Now is the perfect time to start considering family class sponsorships. According to the government’s revised 2021-2023 Immigration Levels Plan, Canada intends to welcome around 80,000 relatives this year Furthermore, the number of spousal sponsorship applications authorised by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) doubled in the year 2020. These promising figures indicate that you and your spouse, partner, child, or other loved one may be reunited sooner than you think.
Below, we’ve answered the most frequently asked questions concerning family class sponsorship, as well as shed some light on the requirements and process.
What is family class sponsorship?
Permanent residents and citizens of Canada can apply for sponsorship programmes to bring their loved ones to the nation. Family sponsorship programmes, which are one of the most popular types of Canadian immigration, make it simple for citizens and permanent residents to bring their spouses and immediate family members to Canada with shortened processing times because Canada understands that family should never be put on hold.
What Are the Requirements for Sponsorship?
You can sponsor your spouse, partner, or dependent child in Canada if you meet the following four requirements:
- You must be at least eighteen years old.
- Canadian citizen or
- You are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada who is registered as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act.
- You can help the individual you’d like to support with their basic needs
Who Can I Sponsor?
Spouse, Common-law, or Conjugal Partner
Whether your husband, common-law partner or conjugal partner is in Canada on a valid temporary visa or living overseas, you may be able to sponsor them for permanent residency in Canada. Applicants who are currently residing in Canada may be eligible for an open work visa, allowing couples to reduce some of their financial obligations.
Sponsored individuals can work in Canada while their sponsorship application is being handled with a spousal open work permit. Because Canada accepts common-law partnerships, if you and your partner are not married but have lived together for at least one year, you may be eligible for spousal sponsorship.
Parent or Grandparent
Through the parent and grandparent sponsorship programme, the government of Canada is committed to reuniting Canadian citizens and permanent residents with their parents and grandparents. Citizens and permanent residents will be required to show that they can financially support their family by meeting the Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) for the size of their family unit to sponsor a parent or grandparent. They must also promise to support their sponsored family members financially if necessary. Sponsors who are unable to provide long-term, multiple-entry support for their parent or grandparent may be eligible for a Super Visa, which is a long-term, multiple-entry visa for parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
Your Dependent Children
If the sponsor’s child, or the sponsor’s spouse or common-law partner’s child, is under the age of 22 and does not have a spouse or common-law partner of their own, they can be deemed a dependent child. Children beyond the age of 22 can be considered dependents if they were financially reliant on their parents before the age of 22 and are unable to sustain themselves owing to a mental or physical ailment.
Children in the sole custody of a prior marriage remain dependent children and must be disclosed on the sponsorship application. If a dependent kid being sponsored has one or more children of their own, the sponsor must demonstrate financial capability by meeting a low-income cut-off.
There are exceptions to this rule, and it may be permitted to sponsor a non-immediate family member (such as a sister, niece, or uncle) if the following conditions are met:
- You have no other direct family members to sponsor,
- or they have been lawfully adopted and fit the requirements of a dependent child.
How to Apply for Family Sponsorship
- Step 1: Make sure you meet the requirements to be a sponsor.
- Step 2: Make sure that the relatives you want to sponsor meet the eligibility criteria
- Step 3: You must apply to the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on the federal level and, if you are a Quebec resident, to the Ministry of Immigration, Francization, and Integration (MIFI) on the provincial level. You must submit your sponsorship application along with the applications for permanent residence (PR) status of your family members or relatives all at the same time. Your PR application will be reviewed once you have been determined to be eligible to sponsor.
- Step 4: You’ll have to pay the application fee for family sponsorship.
- Step 5: Make sure your application is sent to the correct address.
Although the government gives sponsorship applications top priority, acceptance is far from guaranteed. Every condition must be completed, and even the tiniest mistake on an application might result in a rejection. Individuals should seek the assistance of Canadian immigration consultants in Kerala to make sure their application gets approved without any complications.