Sponsor Your Family to Immigrate to Canada

Overview of Family Sponsorship

Family reunification is a core pillar of Canada’s immigration system. Alongside economic and humanitarian goals, Canada uses sponsorship so citizens and permanent residents can bring close relatives to live in Canada as permanent residents.

What is family sponsorship?

Sponsorship has two sides: it allows an eligible family member to immigrate and obtain permanent residence (PR), and it requires you—the sponsor—to commit financially to their basic needs for a set period.

You sign a sponsorship agreement and an undertaking. If the sponsored person receives certain types of government social assistance, you may be required to repay those amounts. The undertaking generally cannot be cancelled after the person becomes a PR, even if your situation changes.

Can I be a sponsor?

To sponsor a family member you typically must:

• Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada
• Be at least 18 years old
• Show you can support the sponsored person for the length of the undertaking (and meet income rules where they apply)

You may be ineligible if you are in prison, in default on child support or an immigration loan, undischarged from bankruptcy (in some cases), or have failed to meet a past sponsorship undertaking, among other grounds.

Who can I sponsor?

The main family sponsorship categories cover spouses and common-law or conjugal partners, dependent children, and parents and grandparents (through the Parents and Grandparents Program when it is open, plus other options).

In limited circumstances you may sponsor a non-immediate relative (for example a sibling, niece, or uncle) if you have no other eligible immediate family to sponsor, or if you have legally adopted them and they qualify as a dependent child.

Income requirements and the undertaking

You promise to provide food, clothing, shelter, and health needs not covered by public health care. Quebec has its own rules, income tests, and longer integration obligations; sponsors in Quebec may need to complete additional provincial agreements and, for certain sponsored persons, a welcome and integration plan.

Minimum income (often assessed against levels such as Minimum Necessary Income, MNI, or LICO-type thresholds) is required in situations such as sponsoring parents or grandparents, or when sponsoring a spouse or partner whose dependent child has their own children, or a dependent child who has dependent children.

Length of undertaking (rest of Canada, typical examples)

• Spouse, common-law or conjugal partner: 3 years
• Dependent child under 22: 10 years or until age 25, whichever comes first
• Dependent child 22 or older (where eligible): 3 years
• Parent or grandparent: 20 years
• Certain other relatives: 10 years

Quebec uses different undertaking lengths and conditions for children and other categories. Always confirm current provincial and federal guides before applying.

How to apply for family sponsorship

1. Confirm you meet sponsor eligibility.
2. Confirm your relative meets eligibility for the program you are using.
3. Prepare and submit the sponsorship application together with the family member’s permanent residence application to IRCC (and to Quebec’s immigration ministry, MIFI, if you live in or will reside in Quebec).
4. Pay government fees (sponsorship, processing, right of permanent residence fee where applicable, biometrics).
5. Mail or submit online as directed in the current instruction guide for your stream.

Common questions