(i) The following category of family members can be sponsored under the Family Class:
- Spouse, common-law or conjugal partner
- Dependent children including children adopted overseas
- Father or mother
- Grandfather or grandmother
- Orphan under age 18, if sibling, niece or nephew, or grandchild of the sponsor
- Child under age 18 to be adopted in Canada
- A relative, if there is no member of the family class who is a Canadian citizen, Indian or permanent resident or who could be sponsored.
(ii) To be eligible to sponsor a family member, the sponsor needs to establish that he/she:
- intends to fulfill the obligations in the sponsorship undertaking;
- is not subject to a removal order;
- is not detained in any penitentiary, jail, reformatory or prison;
- has not been convicted of a sexual offence or an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada, or convicted outside Canada of an offence which, if committed in Canada, would be a sexual offence or an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada, against the conjugal partner, a relative of the sponsor, or of the sponsor’s spouse or of the sponsor’s common-law partner, including a dependent child or other family member of the sponsor, the sponsor’ s spouse, conjugal partner or of the sponsor’s common-law partner;
- is not in default of an undertaking or support obligations ordered by a court;
- is not in default of a debt owed under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
- is not an undercharged bankrupt under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act;
- is not in receipt of social assistance, other than for a reason of disability;
- is not in a default of a previous sponsorship obligation or undertaking;
- has a total income equal to the minimum necessary income for the number being sponsored.
The bar on sponsorship due to criminal conviction is removed where the sponsor’s conviction has been pardoned or has been revoked under the Criminal Records Act or where the final determination was an acquittal. In addition, if a period of five years or more has elapsed since the completion of the sentence imposed, the sponsor may sponsor a member of the family class. Likewise, for foreign offences, the bar is lifted in the case of a final acquittal, or if a period of five years or more has elapsed since the completion of the sentence imposed, and the sponsor has demonstrated that he has been rehabilitated.
(iii) Sponsorship Bar- Spousal, Common-Law Partner or Conjugal Partner
In addition to the above listed eligibility criteria for sponsorship:
- In case of spousal sponsorship, common law or conjugal sponsorship, the sponsor must not have sponsored another spouse in last 3 years at the time of sponsorship.
- If the Sponsor had become a permanent resident as a result of sponsorship of his/her former spouse’s sponsorship, the Sponsor cannot file a new sponsorship unless 5 years have been elapsed since the date of the sponsorship application was filed by the former spouse
(v) Exception to minimum necessary income
A sponsor is not required to meet the minimum income required if the sponsored person is:
- a sponsor’s spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner and has no dependent children;
- a sponsor’s spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner and has a dependent child who has no dependent children; or
- a dependent child of the sponsor who has no dependent children or a person who meets the definition of a dependent child and in respect of whom the sponsor became the guardian while the person was under the age of 18, or a person under 18 years of age whom the sponsor intends to adopt and meets other specified requirements referred to in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.
