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Who can I sponsor to come to Canada? |
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I frequently receive phone calls and emails from people asking “Who can
I sponsor to bring to Canada?”. As simple as the question may seem, it
is really not that simple of an answer.
 One of the most important foundations of the Immigration & Refugee Protection Act is the purpose of reuniting families. However, this does not mean that all members of a family may be reunited under the Act.
Section 12 of the Act states the following:
12(1) A foreign national my be selected as a member of the family class on the basis of their relationship as the spouse, common-law partner, child, parent or other prescribed family member of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
So who exactly fits into this classification?
Spouses seem easy enough to define. However, it is not just a married spouse that may be sponsored. A Canadian citizen or permanent resident may also sponsor their common-law spouse or conjugal partner. Common-law spouse is defined as a person with whom the Sponsor has resided, in an exclusive and intimate relationship, for a period of at least one full year. Conjugal Partner replaces the old fiance classification, however to qualify as a conjugal partner, the person must have been in an exclusive dating relationship with the Sponsor for a period of at least one year.
Dependent Children also seems easy enough to define however looks can be deceiving. A dependent child basically defined is a child under the age of 22 who does not have a spouse or common-law partner; is a full time student and is substantially dependent on a parent for financial support since before the age of 22, or since becoming a spouse of common-law partner (if this happened before the age of 22); or is financially dependent on a parent since before the age of 22 because of a disability.
You may also sponsor children under the age of 18, whom you intend to adopt. The immigration process for adopted children will be discussed in a future article. If you plan on sponsoring your spouse, common-law spouse or conjugal partner and they have dependent children, the children will be included in their application.
If there are children in your family who are orphans, you may be able to sponsor them as well. Brother, sisters, nieces, nephews or grandchildren who are orphans, under the age of 18 and not married or in a common-law relationship are al considered members of the family class.
Parents and grandparents may also be sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, however sponsorship applications for parents and grandparents are not considered a priority and may take a number of years to be processed.
I am frequently asked if a person may their brother, sister, aunt, uncle or cousin. In keeping with the purpose of the Act pertaining to family reunification, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident may sponsor one relative of any age if they do not have an aunt, uncle or family member from the list above who they could sponsor or who is already a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
So, now that you know who can be sponsored, many people need to now how to sponsor someone. That will be discussed in the next article.
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