How can I sponsor my parents and grandparents?
You may be eligible to sponsor your parents and grandparents to immigrate to Canada, if you as a sponsor, and your parents/grandparents meet specific requirements. Your relatives must submit to medical, criminal, and background checks. Applicants who have criminal records may not be permitted to enter Canada, and those who might present a risk to Canadian security may also be prohibited from coming to Canada. Applicants may also be required to submit certificates from law enforcement authorities in their own countries.
If you are at least 18 years old and a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, then you may be able to sponsor a parent or grandparent. The same conditions that applied to sponsoring a spouse, partner, or dependent child apply to sponsoring parents and grandparents.
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- failed to provide the financial support you agreed to when you signed a sponsorship agreement to sponsor another relative in the past
- defaulted on a court-ordered support order, such as alimony or child support
- received government financial assistance for reasons other than a disability
- were convicted of a violent criminal offence, any offence against a relative or any sexual offence—depending on circumstances, such as the nature of the offence, how long ago it occurred and whether a record suspension (formerly called “pardons” in Canada), was issued
- defaulted on an immigration loan—late or missed payments
- are in prison or
- have declared bankruptcy and have not been released from it yet.
Other considerations (not on this list) may also contribute to your ineligibility to sponsor a relative.
To sponsor a parent or grandparent for Canadian Permanent Residence you must pledge to financially support the individual and their dependents, and this means you have to satisfy certain income guidelines. Also, if in the past you sponsored relatives who needed financial help from the Canadian government, you may be barred from sponsoring anyone else. Sponsorship is a huge commitment and should be taken seriously. In order to qualify as a sponsor:
- You and your sponsored relative will have to sign a sponsorship agreement in which you agree to provide your relative to any financial support necessary, and your sponsored relative promises to do their utmost to support themselves. Dependent children who are under the age of 22 do not need to sign this agreement, and Quebec residents need to sign a contract with the province of Quebec that makes their sponsorship legally binding.
- You will be obliged to financially support the relative you are sponsoring and any other eligible relatives who accompany them for three to ten years, depending on their age and how closely related they are to you. This compulsory period of financial support begins the day they become permanent residents.
- You must promise to provide financial support for the relative and any other eligible relatives accompanying them for a period of three to ten years, depending on their age and relationship to you. This time period begins on the date they become a permanent resident.
- In order to sponsor a parent or grandparent you must be living in Canada.
If you are a resident of Quebec you will also need to satisfy Quebec’s immigration sponsorship requirements after you receive approval of your sponsorship from Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
