Canadian citizens or permanent residents can sponsor certain foreign family members for permanent residence in Canada through the Family Class Sponsorship category. This includes a spouse, partner, parent, or child. Applications to sponsor a family member are generally processed through Canadian visa offices abroad where the foreign family member is living in another country, or they may be processed through an immigration office in Canada where the foreign family member is inside the country.
Spousal Sponsorship
Spousal sponsorship is a two-step application in which the Canadian first applies to the government to be approved as a sponsor, then once that application is approved, the foreign spouse or partner applies for permanent residence on this basis.
Common-Law Partner Sponsorship
A common-law relationship means an opposite or same-sex couple that has cohabited together in a conjugal or marriage-like relationship for a period of at least one year excluding any brief breaks of cohabitation due to work and family obligations.
Conjugal Partner Sponsorship
A conjugal partner relationship exists where two people are in a marriage-like relationship but are not married and have not lived together for a period of at least one year due to extenuating circumstances.
Sponsor Children to Canada
Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor their foreign-born dependent child or children to immigrate to Canada. A dependent child means a child under the age of 22 who is unmarried and not in a common-law relationship. The child may be your biological or adopted child.
Sponsor Parents to Canada
Sponsored parents and grandparents will obtain permanent resident status, allowing them to live in Canada indefinitely, to work or study and access to social services such as medical care. A parental sponsorship application is a two-step process whereby the Canadian applies to be approved as a sponsor.
Undeclared Family Sponsorship
Family members include your spouse or common-law partner, any dependent children, and any dependent children of your dependent children (grandchildren). If you fail to provide information on or don’t disclose a family member on your application, they are considered ‘undeclared’.