Family Sponsorship

Family sponsorship is one of the fastest and most popular ways to gain permanent residence in Canada.

Under the family sponsorship programs, a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada, aged 18 or more can sponsor certain family members to become Canadian permanent residents.

With that permanent residence, those family members are able to live, study and work in Canada.

Relatives who can be sponsored include:

spouse
common-law partner
conjugal partner
dependent children
parents – grandparents
brothers or sisters, nephews or nieces, granddaughters or grandsons who are orphaned, under 18 years of age and not married or in a common-law relationship
another relative of any age or relationship but only under specific conditions
accompanying relatives of the above (for example, spouse, partner and dependent children)
Spouses and common-law partners who come to Canada under the sponsorship programs are allowed to work under the Spousal Work Permit Pilot Program