FAMILY CLASS SPONSORSHIPS
If you are a Citizen of Canada or a permanent resident you may, subject to the regulations, sponsor a foreign national who is a member of your family class. A sponsor must be at least 18 years of age, reside in Canada or will to reside in Canada when the sponsored family member becomes a permanent resident. A sponsor who meets these criteria can nonetheless be disqualified from sponsorship for immigration violations, criminality, insolvency or default of a previous immigration undertaking.
For the purposes of Canadian Immigration Law, you are member of the family class with respect to the sponsor if you are a sponsor’s spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner; a dependent child of the sponsor; the sponsor’s mother or father, the mother or father of the sponsor’s mother or father, a person who’s parents are deceased who is under 18 years of age who does not have a spouse or a common-law partner and who is a child of the sponsor’s mother or father, a child of a child of a sponsor’s mother or father or a child of the sponsor’s child. It is also possible to sponsor a child you intend to adopt or for a sponsor who has not relatives in Canada to sponsor a relative regardless of age.
There are options available which allow for a sponsored spouse, in certain circumstances, to make an application from within Canada as opposed to outside Canada. This person must be a spouse or common law partner of the sponsor and cohabitate with that sponsor and they must have temporary resident status in Canada.
Depending on the type family class sponsorship, a sponsor may be subject to having to meet a minimum necessary income level in order to qualify to sponsor. These requirements can sometimes be overcome by having a spouse or common-law partner of the sponsor become a co-signer of the sponsorship application.
Any sponsor or co-sponsor must provide an undertaking that they will provide for the basic requirements of their sponsored family class member and their accompanying family members for a specified period of time. Potential sponsor of family members are advised to clearly understand the financial obligations of sponsorship.
If you would like more information on family class sponsorship or if you would like to set up a meeting with Mr. Champoux, CALL 604-687-3848 or e-mail rachampoux@racl.ca.
WARNING: The information provided in this website is in the nature of general information and can not be applied successfully to every individual circumstance. Canada’s immigration laws can be complex and confusing. The author advises that anyone reading this website and wishing to apply for any form of immigration status in Canada, retain the services of a qualified immigration lawyer.