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Have you fallen in love with the wonderful aspects of Canada? Want to live the rest of your life indulging in maple syrup and poutine along with your family? If so, you may want to consider sponsoring your children. If you are eligible to be a sponsor, you may be able to successfully be reunited with your dependent children who are currently living abroad.
Before applying to sponsor your children, you must confirm whether or not you are eligible to be a sponsor. You must be either a Permanent Resident or Canadian Citizen in order to be able to sponsor your family. Note that if you live in Quebec, there may be different requirements; thus, you will need to refer to the Quebec conditions on becoming a sponsor. Though these are the requirements you will need in order to be eligible to apply, there are still other factors that could cause your ineligibility. This usually involves past actions regarding your children or your sponsorship. For example, factors that may cause you to be ineligible to sponsor include: previous history of violating your sponsorship agreement, failure to pay child support despite court order, are on social assistance (with the exception of being disabled), were convicted of a violent/sexual crime OR specific criminal threats, missed payments on immigration loans, have declared bankruptcy, or are currently in prison. Though these are pre-determined factors that will affect your eligibility, there may be other reasons why immigration officers will reject your application.
Another aspect of sponsorship is that, as the sponsor, you will need to sign an undertaking with the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. This document requires that you will provide financial support and Basic Requirements for the family that you are sponsoring. Basic Requirements, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, include things such as: household supplies, fuel, shelter, clothes, food, personal objects, and utilities (water, electricity, etc). Furthermore, though there is a free health care system in place in Canada, there are some health aspects that may not be covered. This includes dental care and eye care. By signing the undertaking, you are also promising that these non-covered health issues will be provided by you for your sponsored child. The point of the undertaking is essentially to confirm that these family members will not be needing social assistance. Note that the undertaking cannot be cancelled; it applies regardless of how your financial situation changes or relationship changes (such as divorce). However, the length of the undertaking, if the child is 19, is for three years after the child becomes a Permanent Resident.
If you are someone that has been sponsored to Canada, you may still sponsor your child. However, you may only do so once five years have elapsed since you were sponsored. Similarly, if you became a Canadian Citizen within the last five years, you will need to wait until the full five-year period (since obtaining this status) was complete before you could sponsor anyone. This is known as the Five-Year Sponsorship Bar.
Once you have determined that you are eligible to sponsor someone, you will want to ensure that the person you are sponsoring is eligible to be sponsored. You may sponsor individuals from the Family Class. This includes spouses, common-law partners, conjugal partner, and dependent children. When attempting to sponsor your children, you will need to ensure that they fit the definition of a “dependent child”. According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, a child is considered to be dependent if he/she is under the age of 19 and does not have a spouse or a common-law partner. If your child is over the age of 19, he/she may still be eligible to be sponsored if he/she is dependent on the financial support of you (or another parent) since before he/she turned 19. This financial support should be due to a physical or mental condition. Note that previously, the age limit of a dependent of child was 22. However, as of August 2014, this was changed to 19. Similarly, there was a previous exception for children who were continuously registered as full-time students in a designated high school institution. However, this exception has also been removed. Therefore, if you plan on filling the application on your own and finding information online, ensure that you have the most updated information available.
If you are in the process of adopting a child overseas or have adopted a child who is currently living overseas, you may still be able to sponsor them under the Family Class. Again, you will still need to sign an undertaking such that you are responsible for their Basic Requirements. Importantly, you will need to submit a Medical Condition Statement. Without this statement, your child will not be issued a Permanent Resident Visa. The Medical Condition Statement essentially recognizes that you have obtained information on the medical condition of the child you intend to sponsor. This can be a child you are adopting overseas (either have adopted or intend to adopt) while you are still living in Canada, a child you intend to adopt in Canada, or an orphaned brother, sister, nephew, or niece.
In some cases, you will also need to meet the Low-Income Cut-Offs (LICO) requirements in order to be eligible to sponsor your child. This is a minimum necessary income that is determined and published yearly by the Canadian government. Meeting the requirements is not necessary for individuals who are sponsoring children that they adopted/intend to adopt within Canada (these children cannot have children of their own). If this is not your case, you will need to refer to the government website to find out what your Low-Income Cut-Off should be. When sponsoring, you will need to enclose additional documents that demonstrate your financial situation in the 12 months preceding your application and that, during this period, you meet the LICO requirements. Essentially, this is needed to prove that you are financially ready to support whomever you are sponsoring (and thus will not be a burden on Canada’s financial aid, social assistance, etc). The LICO requirements must be maintained not only for the year preceding the application, but for the duration of the application processing. The income requirements may be reassessed at any point during the application, if the government has reason to suspect you are no longer fulfilling the requirements.
If you are having trouble meeting the LICO requirements, you may also get help from a co-signer. This individual, who will be either your spouse or common-law partner for at least the last one year, can help you meet the requirements by signing the sponsorship application with you. However, they will be equally liable as you in the application; this means they must agree to the undertaking and meet the same requirements as if they were a sponsor.
If you are able to proceed applying to sponsor a child, you will need to provide certain documents in your application. These documents may include:
A full list of documents you may need specific to your particular case is available on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website. Since all forms are available online, it is possible to complete the application by yourself. However, to increase your chances of success, you may want to consider seeking the assistance of a legal professional. If you are in the process of sponsoring a child, or have questions about it, feel free to contact the experienced and dedicated team at Akrami and Associates. We will be able to assess your situation and help you with any questions you may have.
With Akrami and Associates, there is always a way!
