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Application to Sponsor a Member of the Family Class

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Family Sponsorship Page!

One of the objectives of Canadian immigration law is "to see that families are reunited in Canada". This class of immigration is called the "Family Class".

For a family be reunited in Canada, a sponsor must file a sponsorship application to Citizenship and Immigration Canada. A sponsor must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada who is living in Canada and is at least 18 years of age.

The 'Family Class' includes the following relatives of a sponsor: spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, dependent child, adopted child, parent, grandparent, or an orphaned relative under 18 years of age who is the sponsor's brother or sister, nephew, niece, grandchild or adopted child. Each type of relationship has its own set of forms, requirements, and supporting documents that must be submitted to Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Immigroup has simplified the confusing application processes and qualification guidelines of the Government of Canada for the Family Class sponsorship. The grid below combines the federal and provincial programs for sponsoring your family member to come to Canada. By clicking on a box in the grid, you are directed to a page with qualification information and a simplified application process.

Family Class Details

A spouse is a person who is at least 16 years of age and is legally married to the sponsor by the civil authorities of a country. A marriage is valid in Canada if it is valid in the country where it took place.

A common-law partner is a person who has lived together with the sponsor in a conjugal relationship for at least one year.

A conjugal partner is a person who lives outside Canada and who has been in a conjugal relationship with the sponsor for at least one year.

SPOUSAL RELATIONSHIP

A spouse is a person who is at least 16 years of age and is legally married to the sponsor by the civil authorities of a country. A marriage is valid in Canada if it is valid in the country where it took place.

A couple can prove they are legally married if they have a marriage certificate issued by the civil authorities of the country where the marriage took place.

Documents to prove the relationship to a spouse:

• Marriage certificate issued by the civil authority of the country where the marriage took place.
• If one of the parties was married in the past, a divorce certificate issued by a Court must be submitted.

COMMON-LAW RELATIONSHIP

A common-law partner is a person who has lived together with the sponsor in a conjugal relationship for at least one year.

In a common-law relationship, there is no document to prove that a couple is living together. A common-law relationship exists from the day a couple decides to physically live together. To qualify under the Family Class, Canadian immigration law requires a couple to live together continuously for at least one year, and they must prove it.

Documents that may prove the existence of a common-law relationship:

• Joint bank accounts
• Joint credit cards
• Proof of property purchased in both names
• Invoices in both names
• Lease agreement showing both names
• Correspondence/bills sent to either party at the same address
• ID documents showing the same address
• Insurance policies showing the other partner as beneficiary

CONJUGAL RELATIONSHIP

A conjugal partner is a person who lives outside Canada and who has been in a conjugal relationship with the sponsor for at least one year.

A conjugal relationship is one where there is a considerable amount of physical, emotional, social, and financial attachment between the couple. Both partners are committed to each other in a permanent, long-term and exclusive relationship. They share the same values and interests, they spend time together as a couple and with each other's families. Conjugal partners socially present themselves as a couple with their friends, family, and community, and they are viewed by others as being a couple.

Documents that may prove the existence of a conjugal relationship:

• Photos of the couple
• Long distance phone bills (pre-paid phone cards are usually not considered evidence)
• Plane tickets or boarding passes for visits of one partner to the other or for trips the couple has made together
• E-mails, letters, greeting card
• Joint bank accounts
• Joint credit cards
• Money transfers
• Insurance policies showing the partner as beneficiary
• Declarations from family, friends or prominent members of the community (doctors, lawyers, religious workers, etc.) stating their recognition of the couple being in a conjugal relationship

DEPENDENT CHILDREN

According to Canadian immigration law, a dependent son or daughter is a biological or adopted child who:

1. Is less than 22 years of age and has not been married or in a common-law relationship
2. Has been financially supported by a parent since before age 22, or if the child has been married or in a common law relationship since before age 22, has been supported by the parent since the date the child got married or into a common law relationship, and, since before age 22 or since the child got married or in a common law relationship, has been a post-secondary full-time student in an academic, professional or vocational training.
3. Is more than 22 years of age and financially supported by a parent since before age 22 and is unable to support him or herself due to a mental or physical condition.

PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS OR AN ORPHANED RELATIVE

Parents, grandparents, or an orphaned relative under 18 years of age who is the sponsor's brother or sister, nephew, niece, grandchild, or adopted child can also be sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who lives in Canada and is at least 18 years of age. The relationship between the sponsor and the sponsored person must be proven through documents issued by civil authorities.

Documents that prove relationship of the sponsor to a parent:

• Sponsor's birth certificate

Documents that prove relationship of the sponsor to a grandparent:

• Sponsor's birth certificate
• Sponsor's parent's birth certificate through whom the sponsor is related to the sponsored grandparent

Documents that prove relationship of the sponsor to an orphaned relative:

• Sponsor's brother or sister:
  1. Sponsor's birth certificate
  2. Sponsor's brother or sister's birth certificate
  3. Sponsor's and sponsored brother's or sister's both parents' death certificates
     
     
• Sponsor's nephew or niece:
  1. Sponsor's birth certificate
  2. Sponsor's late brother or sister's birth certificate
  3. Sponsored niece's or nephew's both parents' death certificates
     
     
• Sponsor's grandchild:
  1. Sponsor's birth certificate
  2. Sponsor's son or daughter's birth certificate, through whom the sponsor is related to the grandchild
  3. Sponsored grandchild's both parents' death certificates
     
     
• Sponsor's adopted child:
  1. Adopted child's birth certificate (showing names of biological parents)
  2. Adopted child's amended birth certificate (showing sponsor's name as parent)
  3. Adopted child's both biological parents' death certificates
  4. Adoption decree, issued by authority of the country where the adoption took place

Free assessment questionnaire - Family Class

Processing times

The Family Class is one of the objectives of Canadian immigration law therefore applications submitted under this class are given processing priority.

When a sponsorship application is submitted to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, with all the required forms properly completed, including all supporting documents and information, it is usually processed within eight weeks from the date it is submitted. It is then forwarded to the Canadian visa office responsible for processing the application and issuing the permanent resident visa to the sponsor's relative.

Every Canadian visa office has its processing times, according to the volume of applications they receive.