Family Sponsorship

The family sponsorship program helps reunite families by allowing Canadian citizens or permanent residents who are the parents of a child abroad to apply to sponsor their child, or other dependent, for Canadian permanent residence.

To be eligible for sponsorship, children must meet the definition of a dependent child. Whether they are the biological or adopted child of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, a child is considered to be a dependent if they are not married or in a common-law relationship and are under the age of 22. A child over the age of 22 will be considered a dependent if they suffer from a physical or mental condition that prevents them from being able to support themselves.

Requirements

As with all family sponsorship streams, both the sponsor and the sponsored person must meet eligibility requirements in order for the child to be granted permanent residence. Parents wishing to sponsor their child must:

• Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Canada
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Not be in prison, charged with a serious offense, or bankrupt

The unique Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship program, as well as the Super Visa program, allow Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor parents and grandparents who wish to be reunited with their children and grandchildren.

Canada’s Family Class immigration category allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their parent(s) or grandparent(s) through the Parent and Grandparent Program, or PGP.

Sponsored parents and grandparents become permanent residents of Canada, with all the benefits that come with it. This includes the right to live and work in Canada without restriction on location, time, or sector, as well as access to publicly-funded health care and other services. Ultimately, sponsored parents and grandparents may become Canadian citizens.

Eligibility

Sponsors must:

• be either a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada;
• meet certain income requirements;
• and support the sponsored person(s) and their dependants financially.

Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship in 2019

In the years 2017 and 2018, the Parent and Grandparent Program (PGP) introduced a lottery system for selection, so candidates were randomly selected. As of 2019, PGP has returned to a first-come, first-served system. For the 2019 PGP intake, Canadian citizens and permanent residents had to first submit an Interest to Sponsor form on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website. From this pool of interested sponsors, IRCC will process 20,000 complete applications, inviting applications from candidates based on the order in which their Interest to Sponsor forms are received. If they receive an invitation to apply, they will have 90 days to submit a complete application.