Family Sponsorship

Your relatives can live, study and work in Canada if they become permanent residents of Canada. You can sponsor certain relatives to come to Canada if you're at least 18 years old and a:

•  Canadian citizen or
•  Person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act or
•  Permanent resident of Canada

If you are a Canadian permanent resident or citizen with a family member who wants to immigrate to Canada, you may be able to help them become a permanent resident. Family reunification remains one of the pillars of the Canadian immigration system.

The Family Class Sponsorship Program reunites families by enabling adult permanent residents or citizens to sponsor a relative for immigration to Canada. To be eligible, the person seeking sponsorship must be a:

•  Spouse, common-law or conjugal partner
•  Dependent child
•  Parent
•  Grandparent
•  Sibling, nephew, niece, or grandchild under 18 years who is unmarried and whose parents are deceased

The person sponsored must live outside Canada, unless they are residing legally in Canada temporarily, for example with a work or study permit.