Child or Other Dependent Sponsorship
The Family sponsorship stream helps reassemble relationships by providing Canadian residents or permanent inhabitants who are the parents of a kid abroad to appeal to sponsor their child or another dependent for Canadian permanent residency status.
Canadian residents or permanent residents who meet specific requirements can sponsor their dependent kids to become permanent residents of Canada.
What is a Dependent Child?
To be suitable for sponsorship, kids must meet the description of the dependent child. Whether they are the vital or adopted child of a Canadian resident or permanent inhabitant, a child is admitted to be a dependent if they are not wedded and have an age below 22.
Requirements for child or other dependent sponsorship program
To sponsor your child’s immigration to Canada, you must satisfy the following conditions:
- 18 years of age are required.
- You must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident residing in Canada to return, or a person registered under the Indian Act of Canada.
- You must be capable of supporting yourself, your dependent children, and your spouse, if applicable.
- You must prove your relationship with your child.
- You have to have a clean record.
- You have to not be in prison, be charged with a serious crime, or be declared bankrupt.
- You do not have to have failed in a previous sponsorship commitment.
- It would help if you did not have any investigations opened against you by immigration authorities.
- You should not be receiving any income assistance except for situations that might concern disability.
Find out if you are eligible to get in Canada →
Is my child eligible to be sponsored?
For your child to be eligible for sponsorship, he or she must be considered a dependent according to the meaning of the law, which means:
- The child is a natural child or an adopted child of a citizen of Canada or a permanent resident of Canada.
- Unmarried and not in a conjugal relationship.
- Less than twenty-two years old.
Also, a child older than 22 years old can still be eligible as a dependent provided they meet the following criteria:
- They have a physical or mental inability to support themselves.
- They have been dependent on their parents for support before attaining age 22 years old.
What is required to sponsor a child?
As a sponsor, you will be required to sign an “undertaking” that binds you in law to provide for your child’s basic needs, including:
- Providing food
- Providing clothing
- Providing shelter
- Paying for medical care that isn’t covered under public health services
The length of this undertaking depends on the age and situation of the child:
- In the case of a biological or adopted dependent child under 22 years of age, the undertaking is for 10 years or until the child reaches 25 years, whichever comes first.
- For dependent children over 22 years of age, the undertaking is for 3 years.
How does sponsoring a child for immigration work?
The steps involved in sponsoring a child for immigration are summarized below into four stages:
Step 1: Application Package Download
Download an application package from the government website. This package comes with a guide that provides detailed instructions and forms to help in making a correct application.
Step 2: Online Payment
Pay for your online application, which caters to the processing fee for all members in the application, the Right of Permanent Residence Fee, the biometric fee, and any other applicable third-party fees.
Step 3: Application Submission
Submit your application following the submission requirements found in the downloaded guide.
Step 4: Providing Supporting Documents
When required, offer supporting documents as requested by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) while making your application.
Is sponsoring a child different in Quebec?
In the case of residence in Quebec, the process of adopting a child is somewhat different because of the immigration policy peculiarities typical for this province.
Here is what you should do:
- Apply with IRCC on the federal level and also with MIFI, which is Quebec’s immigration authority.
- You will need to acquire a QSC and be an “undertaker,” or a contract holder, with the province. That undertaking makes you responsible for the basic needs of the person you sponsor, and you may also have to repay the government for social assistance the person gets during the period you are sponsoring them.
- The length of time that undertaking in Quebec is longer than in other parts of Canada and depends on the age of the child you sponsor.