Family Sponsorship

 If you're a Canadian citizen, Registered Indian or a permanent resident of Canada who is 18 years of age or older then you may sponsor :

• your spouse or common-law partner who lives with you in Canada, and their dependent children
• your spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner who lives overseas, and their dependent children
• your dependent children

When you agree to be a sponsor, you must sign an undertaking, promising to give financial support for the basic needs of your spouse or partner and their dependent children. Basic needs are :

• food, clothing, shelter and other needs for everyday living,
• dental care, eye care and other health needs that aren't covered by public health services.

By signing the undertaking agreement, you must make sure the people you sponsor won't need to ask the government for financial help. If they receive social assistance, you'll have to pay back what they received during the time of your undertaking. You won't be able to sponsor anyone else until you've repaid the amount.

The undertaking is a promise of support meaning that it will stay in effect for the length of the undertaking period even if your situation changes. The undertaking won't be cancelled, even if:

• the person you sponsor becomes a Canadian citizen
• you become divorced, separated or your relationship with the sponsored person breaks down
• you or the person you sponsor move to another province or country
• you have financial problems

Only a spouse/common law partner can be a co-signer for sponsorship. Others like friends, family members, relatives including parents, grand-parents, children, grand- children are NOT eligible to be a co-signor.

Five-year sponsorship bar for people who were sponsored to come to Canada as a spouse or partner :

• If a spouse or partner sponsored you, you can't sponsor a new spouse or partner within five years of becoming a permanent resident.
• This rule applies even if you got your Canadian citizenship in those 5 years.

will be recognized for immigration purposes, where the marriage:

1. was legally performed in Canada, or
2. if performed outside of Canada, the marriage must be legally recognized in the country where it took place and in Canada.

Note: IRCC no longer recognizes marriages performed outside of Canada by proxy, telephone, fax, Internet and other forms of marriage where one or both persons were not physically present at the ceremony.

You can sponsor the person as your common-law partner (same or opposite sex) as long as you've been living or have lived with your partner for at least 12 consecutive months in a marriage-like relationship.

 A conjugal partner is :

- a person who is living outside Canada,

- in a conjugal relationship with the sponsor for at least one year, and

- could not live with the sponsor as a couple because of reasons beyond their control (e.g. immigration barrier, religious reasons or sexual orientation).

This term applies to both opposite and same-sex couples.

IMPORTANT: If you're applying in the conjugal partner class, the person being sponsored cannot be living in Canada.