You live happily in Canada, but you would like to bring your foreign parents to live in Canada as well. Can you sponsor your parents to come? The short answer is, ‘yes.’
Well, maybe. The truth is that the government restricts the number of parental sponsorships that can be made each year. In 2014 the number of applications accepted was 5,000. This cap was reached in about one month so for the rest of the year no further applications were accepted. The cap for 2015 has not been announced yet, nor have the detailed income requirements. So whether or not you can sponsor depends not only on your qualifications but on the cap set by the immigration department, and whether it has been filled yet or not.
In terms of the requirements, the basics to qualify as a sponsor are as follows:
You must:
- Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
- Live in Canada
- Be at least 18 years old
- Be able to show sufficient income to support your parents by proving that you have been working in Canada for the past three years and have met a pre-set minimum income requirement
If you meet the basic requirements, then your next step is to apply to become a sponsor.
As the sponsor, you will need to fill out certain forms:
- Application to sponsor, Sponsorship Agreement and undertaking
- Financial Evaluation for Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship
- Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union (if applicable)
Your parents will also have to fill out and submit forms. Some forms should be completed only by the principal applicant whom you are sponsoring. However, some should be completed by all adult family members included in the application:
- Generic Application Form for Canada – principal applicant
- Additional Dependants/Declaration – principal applicant
- Schedule A – Background/Declaration – principal applicant and all family members 18 or older
- Additional Family Information – principal applicant and all family members 18 or older
Other documents that you will need to prepare for your application to sponsor your parents to come to Canada:
- Fee Payment form
- A photocopy of your Permanent Residence Card, Canadian Citizenship Certificate, Canadian Citizenship Card, Canadian birth certificate, or Canadian passport
- A photocopy of your marriage certificate if you have a spouse who is co-signing the sponsorship
- If your spouse or common law partner is co-signing you will also need a photocopy of their proof of Permanent Residence or Citizenship
- A photocopy of your birth certificate to prove your relationship to your parents
- Option C printout or your three most recent CRA Notices of Assessment (As well as those of a co-signing spouse, if applicable)
- Copies of your parents’ travel documents
- Proof of your parents’ relationship to each other such as a marriage certificate or statutory declaration of common law union
Like any sponsorship forms, your biggest chance at a successful application is to consult a trusted immigration lawyer. They’ll know exactly which steps you’ll need to take in order to see your parents begin their new lives in Canada.
