDF, 776.39 KB) 
  • Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union [IMM 5409] (PDF, 636.51 KB) 
  • Use of a Representative [IMM 5476] (PDF, 648.31 KB) 
  • Medical Condition Statement (PDF, 64.67 KB)
  • Instruction Guide [IMM 5196]
• For parents and grandparents
• • Instruction Guide [IMM 5772]
  • Document Checklist — Sponsor [IMM 5771] (PDF, 1.59 MB)
  • Application to Sponsor, Sponsorship Agreement and Undertaking [IMM 1344] (PDF, 478.72 KB) 
  • Financial Evaluation for Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship [IMM 5768] (PDF, 1.54 MB) 
  • Income Sources for the Sponsorship of Parents and Grandparents [IMM 5748] (PDF, 1.53 MB) 
  • Schedule A – Background/Declaration [eIMM 5669] (PDF, 434.14 KB) 
  • Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union [IMM 5409] (PDF, 636.51 KB) 
  • Generic Application Form for Canada [IMM 0008] (PDF, 652 KB)
  • Additional Dependants/Declaration [IMM 0008DEP] (PDF, 424.19 KB) 
  • Additional Family Information [IMM 5406] (PDF, 1.53 MB)
  • Use of a Representative [IMM 5476] (PDF, 648.31 KB) 
• For Financial Evaluation for Sponsorship:
• • Financial Evaluation [IMM 1283] (PDF, 1.24MB) February 2016
  • Instructions on Filling Out the Form [IMM 5482]

Read the guide before you fill in the forms. Make sure you’re eligible enough to sponsor a relative before you apply. The sponsorship application fee won’t be refundable.

When submitting applications:

• You’ll have to provide proof of income
• Your relatives must state they will try to support themselves
• You must agree in writing to support your relatives for a set amount of time (3 to 20 years)
• Include all your relative’s dependent children (if any) on your relative’s application
• Include all the documents listed in the document checklist

Important: missing information or documents can delay your application

All information in your application must be true. You must be honest about:

• Your family members (include them all on your application)
• Your marital status
• Any change in your case

The people you sponsor must also tell us about each of their close family members. These family members must have a security and criminality check and a medical exam. If they don’t, the sponsored person won’t be able to sponsor them in the future.

Step 2. Pay your application fees

In most cases, you have to pay some fees online:

• Processing fees for you, the sponsored person and their dependents
• The right of permanent residence fee
• The biometrics fee: you must pay this fee when you submit your application or else you may experience delays.
• Third-party fees

Depending on your situation, you may need to pay third parties for:

• medical exams
• police certificates

Here are the detailed processing fees required for Canadian Permanent Resident Applications ($CAD) 

• $75: Sponsorship application (per application)
• $475: Principal applicant
• $75: Principal applicant, if under 19 and not a spouse or common-law partner (including a dependent child of the sponsor, a child to be adopted, and an orphaned brother, sister, niece, nephew, or grandchild)
• $550: Spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner of the principal applicant or, where a transitional provision applies, a family member of the principal applicant who is 22 or older  
• $150: A family member of the principal applicant who is under 22 and is not a spouse or common-law partner, or is 22 or older who has been unable to be financially self-supporting since before the age of 22, due to a physical or mental condition
• $150: Where a transitional provision applies, a family member of the principal applicant who:
  • is under 22, unmarried, and not in a common-law relationship, or
  • is 22 or older and has been unable to be financially self-supporting since before the age of 22, due to a physical or mental condition.

Step 3. Submit your application

Send your application by mail:

• Application for spouses, common-law partners or conjugal partners outside Canada and all dependent child sponsorships:

CPC Sydney
P.O. Box 9500
Sydney, NS
B1P 0H5

• Application for spouses or common-law partners currently living in Canada applying under the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada class:

CPC Mississauga
P.O. Box 5040, Station B
Mississauga, ON
L5A 3A4

Send your application by courier service:

• Application for spouses, common-law partners or conjugal partners currently living outside Canada and all dependent child sponsorships:

CPC Sydney
49 Dorchester Street
Sydney, NS
B1P 5Z2

• Application for spouses or common-law partners currently living in Canada applying under the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada class:

CPC Mississauga
2 Robert Speck Parkway,
Suite 300
Mississauga, ON
L4Z 1H8

How long would it take?

IRCC will review your sponsorship application and return it to you if:

• it’s incomplete
• the sponsorship and processing fees are missing

If IRCC begins to process your application, it will:

• send you an acknowledgment of receipt letter with an application number,
• assess your eligibility as a sponsor, and assess if the person you are sponsoring meets the permanent residence requirements.

Family sponsorship application processing times:

• Spouse or Common-law Partner: within 12 months from the day they are received.
• Dependent children: It depends on when the application was submitted, mostly in the past 12 months.
• Parents and Grandparents: The projected processing time for the program is 20 to 24 months. 
• An adopted child or other relatives: in most cases, it’s based on how long it took IRCC to process the most completed applications in the past 12 months.

Things you must know after you apply

1. Check the status of your application

• For sponsors: Sponsors can check the status of their application by using the online tool.
• For the persons being sponsored: There are 2 ways for the sponsored persons to check their application.
  • They can create an online account and link their paper application to it. They can do this only when IRCC starts processing their application and send them their application number.
  • Use this online tool, which is updated daily.

2. If your processing time has passed

If the normal processing time for your application has passed, you can contact IRCC using the Web form.

3. Change in contact information or in personal circumstances

To avoid delays in processing, make sure your contact information and your application details are up-to-date.

Use this Web form to notify the IRCC of changes in your application. Continue to monitor your old contact information until your application is updated.

4. Withdraw your sponsorship application 

You can withdraw your sponsorship application at any time before the relative you are sponsoring becomes a permanent resident of Canada. You may be able to get a refund if IRCC did not start processing your application.

Use this Web form to request the withdrawal of your sponsorship application. In your request, include your:

• full name
• date of birth
• country of birth
• application number (if known)
• relative’s Client ID Number (UCI) (if known).

5. Submit your right of permanent residence fee or request a refund

Use this Web form if:

• the visa office has instructed your relative to pay the right of permanent residence fee, or
• you want a refund for the right of permanent residence fee.

Refunds can only be issued once you have declined your right of appeal.

Prepare for arrival

When you arrive in Canada, you must show your Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) and your permanent resident visa to an IRCC officer at the point of entry to Canada. The officer will make sure your travel and immigration documents are correct.

• A permanent residence visa cannot be extended, so make sure you use it within the time limit.
• You must bring a valid passport from your home country with you. Your passport must be a regular, private passport.
• You will have to answer questions like the ones you answered on your Application for Permanent Residence in Canada. The IRCC officer asks these questions to verify information on the application.
• You must inform the IRCC officer of any funds you are bringing into Canada (cash, stocks, bonds, money orders, traveler’s cheques, etc.)

Permanent residents are given the permanent resident card as proof of their status in Canada. Your card will be mailed to your Canadian address after you arrive in Canada as a permanent resident.