WHAT IS SPONSORSHIP?

WHAT IS SPONSORSHIP?

Sponsorship is a type of immigration application that enables an eligible person to sponsor their spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, dependent children, adopted children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, and relatives.

If the application is successful, then the sponsored people officially become permanent residents, and thus they are allowed to freely live, study, and work in Canada.

Numerous people inquire about sponsorship as it enables an eligible person to sponsor their family members to Canada. For example, a spouse of a sponsor can become a permanent resident in approximately 12 to 18 months after the sponsorship application submission. If the sponsored spouse is in Canada, then he/she is eligible to apply for a spousal open work permit (SOWP) to legally work in Canada while waiting for his/her permanent resident result, which takes about 4 months after the application submission.

The people that are being sponsored must be admissible to immigrate to Canada such as in the areas of medical condition and criminal record.

There are several requirements for a sponsor to meet in order to sponsor their family members.

1. The sponsor must be 18 years of age or older.
2. The sponsor must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or registered Indian.
3. The sponsor must sign an agreement that promises an undertaking to provide for the basic needs of the sponsored person.
4. The sponsor must sign an agreement with the sponsored person that they are going to be sponsored by the sponsoring person.
5. The sponsor must meet the Low Income Cut-Off (LICO) requirement for the past 12 months. This is not required if the sponsor is sponsoring their spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, dependent children (who doesn’t have their own dependent child), and adopted child under 18 years old.

For your information, Low Income Cut-Off (LICO) is based on the size of family unit. This implies that the higher the size of the family unit, the bigger the amount of minimum necessary income the sponsor should have. For instance, a sponsor has no other family members, and is sponsoring a relative, then the size of family unit is 2. Therefore, the minimum household income the sponsor should earn per year is CAD $32,270 (before tax). The LICO amount can change based on government of Canada’s decision.

In addition, there are certain restrictions that prohibit a potential sponsor from sponsoring their family.

1. The sponsor must not be receiving social assistance except disability.
2. The sponsor must not have filed a bankruptcy, and/or have defaulted on debts, immigration loans, support payment obligations and related services.
3. The sponsor must not be a person who’s subject to a removal order from Canada.
4. The sponsor must not be convicted of a violent crime, and/or have been detained in jail, reformatory or prison.
5. The sponsor must not have sponsored a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner (and the spouse/partner have become a permanent resident) less than 5 years ago.

Once the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident successfully through sponsorship application, then a sponsor has a responsibility to undertake the sponsored person.

For spouse, common-law and conjugal partners, the sponsor must undertake them for 3 years since the day when they become a permanent resident. For dependent children under 19 years old, the sponsor must undertake them either for 10 years or the day the children reaches the age of 22 (whichever comes first). For parents and grandparents, the sponsor is required to undertake them for 20 years. For any other people and relatives, the sponsor is responsible to undertake them for 10 years.

The other thing to note is that one of the most important things to keep in mind when preparing a sponsorship application is genuineness. Even married couples are asked to prove they are really married. Therefore, we highly recommend all applicants who are preparing the application to provide as much as supporting documents as possible that proves the relationship between the sponsor and the sponsored persons.

Due to many benefits that sponsorship gives to applicants, we highly recommend all prospective immigrants to get an assessment to find out if they are eligible for sponsorship as one of the options to immigrate to Canada.