Canadian Immigration Rules: Sponsoring A Family Member

Sponsorship is one of the ways of immigrating to Canada or to any country. Sponsorship means that you undertake the responsibility of those people whom you help in getting the immigration of Canada or those people who immigrate because of your sponsorship. Sponsorship means that the person, who is calling such family or members of a family over to another country, is responsible for taking care of the basic needs of such a person. This includes the basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter. It does not stop there and extends to the needs of medical assistance, which can include the need of dental, eye and other care, which are not borne by the government of Canada.

But it is not an ongoing responsibility. There is a time limit within which the person who is sponsoring is expected to take of such a person.

In case of your spouse coming to Canada, the time span is of three years after he or she becomes the permanent resident of the country.

In case of your child who is dependent upon you and is under twenty-two years of age, the obligation stretches to ten years till he or she becomes the permanent resident of the country or until he or she reaches the age of twenty-five years, whichever happens earlier.

If such a dependent child is over the age of 22 years then the obligation is just of three years till he or she becomes the permanent resident of Canada.

As far as any other person except those mentioned above is concerned, so let it be your father, mother or any other dependent child of your parents, the responsibility stretches to ten years until they become the permanent residents of the country.

Now the important consideration in this case is that who can sponsor. There are certain eligibility criterion and conditions to be fulfilled before filing in an application for sponsorship. So you can sponsor if the person you want to sponsor is of family class. This means there must exist a blood relation. This is not applicable in case of sponsoring a spouse though.

You must be the age of 18 years and above. You should be a citizen of Canada or a permanent resident of Canada. You should also be residing in Canada. You should also sign an undertaking that you promise to take care of those whom you are calling over in the country and to provide them with basic necessities of life mentioned above. And then the sponsor and the person being sponsored must sign in an agreement on mutual understanding that they understand all the terms of the application and undertake to do so.

One can also be excluded from the list of sponsoring some one. This is done when you have defaulted in the payment of any other sponsorship loan. Also when you have defaulting in following any order of the court in supporting your obligation of the family member in the past or there has been a default in some previous undertaking of sponsorship.