United With Your Family
Family Sponsorship stands as a fundamental component of Canada's immigration policy, with a primary focus on promoting family reunification and facilitating the unity of families within Canada. It extends a unique opportunity to Canadian citizens and permanent residents to bring their beloved relatives to Canada, enabling them to forge a fresh start and contribute to the nation's diverse and all-embracing society.
Key Aspects of Family Sponsorship:
- Eligible Family Members: Generally, Canadian citizens and permanent residents are eligible to sponsor their spouses or common-law partners, dependent children, parents, and grandparents. In select cases, it might be feasible to sponsor other family members like orphaned siblings, nephews, or nieces.
- Financial Responsibility: Sponsors commit to offering financial support to their sponsored family members, assuring they do not become reliant on social assistance programs.
- Undertaking: Sponsors formalize their commitment through an undertaking, a legally binding agreement to support their family members for a specified duration, typically ranging from 3 to 20 years. The specific duration depends on the nature of the relationship and the age of the sponsored individual.
- Eligibility Criteria: Both sponsors and their sponsored family members are obligated to meet specific eligibility criteria, including factors related to admissibility and the sponsor's capability to provide financial support.
- Processing Times: The processing times for Family Sponsorship applications can fluctuate, contingent on the type of sponsorship and the nature of the relationship between the sponsor and the sponsored person.
- Super Visa: In addition to the Family Sponsorship program, there exists a Super Visa initiative, which permits parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents to visit Canada for an extended period, typically up to two years, without necessitating sponsorship.
