How to Sponsor Parents and Grandparents into Canada ?

We will start taking new applications to sponsor parents and grandparents on January 4, 2016 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. There will be a cap on the number we accept. We will not accept applications we receive before this date.

You can now get the 2016 application package on this site.

Overview

Application package

This application package consists of:

• an instruction guide, and
• the required forms.

The instruction guide is a tool that provides:

• the information you must know about this application before sending it to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and
• assistance with how to fill out the forms and the required supporting documents.

Read the instruction guide thoroughly and then fill out each of the applicable forms.

The forms are specifically designed with questions that will assist the processing of your application.

For a Free Family Sponsorship Assessment

Click Here

Before You Apply

Sponsorship of parents and grandparents

The Canadian government allows citizens and permanent residents of Canada to sponsor their parents and grandparents, but it requires that arriving immigrants receive care and support from their sponsors.

Who may use this application?

This application guide is designed for Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada who are 18 years of age or older and wish to sponsor their parents and grandparents.

Whom may I sponsor using this application package?

You can use this application package to sponsor your:

• parents, or
• grandparents.

What does it mean to sponsor parents and grandparents?

When you sponsor persons who are members of the family class, you must sign an undertaking with the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (or with the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion [MIDI] if you live in Quebec).

The undertaking is a promise to provide financial support and basic requirements for the family members you are sponsoring.

Basic requirements are:

• food
• clothing
• utilities
• personal requirements
• shelter
• fuel
• household supplies

This also includes other health care not provided by public health, such as eye and dental care.

The undertaking ensures that these persons and their family members do not have to apply for social assistance. The length of undertaking for sponsorship of parents, grandparents and their accompanying dependents is 20 years.

Your obligations as a sponsor begin as soon as the person you are sponsoring and, if applicable, his or her family members arrive in Canada.

Important information: The undertaking is an unconditional promise of support. For example, the granting of Canadian citizenship, divorce, separation or relationship breakdown or moving to another province does not cancel the undertaking. The undertaking also remains in effect even if your financial situation deteriorates.

Sponsorship eligibility

In order to sponsor, you must…

• be 18 years of age or older;
• be a Canadian citizen, Registered Indian or permanent resident;
• be sponsoring a member of the family Class;
• live in Canada;
• sign an undertaking promising to provide for the basic requirements of the person being sponsored;
• sign an agreement with the person you are sponsoring that confirms that each of you understands your mutual obligations and responsibilities;
• prove that you have sufficient income to provide the basic requirements for your family members in Canada as well as the persons included in your sponsorship undertaking. You may also have a co-signer.
  

  For a Free Family Sponsorship Assessment

  Click Here

You may NOT sponsor if you…

• are in receipt of social assistance for a reason other than disability,
• are in default of an undertaking, an immigration loan, a performance bond, or family support payments,
  For more information. See Defaults below.
• are an undischarged bankrupt,
• were convicted of an offence of a sexual nature, a violent criminal offence, an offence against a relative that results in bodily harm or an attempt or threat to commit any such offences—depending on circumstances such as the nature of the offence, how long ago it occurred and whether a pardon was issued
  For more information. See Sponsorship Bar for Violent Crime
• are under a removal order,
• are detained in a penitentiary, jail, reformatory or prison,

Provincial Authorities Contact information

If the person you sponsor or a member of his family receives financial support under a federal, provincial or municipal assistance program during the validity of the agreement, you will be deemed in default of your obligations.

If you need information about how to repay the money owed, contact the corresponding provincial office listed below. The services offered by these offices are available during local business hours only.

• British Columbia
  Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation
  Sponsorship Default Coordinator
  P.O. Box 9950 STN PROV GOVT
  Victoria, BC V8W 9R3
  1 (866) 866-0800
• Quebec
  Centre de service du recouvrement
  1415 Jarry St. Est, Suite 400
  Montréal, QC H2E 3B4
  Telephone: 1 (514) 873-4362
  Fax: 1 (514) 352-2395
• Alberta
  Alberta Human Services
  Income Support Contact Centre
  Telephone: 1 (866) 644-5135
  Edmonton: 1 (780) 644-5135
• Newfoundland and Labrador
  Department of Social Services
  P.O. Box 8700
  St. John’s, NL A1B 4J6
  Telephone: 1 (709) 729-0583
• Saskatchewan
  Department of Community Resources and
  Employment
  Saskatchewan Social Services
  1920 Broad Street, 11th Floor
  Regina, SK S4P 3V6
  Telephone: 1 (306) 787-1388
• New Brunswick
  Department of Social Development
  P.O. Box 6000
  Fredericton, NB E3B 5H1
  Telephone: 1 (506) 453-2001
• Manitoba
  Family Services
  203 South Railway Street East
  Killarney, MB R0K 1G0
  Telephone: 1 (877) 812-0014
• Nova Scotia
  Department of Community Services
  P.O. Box 696
  Halifax, NS B3J 2T7
  Telephone: 1 (902) 424-4262
• Ontario
  Ministry of Community and Social Services
  Overpayment Recovery Unit
  Box 333
  Toronto, ON M7A 1N3
  Toll free: 1 (888) 346-5184
  Fax: 1 (416) 212-7707
• Prince Edward Island
  Department of Social Services and Seniors
  11 Kent Street, 2nd floor
  P.O. Box 2000
  Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8
  Telephone: 1 (902) 368-6369
  Fax: 1 (902) 894-0242

Sponsors living in Quebec

The government of Quebec is responsible for determining whether or not sponsors living in the province have the financial ability to sponsor family members and also the length of their undertaking.

If the federal eligibility requirements are met, the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga (CPC-M) will send the sponsor a letter with instructions to download the MIDI undertaking kit, then to complete and submit it to the MIDI with a copy of the letter from CPC-M.

For more information on Quebec’s requirements, you may call MIDI’s general information line at 514-864-9191 or 1-877-864-9191 or consult their website.

Minimum Necessary Income requirement for sponsors of parents or grandparents

If you are sponsoring a parent or a grandparent, you must submit a Notice of Assessment issued to you by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for each of the three years immediately preceding the date of your application. If you do not have paper copies of your Notices of Assessment on file, you can view (and print) your tax returns as well as other personal tax information using the CRA’s My Account online service. To register or login, visit My Account.

The minimum necessary income requirement, which you must meet for each of the three years is equal to the Low Income Cut-off s (LICOs) plus 30% ,taking into account the number of family members for whom you are or will be financially responsible.

If you reside anywhere in Canada, other than Quebec, you may use the Federal Income Table below to estimate if your income is sufficient to meet income requirements to sponsor. If you have eligible co-signer (spouse or common-law partner) on the sponsorship undertaking, their income will be added to yours as a sponsor.

If you reside in the province of Quebec, you will not be required to submit an undertaking of assistance for the family members you are sponsoring at this time. You will be contacted by CIC when your sponsorship application is assessed. At that time, if you meet federal sponsorship requirements, you will be notified that you must submit an undertaking of assistance to the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI) of Quebec so that your income can be assessed.

For a Free Family Sponsorship Assessment

Click Here

Federal Income Table for sponsors of parents and grandparents

The following table applies to residents of all provinces except Quebec. For each of the three consecutive taxation years preceding the date on which the application is submitted to CIC, the sponsor (and co-signer, if applicable) must meet the Minimum Necessary Income, which is based on the Low Income Cut-offs plus 30%.

The Minimum Necessary Income requirement, which you must meet for each of the three years preceding the date of your application, is equal to the Low Income Cut-Offs (LICO) plus 30%.