Who can become a sponsor

To be eligible to become a sponsor, you must meet the following criteria:

• are over 18 years of age;
• live in Canada;
• you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;
• you have enough money to support sponsored family members. You will need to provide proof of income.

When you apply, you will need to complete and sign a form that includes 2 main things:

1. Commitment (undertaking):

• to provide financial support to your family members for 20 years from the date they become permanent residents of Canada;
• repay any social assistance from a province or territory that your sponsored family members receive during this time.

2. A sponsorship agreement under which:

• you will provide for the basic needs of your family members;
• the person you are sponsoring will make every effort to support themselves and their family members.

Income Requirement

You, as a sponsor, must prove that you have enough income to support the sponsored people as well as yourself.
You can also consider the income of your spouse or civil partner.
For sponsorship, you must show income matches for the last 3 tax years.

Who cannot be a sponsor

You cannot sponsor your parents or grandparents if:

• will not be living in Canada when you apply for sponsorship and/or when the sponsored family members become permanent residents of the state;
• are in Canada temporarily: tourism, study, work;
• have applied for permanent residency but it is still being processed;
• do not have the means to support the people you plan to sponsor;
• have not paid back money for an immigration loan;
• have not paid court-ordered child support. If paid and settled, you can become a sponsor;
• have not financially supported a person you have sponsored before;
• have been declared bankrupt;
• are receiving social assistance from the state (exception - for disability);
• have been convicted of a violent criminal offense, any crime against a relative, or any sex offense inside or outside of Canada;
• are in prison;
• cannot remain lawfully in Canada.

Who you can sponsor

You can sponsor more than one person or couple if your income qualifies for the right number of people.

You will be able to sponsor:

• parents or grandparents related to you by blood, or if you are adopted;
• if your parents or grandparents are divorced, their new spouses or civil partners;
• your parents' children (your own siblings and half-siblings) if they are dependants. You can check this on the official website at this link.

Requirements for sponsored family members

Your parents, grandparents and their dependents must provide:

• completed forms and required documents;
• any additional information that may be requested during application processing, including:

1) medical examination results;
2) a police certificate;
3) biometrics.

Who cannot be sponsored

Your spouse's or partner's parents. However, your spouse or partner may do so, and you will act as support (your income will be taken into account in the minimum income eligibility check).

Processing times and fees

The average processing time for a parent or grandparent sponsorship application is 20-24 months.

Step-by-step sponsorship process

There are 6 steps to apply to sponsor your parents and grandparents.

1. Submit an interest in sponsorship.

This form is available during a specific period and is valid for a limited time. The last time is October 13 through November 3, 2020.
The next time the sponsorship form will be open in 2021 to accept 30,000 new applications.
Based on this information, it can be concluded that moving your parents to Canada is not easy, much less quick.
In such a case, you can apply for a Super Visa, which allows you to come to Canada for up to 2 years.
You can see the information about the opening of admission of interest forms on the official website.

2. Receive an invitation to submit a complete application.

Invitations are sent to potential sponsors in the same order in which Immigration Canada receives sponsorship interest forms.
The invitation should come to you by e-mail, so use the correct e-mail when generating the interest form.
You must then apply for sponsorship (step three below) and your parent or grandparent for permanent residence. These applications must be sent at the same time.

3. Prepare an application packet.

It is available at this link. It includes:

• a checklist of documents for you and the people you plan to sponsor;
• a list of forms that you and the people you are sponsoring must complete;
• detailed instructions on how to complete the forms.

Before submitting, be sure that:

• you are eligible to be a sponsor;
• you have listed all family members (spouse or partner and children and children's children);
• all information on the application is true;
• the application is completely filled out.

4- Pay fees.

In most cases, fees will include:

• sponsorship fee;
• a fee for permanent residency in Canada;
• biometrics fee.

All fees must be paid online at this link. You can also calculate the fees for your specific situation there.

5. Apply.

You will have 60 days to do this after you receive an invitation to submit a complete application.
You can use either regular mail or a courier service to send it.
Once the application has been submitted, and the fees have been paid, letters will be sent to your family members asking them to provide biometric data. Within 30 days of this, they will be required to submit the biometrics, taking these letters with them.
A request for medical examinations will also be sent to your sponsored family members while your application is being processed.

Any changes in your family situation must be reported to Immigration Canada. These changes include:

• birth or adoption of children;
• marriage or divorce;
• death of the applicant or a dependent.