Moving abroad and leaving your loved ones on opposite coast is not easy. One of the objectives of Government of Canada is to see that families are reunited. Certain family members may qualify to settle in Canada long-term and become permanent residents under family class category. After becoming permanent residents, they can live, study and work in Canada, thus you no longer need to apply for visitor visa and provide letter of invitation.
Like other immigration categories, family class sponsorship has certain requirements, such as minimum necessary income which should be met by sponsor. If you are wondering how to sponsor someone to Canada, you should start from reviewing family sponsorship applications, eligibility and requirements.
You may be eligible to sponsor a child, spouse or a common-law partner living outside or inside Canada if you are 18 years of age or older, and you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
When you are sponsoring a family member, whether it is your dependent child or spouse/common-law partner, you promise to support them financially. Therefore, you must work in Canada and meet certain income requirements. Sponsoring a family member to Canada is a big commitment, as you must sign an undertaking agreement. Kindly note, that family sponsorship in Canada is not eligible for a tax receipt. Below you’ll find more information on how to sponsor a relative to Canada, what are family sponsorship income requirements, how you should be sponsoring a child born outside of Canada, as well as surrogacy and immigration considerations.
Currently there is no direct sponsorship program for friend of Canadian citizen or permanent resident. However, friends of permanent residents or Canadian citizens may apply for visitor visa, if they are from non-visa-exempt country. Visa office will ask to submit a letter of invitation from friend living in Canada. The applicant must then send this letter to the Canadian embassy or consulate outside of Canada when he or she applies for a temporary resident visa. A letter of invitation does not guarantee that officer will issue a visitor visa, as there is several criteria used to assess the applicant. Countries whose citizens require a visitor visa to enter Canada can be found on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s website.
In certain circumstances you may qualify to sponsor your relative under “last remaining relative” exception program. This program allows a permanent resident or citizen of Canada to sponsor any relative (related by blood or adoption) regardless of age, if sponsor doesn’t have any of the below-mentioned relatives in Canada, who are either permanent residents or citizens: spouse/common-law partner, child, parent(s)/grandparent(s), sibling, niece/nephew, aunt/uncle. In addition, sponsor should not have any members of family class (who could be sponsored) outside of Canada. If you sponsor a relative to come to Canada as a permanent resident, you must support your relative financially.
Through the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program, you may be able to help sponsor refugees from abroad who qualify to come to Canada. Your role as a sponsor will be to support the refugees for the length of the sponsorship. This includes help for housing, clothing and food, as well as social and emotional support. There are also many organizations that signed sponsorship agreements with the Government of Canada to help support refugees from abroad when they resettle in Canada. These organizations are called Sponsorship Agreement Holders. They can sponsor refugees themselves or work with others in the community to sponsor refugees. Note, that Quebec has its own process to sponsor refugees.
