Guidelines for Spousal Sponsorship and/or sponsorship of a dependent child

In order to be eligible to sponsor your spouse or partner and/or a dependent child, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• You must be 18 years old or older.
• You must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada.
  • If you are a Canadian citizen living outside Canada, you must show that you plan to live in Canada when the persons you want to sponsor become permanent
  • If you are a permanent resident living outside Canada, you cannot sponsor a spouse, partner, and/or dependent child.
• You are not receiving social assistance for reasons other than a disability
• You are able to provide for the basic needs of any persons you wish to sponsor.

• If you live outside Quebec and wish to sponsor your spouse, common-law partner, or dependent child, you must undertake (or promise) that you will do the following:
  • Financially support:
    • your spouse or common-law partner for a period of 3 years,
    • your dependent child under the age of 22 years, for a period of 10 years or until age 25 [whichever is first].
    • your dependent child 22 years or older, for a period of 3 years.
  • Repay any social assistance they may obtain during the respective time.
• As a sponsor, you must also enter into a sponsorship agreement with the family member you re sponsoring, whereby the responsibilities of both of you will be formalized:
  • You agree to provide the basic needs of the family member being sponsored &
  • Your family member agrees that they will make all efforts to support themselves in Canada.

You are also required to meet Quebec’s immigration sponsorship requirements, once you are approved at the federal level, to be a sponsor. You will similarly be asked to sign an undertaking with the province of Quebec.

If you are sponsoring any one of the following groups of people, you don’t have to meet a minimum income requirement:

• your spouse, common-law partner who has no family members,
• your spouse, common-law partner who has dependent children and who have no dependent children of their own, or
• your dependent child who has no children of his or her own.

In all other cases, you need to show that your annual income is at least equal to the minimum necessary income to support you, your family, the family members you are sponsoring, and their family members.

• you are in jail, prison, or a penitentiary
• you did not pay back:
  • an immigration loan
  • a performance bond
  • court-ordered family support payments.
• you did not give the financial support you agreed to when you signed a sponsorship agreement to sponsor someone else in the past
• you have declared bankruptcy and are not discharged.
• you were convicted of attempting, threatening to commit, or committing a violent criminal offense, an offense against a relative, or any sexual offense inside or outside Canada
• you can’t legally stay in Canada and must leave the country because you received a Removal Order

• Spouse	Common-law Partner	Conjugal Partner	Dependent Child
  Can be of either sex			under the age of 22 years
  At least 18 years old			Don’t have a spouse or common-law partner
  Legally married to you	Not legally married to you	Not legally married to you nor in a common-law relationship with you	your dependent child is not ineligible if they have their own dependent child, your grandchild.
  	You have been living together for at least 12 consecutive months, with only short and temporary time apart.	The person must have been in a relationship with you for at least 1 year.
  	You must provide IRCC with proof of a common-law relationship, for example, 😮   Shared bills o   Same address on ID documents o   Joint ownership of property.   If you are not sure what proof you must include with your application, contact the YIC immigration specialists to assist you with your application	You must not be able to live together in the partner’s country of residence or not be able to marry because of serious legal or immigration reasons. You are required to provide IRCC with proof that you cannot live together or get married in the partner’s country of residence.   If you are not sure what proof you must include with your application, contact the YIC immigration specialists to assist you with your application

The application process involves 2 components:

• You apply to become a sponsor for your spouse, partner, and/or dependent child, if you live in Quebec you must get approved as a sponsor from the province of Quebec as well &
• Your spouse, partner, and/or dependent child must apply for permanent residency.

It is critical that the application package you submit to the IRCC is completed, if you don’t submit properly completed forms and all necessary documentation, your application can be refused. If you are unsure about the application process, please reach out to the immigration specialist at YIC, they have experience assisting clients, with successful family sponsorships.