Sponsor your spouse, partner, or dependent children to Canada—Financial requirements and responsibilities

Under the spousal sponsorship program, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident may sponsor a spouse, partner (i.e., common-law or conjugal), or dependent children for Canadian permanent residence.

Typically, when sponsoring a family member, the sponsor must meet a minimum income level (Minimum Necessary Income). Hence, you, the sponsor, must prove you have enough income to support all the people you’ll be financially responsible for once you become a sponsor. For the spousal sponsorship program, the Minimum Necessary Income requirement does not apply. However, in situations where an officer believes that the sponsor will be unable to provide adequate support and that the sponsored person will be unable or unwilling to support themselves and may have to rely on social assistance, the applicant may be found to be inadmissible for financial reasons.

Despite not having the burden of meeting a minimum income level, you must still promise to financially take care of the people you are sponsoring for a period of time. This promise is called an undertaking. The length of undertaking depends on several factors, including the age of the person you sponsor and where you live. You are financially responsible for the entire length of the undertaking, even if your relationship with the person you sponsored changes (e.g., divorce or separation), the person you sponsored becomes a Canadian citizen, or your financial situation gets worse.

For sponsorships in all parts of Canada except for Quebec, the information below explains how long your undertaking will be valid.

You’re sponsoring a spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner:
3 years from the day your spouse or partner becomes a permanent resident.

You’re sponsoring a dependent child over 22 years of age:
3 years from the day your dependent child over 22 years of age becomes a permanent resident.

You’re sponsoring a dependent child under 22 years of age:
‍10 years from the day your dependent child under 22 years of age becomes a permanent resident, or until the child becomes 22 years old, whichever comes first.

To learn more about sponsoring your spouse, partner, or dependent children to Canada, please contact us today.