How Spousal Sponsorship Works in Canada

Are you a Canadian citizen with a spouse or child that is not a citizen? If so, you may be able to file for a spousal sponsorship in Canada to help unite your family. Canada has taken drastic measures in an effort to reunite families, and one measure is called Family Class.

When you’re a Canadian citizen, you can fill out Family Class applications which are granted the highest priority when they reach Canadian Visa Offices.

Spousal Sponsorship

Canada allows you to apply for spousal sponsorship, and what this means is that you must be able to:

• Make sure that your spouse will not need government social assistance
• Support your family financially

If you’re able to do this and show proof that your spouse does not need any financial help, you can sponsor him or her. You may be able to sponsor a child or dependent, too. You’ll need to pay an application fee of $1,040 for your spouse or $150 for your child. The processing time can be about 12 months, but the time it takes to process will vary from country-to-country.

You can sponsor a spouse if you’re:

• 18 years old or older
• A permanent resident of Canada or a citizen
• Not receiving social assistance
• Able to provide the basic needs of the person you sponsor

If you live outside of Quebec, you’ll also be under the commitment to provide all of the support your sponsored family members require. If a sponsored member does receive any form of social assistance, you’ll be required to repay these costs.

The person that you sponsor will also be required to make every effort to support themselves.

Income Requirements

Financial Evaluation form IMM 1283 must be completed to understand how much income you need to make to support your family members. The form is not required to be filled out if you’re from Quebec.

If a person wants to sponsor someone, they will need to make $24,949 to just cover themselves and a total of $31,061 if the family size is just two people.

The figure rises with every additional person added at the rate of a little over $6,000 per additional family member.

Income will be calculated over the past 12-month period, and income that the sponsored person receives may also help you meet the requirements. A co-signer may be required, too, which will make sponsorship easier.

There are times when you will not be allowed to sponsor another person, and this may be ifyou’re under 18 years old, won’t live in Canada with the person you’re sponsoring or if you’re not a permanent resident. If your permanent resident application is currently pending, you still will not be allowed to be a sponsor.

If you were a sponsored spouse that came into Canada within the last 5 years, you will not be eligible to sponsor your spouse or child. A person that is imprisoned may not be a sponsor, and if you’ve failed to pay back an immigration loan or provide court-ordered payments, you will also not be eligible to be a sponsor.