Relative Sponsorship
Immigration Firm in Scarborough, Toronto
Who is eligible to sponsor their relative?
You can only sponsor relatives like a brother, sister, aunt or uncle in very specific situations. See the table below.
Examples of who you can sponsor
See the examples below to better understand who you can sponsor.
Example 1: Eligible to sponsor an aunt
Veronica doesn’t have a spouse or a common-law partner. She has no children, and lives in Canada as a permanent resident. Her parents and grandparents have all passed away and she doesn’t have any relatives in Canada who are Canadian citizens, permanent residents or registered Indians. Veronica would like to sponsor her aunt Betty, who she is very close with. Her aunt Betty is married and has a daughter.
Veronica meets the requirements to sponsor her aunt because she doesn’t have:
- a close living relative she could sponsor instead (such as a spouse, partner, child, orphaned sibling, parent or grandparent) and
- any other relative such as an aunt who is a citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian of Canada.
On the application, Betty will be designated as the principle applicant and her husband will be designated as a dependant.
Betty’s daughter can be included on the application only if she qualifies as a dependent child. If her daughter is older than the age limit or she doesn’t meet all the requirements, she can’t be added to Betty’s application and will have to immigrate to Canada on her own.
Example 2: Eligible to sponsor a cousin
Sam is an only child. His parents and grandparents have passed away. He was raised in the United States by his only cousin. He immigrated to Canada as a permanent resident. He’s single (doesn’t have a spouse or a common-law partner). Sam doesn’t have any relatives in Canada who are Canadian citizens, permanent residents or registered Indians. Sam wants to sponsor his American cousin. His cousin is single (doesn’t have a spouse or a common-law partner).
Sam meets the requirements to sponsor his cousin to come to Canada because he doesn’t have:
- a close living relative he could sponsor instead (such as a spouse, partner, child, sibling, parent or grandparent) and
- any other relative who is a citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian of Canada.
You may not be eligible to sponsor your relatives if you:
- are in prison
- have filed for bankruptcy and not been released from it yet, have not paid alimony or child support, or received social assistance for a condition other than disability
- failed to repay an immigration loan, paid late, or missed payments
- previously sponsored a relative and violated the conditions of the sponsorship agreement
- were convicted of attempting, threatening to commit or committing a violent criminal offence, any offence against a relative or any sexual offence inside or outside Canada, whether a record suspension was issued (formerly called “pardons” in Canada)
| SPONSOR | APPLICANT (SPONSORED) |
|---|---|
|
Orphaned brother, sister, nephew, niece or grandchild
Other Relatives You may sponsor one relative, related by blood or adoption, of any age, if you meet all of these conditions:You as a sponsor don't have any other living close family members or relatives who you could sponsor instead and you don't have any close family members or relatives who is Canadian citizen or permanent resident. |