Canada Family Visas

A Canadian citizen or Canadian permanent resident may sponsor a family member living in another country to move to Canada, allowing them to relocate without the need to undergo a points based assessment such as that employed by Canadian business visas. Canadian Sponsor visas or family class visas as they often referred to allow a qualifying close relative to gain permanent residence in Canada based on their familial ties with the country rather than their education, qualifications or work experience.

If you would like to find out more about working in Canada on a family class visa, or you would like to sponsor a relative to join you in Canada, visit our online assessment area now to begin your application.

Benefits of Immigrating to Canada on a Family Visa

Apart form the key benefit that family visa applications do not have to undergo a points based assessment, family immigration also brings a range of other benefits. Successful applicants may begin living and working in Canada straight away and may seek and undertake employment as they see fit. Unlike non-Canadian nationals relocating to Canada through a work permit, sponsored family members are not restricted to working for one particular employer and may engage in whatever profession they choose. Unlike short-term tourist visas and student visas for Canada, family immigration is expressly intended for those people who wish to immigrate to Canada on a permanent basis and as such, successful candidates will be awarded permanent residency. They may also apply for Canadian citizenship themselves once the minimum residency requirement of three years is fulfilled.

Who Can Immigrate to Canada on a Sponsor Visa?

Canadian sponsor visas for family immigration are open to a fairly wide range of relatives, although the regulations should be studied carefully as not every relative will be eligible to immigrate to Canada via this route. Family class immigration permits a sponsor’s spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner to move to Canada and in addition the following relatives are included in this category.

• Dependent children of the sponsor, including adopted children. For this class of immigration dependent children are defined as those under the age of 22 without a spouse or common-law partner, students whose studies began before the age of 22 or those who have been dependent upon their parents since before the age of 22 due to a disability.
• Children whom the sponsor intends to adopt, provided that they are under the age of 18.
• A sibling, a grandchild or a niece or nephew who is a) an orphan b) under the age of 18 and c) unmarried and not in a common-law relationship.
• A parent or grandparent.
• Another relative of any age so long as the sponsor does not already have an aunt, uncle or other family member in the categories above who they could sponsor or who is already a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
• Where a sponsors’ spouse is already living and working in Canada on another visa status, it is still permissible for them to be sponsored. Under these circumstances, any dependent children are included in the sponsorship whether present in the country or not.

Canadian Family Class immigration – Sponsorship Requirements

The key requirement of family immigration to Canada is that a sponsor must be in place. The sponsor must be related to the applicant in one of the ways outlined above and must be either a Canadian citizen or a permanent Canadian resident living and working in Canada. All sponsors must be over the age of 18 and must commit to sponsoring their relative, including responsibility for their financial well-being for a period of between 3 and 10 years.

Sponsors may be required to meet requirements based on income and sponsors who have previously agreed to sponsor another relative who, during their time under the responsibility of the sponsor became dependent upon state benefits, may not be permitted to sponsor again.

Canada Sponsor Visa – The Sponsorship Agreement

In all Canadian provinces except Quebec, sponsoring a family member to relocate to Canada will involve the sponsor signing an undertaking with the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. Both the sponsor and the relative must also sign a sponsorship agreement which details the responsibilities and expectations of both parties. The sponsor must agree to financially support the relative for the agreed number of years and they must ensure that the sponsored relative does not become dependent upon state benefits. On the part of the sponsored relative, it is mandatory to ensure that they become self supporting with the exception of elderly relatives.

Visit our online assessment area today to find out whether you qualify and to get your application started. Simply answer a few straightforward questions and one of our qualified Canadian immigration lawyers will respond to your enquiry.