Resident Visas - Family Sponsorship Class
Email this pageA key objective of the Immigration legislation is to facilitate the reunion in Canada of Canadian citizens and permanent residents with their close relatives from abroad. Family class immigrants are those immediate family members sponsored by Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
Who is eligible?
- The following persons can be sponsored by their sponsor:
- A spouse or common law spouse;
- A dependent son or dependent daughter;
- A sponsor's father or mother;
- A sponsor's grandfather or grandmother;
- A sponsor's brother, sister, nephew, niece, grandson or granddaughter, who is an orphan and is under 18 years of age and unmarried;
- Any child under 18 years of age whom the sponsor intends to adopt and who is:
- An orphan,
- An abandoned child whose parents cannot be identified,
- A child born outside of marriage who has been placed with a child welfare authority for adoption, or
- A child one of whose parents is deceased and who has been placed with a child welfare authority for adoption, or
- One relative of any age or relationship to the sponsor, where the sponsor does not have a spouse, child, parent, grandparent, sibling, aunt or uncle, nephew or niece who is a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or whose application may be sponsored.
Basic Procedure
A Family Class sponsorship application is initiated by the Canadian citizen or permanent resident. The sponsor must be at least 18 years of age and must be eligible to sponsor his/her relatives. The sponsor must promise to support the sponsored family member and any accompanying family members for a period of three to ten years.
Application Assessment Process
The sponsor will be notified of the approval of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) at which point the immigration application of the sponsored relative is considered by a Canadian Visa Post abroad.
