Family Sponsorship
Family sponsorship
Under Canadian family sponsorship programs, sponsored persons can live, study and work in Canada if they become permanent residents of Canada. You can sponsor your loved ones to come to Canada if you’re at least 18 years old and a:
- Canadian citizen or
- person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act or
- permanent resident of Canada
spouse & common-law
The Canadian government allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents who are in a relationship with a foreign national to sponsor that person to join them and become a permanent resident of Canada. You can sponsor your spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner. You have two main options to choose from when sponsoring: Outland and Inland sponsorship.
Who can you sponsor?
Your spouse
Your spouse can be either sex and must be:
- legally married to you
- at least 18 years old
Your common-law partner
Your common-law partner:
- isn’t legally married to you
- can be either sex
- is at least 18 years old
- has been living with you for at least 12 consecutive months, meaning you’ve been living together continuously for 1 year in a conjugal relationship, without any long periods apart
- Any time spent away from each other should have been
- short
- temporary
- Any time spent away from each other should have been
If you or your common-law partner choose to end the relationship, we consider the relationship to be over.
You’ll need to give proof of your common-law relationship.
Your conjugal partner
Your conjugal partner:
- isn’t legally married to you or in a common-law relationship with you
- can be either sex
- is at least 18 years old
- has been in a relationship with you for at least 1 year
- lives outside Canada
- can’t live with you in their country of residence or marry you because of significant legal and immigration reasons such as
- their marital status (for example, they’re still married to someone else in a country where divorce isn’t possible)
- their sexual orientation (for example, you are in a same-sex relationship, and same-sex relationships are not accepted, or same-sex marriage is illegal where they live),
- persecution (for example, your relationship is between different religious groups which is not accepted and they may be punished legally or socially)
You’ll need to give proof that you could not live together or get married in your conjugal partner’s country (for example, proof of refused long-term stays in each other’s country).
Dependent children
Children qualify as dependants if they meet both of these requirements:
- they’re under 22 years old
- they don’t have a spouse or common law partner
Children 22 years old or older qualify as dependants if they meet both of these requirements:
- they are unable to financially support themselves because of a mental or physical condition
- they have depended on their parents for financial support since before the age of 22
With the exception of age, your dependent child must continue to meet these requirements until we finish processing your application.
parents & grandparents
Canadian citizens and permanent residents are able to sponsor their parents and grandparents to immigrate to Canada. Parents and grandparents approved under this program receive Canadian permanent residence.
Eligibility
- Have completed an Interest to Sponsor form on IRCC’s website;
- Be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada, or a registered Indian under the Canadian Indian Act;
- Be 18 years of age or older;
- Be residing in Canada (potential applicants will need to provide a proof of status during the Interest to Sponsor phase);
- Exceed the minimum necessary income level for this program (if married or in a common-law relationship, the income of both the sponsor and spouse can be included) and provide proof of income to IRCC; and
- Sign an undertaking
- to financially support the sponsored for 20 years (starting when they become permanent residents); and
- to repay any social assistance benefits paid to the sponsored family members (if applicable) for a period of 20 years.
- If the sponsor resides in Quebec, an additional “undertaking” must be signed with the province of Quebec.
Applicants to the PGP will have to prove that they meet the minimum income requirements by submitting notices of assessment issued by the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) in support of their application.
Income requirement for PGP in 2023
Family Size Including Sponsors | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| 2 people | $43,082 | $32,898 | $32,270 |
| 3 people | $52,965 | $40,444 | $39,672 |
| 4 people | $64,306 | $49,106 | $48,167 |
| 5 people | $72,935 | $55,694 | $54,630 |
| 6 people | $82,259 | $62,814 | $61,613 |
| 7 people | $91,582 | $69,934 | $68,598 |
| If more than 7 people, for each additional person, add: | $9,324 | $7,120 | $6,985 |
Step 1: Ensure you have meet the eligibility criteria.
Step 2: Have completed an Interest to Sponsor form on IRCC’s website between October 13, 2020 (12:00 PM EDT) and November 3, 2020 (12:00 PM EST).
Step 3: Update the information you entered in the interest to sponsor forms you submitted in 2020.
Step 4: IRCC will hold a lottery over the course of two weeks beginning Oct 10, 2023 to invite up to 15,000 sponsors. Sponsors are given a period of time to submit completed sponsorship applications to IRCC.
*Income requires 3 tax years right before the day you apply.
Open Work Permit & Visitor visa
You can apply for an open work permit or a visitor visa if you’re one of the following:
- a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner living in Canada who’s being sponsored for permanent residence
- an accompanying dependent child of the principal applicant
Super visa for parents and grandparents
Visit your children or grandchildren
To be eligible for a super visa as a visitor, you must:
- be the parent or grandparent of a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada
- have a signed letter from your child or grandchild who invites you to Canada that includes:
- a promise of financial support for the length of your visit
- the list and number of people in the household of this person
- a copy of this person’s Canadian citizenship or permanent resident document
- have medical insurance from a Canadian insurance company that is:
- valid for at least 1 year from the date of entry
- at least $100,000 coverage
- have proof that the medical insurance has been paid (quotes aren’t accepted)
Financial support (proof of funds)
The child or grandchild who invites you must prove that their household meets the minimum necessary income. The following documents are examples of what can be used as proof of funds:
- Notice of Assessment (NOA) or T4/T1 for the most recent tax year
- Employment Insurance stubs
- employment letter including salary and date of hiring
- pay stubs
- bank statements
Family sponsorship for adopted child
Adoptions are the responsibility of the provinces and territories in Canada. You should contact your provincial or territorial adoption authority for information on eligibility to adopt and the accompanying requirements that must be met, but first you should read all of the information in this section to know what to expect.
Once the adoption process is in progress and you have received a Letter of No Objection from the province or territory, you can apply to sponsor your child. After that, you can apply for a permanent resident visa for your child to come to Canada.
You may apply for citizenship for the child after he or she has arrived in Canada and has permanent resident status. However, the adoption must be finalized before citizenship can be granted.
When you apply to sponsor a child for adoption, remember that you are committing yourself to provide the necessary care and support for that child. You are bound to this agreement for 10 years or until the child reaches the age of 25—whichever comes first.
Family sponsorship for relatives
You can sponsor an orphaned brother, sister, nephew, niece or grandchild only if they meet all of these conditions:
- they’re related to you by blood or adoption
- both their mother and father passed away
- they’re under 18 years of age
- they’re single (not married or in a common-law or conjugal relationship)