How to Sponsor Your Spouse to Canada

If you want your spouse or children to become permanent residents of Canada, you can sponsor them. To be allowed to sponsor your spouse or dependent children to become permanent residents of Canada you have to meet the following requirements:

• you must demonstrate that you are able to support them financially;
• you must guarantee that they do not need social assistance from the government of Canada.

Other mandatory requirements include:

• Age - you must be at least 18 years old to be allowed to sponsor your spouse or dependent children;
• Citizenship or Permanent Residency in Canada - you must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act;
• Living in Canada - even if you are a Canadian citizen living outside Canada, you must plan to live in Canada when the spouse and dependent children you want to sponsor become permanent residents of Canada;
• No need for social assistance - you must prove that you are not receiving social assistance for reasons other than a disability;
• Financial requirements - you must demonstrate that you can provide for the basic needs of any persons you want to sponsor to Canada.

One of the most important conditions to become a sponsor is that you must promise to financially take care of the persons you are sponsoring for a certain period of time. This promise is officially called an undertaking. The undertaking obliges you to take care of the following aspects:

• to provide financial support for your sponsored family members, from the moment when they become permanent residents of Canada;
• if your sponsored family members get any provincial social assistance during that time - you must refund it;

You and your sponsored family members must prepare the sponsorship agreement that will determine the roles and certain responsibilities during the undertaking period. The sponsorship agreement guarantees that you will provide for the basic needs of your sponsored family members and they will make every effort to support themselves and their family members too. At the time when you apply, you will have to complete and sign a form that includes the undertaking and the sponsorship agreement with your family members.

In the majority of cases, when you apply to sponsor your spouse or dependent child, there are no income requirements. You need to meet the income requirements and show that you have enough money only if you are sponsoring a dependent child that has one or more dependent children of their own. Also, income requirements are applicable when you are sponsoring a spouse that has a dependent child, and their dependent child has one or more children of their own. If you want to know how much money you will need you can follow the Financial Evaluation form instructions. You will get the form when you download your application package and get all the explanations on how to fill out that form.

Applicants who want to sponsor their spouse or dependent children  and live in the province of Quebec must meet Quebec’s immigration sponsorship requirements. Also, they must sign an undertaking agreement with the province of Quebec.  Their income will be assessed by the Quebec ministry in charge of immigration.

The program allows you to sponsor your spouse, who can be of either sex, must be legally married to you and be at least 18 years old. Children can qualify as your dependents if they are under 22 years old and do not have a spouse or a common-law partner. Sometimes children who are 22 years old or older can qualify as dependents if they are unable to financially support themselves because of a mental or physical condition and they have depended on their parents for financial support before they reached the age of 22. If these requirements are met, you can sponsor your own child or the child of your spouse. The additional requirement may differ, depending on your individual situation.

It is important that your spouse or dependent child meet the eligibility requirements. They must provide all required forms and documents together with their application and also provide any additional information, that may be requested during processing. This may include medical exams or biometrics. It is worth mentioning, that you are not allowed to sponsor someone who is inadmissible to Canada. 

The application process to sponsor your spouse or child starts with two applications:

1. First, you must apply to become a sponsor;
2. Your spouse or child must also apply for permanent residence in Canada.

Both of these applications must be sent together and at the same time. It is worth mentioning, that if you want to sponsor your adopted child or an orphaned family member, you must follow the instructions on how to sponsor an adopted child that are available online.

Then, four more steps must be taken if you want to sponsor your spouse or child to Canada:

1. You must receive the application package that includes the document checklist for you and the persons you want to sponsor; forms that all of you need to fill out; and instructions to help you fill out all the forms correctly.
2. Pay the application fees that include processing fees for you, the persons you are sponsoring, and their dependents; the right of permanent residence fee, and the biometrics fee.
3. Submit your application according to the mailing instructions in the application guide.
4. Remember, that during the application processing, the person you are sponsoring will be asked to submit their biometrics.

It is worth mentioning, that during the processing of the application, you can track its status, update your address or other information, add or change your representative or get access to your family’s information, withdraw your application, and pay the right of permanent residence fee or request a refund.

The fees you must pay to sponsor your spouse start from 1,050 CAD and the fees you must pay to sponsor your dependent child start from 150 CAD. The processing time of your application to sponsor a spouse is approximately 12 months, and the processing time of your application to sponsor a child varies by country. You can check application processing time online.

Regards,

International Experience Club

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