Does the person getting sponsored fall under the Family Class?
The Canadian government believes in reuniting family members and keeping them together whenever possible. To help accomplish this goal the Canadian government lets citizens and permanent residents of Canada to sponsor their family members to Canada under the Family Class. To be an eligible sponsor he/she has to provide care and support to the person getting sponsored to Canada and meet other requirements to qualify under the sponsorship category. So if you are a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner; dependent child; parent or grandparent of the sponsor you fall under the family class.
Do you fall under Conditional Permanent Residence?
If you have been in relationship with your spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner for two years or less and have no children together during the period of the sponsorship application you are subjected to conditional permanent residence. This means that the sponsored person has to live together in conjugal relationship with their sponsor for a two year term after the day they became permanent residents. This condition only applies to applicants whose applications were received on October 25, 2012 or after the new rule came into effect. The condition does not apply if you have been married with your sponsor, in a conjugal or common law relationship for more than two years or have children together.
Can you fulfill your obligations as the sponsor?
When you decide to sponsor a loved one to Canada, you are required to sign a contract called undertaking. When you sign the undertaking as the sponsor you promise to provide financial support to the person getting sponsored and his/her dependent children. This means you have to cover the basic requirements for those individuals you are sponsoring such as providing them food, clothing, utilities, personal requirements, shelter, fuel, household supplies and health care that is not provided by the public health such as eye and dental care. The purpose of signing the undertaking is to make sure that the persons getting sponsored does not apply for social assistance once they come to Canada. Once you sign the undertaking your responsibilities begin as soon as the persons and the families’ members arrive in Canada. If you end up getting divorced, separated, decide to move to another province or your financial situations breaks down you are still responsible for them as the sponsor. Therefore, you have to carefully consider when sponsoring a loved one to Canada as this could possibly affect you when things don’t work out for you.
Do you fall under the definition of sponsorship?
To apply for the sponsorship application from outside of Canada you need to meet certain requirements as the sponsor and the applicant. You have to be either married, be in a common-law or conjugal relationship or be the dependent child. Below it will discuss some key points for each sponsorship category.
If you are married
You are eligible to sponsor your spouse to Canada if your marriage is legally recognized in the place you got married and under the Canadian law. If your spouse is of the opposite sex and your marriage took place outside of Canada, the marriage has to be recognized under the law of the country you got married in and under the Canadian law.
If you are in a common-law relationship
You are eligible to sponsor your common-law partner either of the same or opposite sex and must have lived together in a conjugal relationship for at least one year.
If you are in conjugal relationship
You are eligible to sponsor your conjugal partner to Canada if you can prove you are in genuine relationship with your partner for a minimum of one year and are unable live together due to immigration barriers such as sexual orientation, divorce not permitted, religious reason etc.
If you are dependent child
You are considered a dependent child if you are under the age of 19 and are single meaning you are not married or in common-law relationship. You are also considered a dependent child if you are 19 years of age or older and have been depending financially on your parents for support due to a physical or mental condition.
Do you meet the Sponsorship Eligibility Criteria?
You can Sponsor if you
- are 18 years of age or older
- are citizen or permanent resident of Canada
- fall under the Family Class
- can provide proof that you will live in Canada once the sponsored individual becomes a permanent resident of Canada
- sign an agreement between the sponsor and the applicant showing that both of you understand your obligations and responsibilities
- signing a undertaking (see above that explains undertaking responsibilities)
- provide proof that you have enough money to provide for the basic requirements of the sponsored person
You Cannot Sponsor if you
- signed an undertaking for another spouse or common- law partner and three years have not passed since the sponsored person became a permanent resident
- getting financial support from the government other than disability
- owe an immigration loan, in debt, not met previous undertaking, claimed bankruptcy
- have sexual or criminal offence, threating to hurt someone (depends on nature of offence and when it occurred)
- were sponsored previously and become permanent resident less than five years ago
- are on removal order
- in prison
- have applied to sponsor another person but decision on the application has not yet been made
How long am I responsible for the person I am sponsoring to Canada?
Your responsibilities as the sponsor starts once your family members reach in Canada and they remain as permanent residents. The length of the undertaking for the spouse, common-law or conjugal partner is three years after the sponsored person becomes permanent resident of Canada. If your dependent child or your partners dependent child is 19 years of age or older you are responsible for them for a period of three years since they obtained their permanent residency. If your dependent child or your partners dependent child is under the age of 19 you are responsible for them for period of 10 years or until they turn 22 years of age or whichever one comes first since the day they became permanent residents of Canada.
Can I Cancel my Sponsorship?
If you decide you no longer want to sponsor your loved one to Canada you can withdraw your application by informing CPC-M. This can only be done if the sponsored person has not received their permanent resident visa. If they got their permanent resident visa you and the co-signer (if applicable) are responsible for them until your undertaking term is completed.
Reasons your Sponsorship Application can get Refused
- you could not prove genuineness in the relationship between you and the person getting sponsored
- you only got into relationship to obtain permanent residency in Canada therefore the intention was not genuine
- you did not meet financial requirements
- the applicants failed to provide documents requested by CIC such proof of medical examination or police clearance
- the sponsored person does not fall under the family class
- the sponsored person has an inadmissibility to Canada such as a criminal record or serious illness
Contact Akrami and Associates
Sponsoring a family member to Canada is not an easy process, this article only discussed requirements the sponsor has to meet to be eligible but there are many other factors involved to file a successful sponsorship application. Therefore, it is recommended to hire a law firm that has experience dealing with sponsorship application. Contact our experienced team of Canadian immigration lawyers and consultants today at 416-477-2545 to get your application started.
With Akrami and Associates there is always a way
