The Canadian government offers a Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship program that allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their parents and grandparents to come to Canada as permanent residents. This program is designed to reunite families and provide an opportunity for parents and grandparents to live in Canada with their families.

The Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship program is a two-step process. First, the Canadian citizen or permanent resident must submit an application to sponsor their parents or grandparents. This application must include proof of the sponsor’s Canadian citizenship or permanent residence, proof of the sponsor’s relationship to the parent or grandparent, and proof of the sponsor’s financial ability to support the parent or grandparent.

Once the application is approved, the parent or grandparent must then submit an application for permanent residence. This application must include proof of identity, proof of medical examination, and proof of financial ability to support themselves in Canada.

How to apply?

In order to apply, the sponsor needs to submit an interest to sponsor to Immigration Canada when the application pool is opened. It is crucial to have all the information correctly entered into the interest to sponsor form, or else it might lead to further trouble down the road during the application stage.

At appropriate times, usually during the autumn season in recent years, IRCC will randomly select sponsors in the form of a lottery draw, and invite them to apply to sponsor their parents/grandparents. Once drawn, the applicant has about 2 months time to submit an application. The sponsor will need to submit proof of relationship and proof of finance to meet the Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) for the past 3 full years prior to the year of application.

Minimum Necessary Income (MNI)

You must meet the Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) for the past 3 full year in order to be eligible. Even if you are a few dollars short of this requirement, you will be determined as a non-eligible sponsor. During the application stage, there are a few exceptions to this requirement, mostly made the areas of humanitarian and compassionate grounds – for example, best interest of a child, hostile home country conditions, etc. If you are in this situation, it is best to speak to a professional in order to have the best shot at this application.

Undertaking

The sponsor must be able to provide financial support for the parent or grandparent for a period of 20 years. As part of the sponsorship application, the sponsor (and the co-signer, if required) needs to sign a copy of the undertaking agreement with the Government of Canada. The twenty year starts on the day when the sponsored parents become a permanent resident.

Appealing a negative decision

While filling out the sponsorship application form (IMM1344), you will be asked the following question: “If you are found ineligible to sponsor, indicate whether you want to:”, and you have two choices.

• *Withdraw your sponsorship application. All processing fees less $75 will be refunded.
  • If you check the box to withdraw your sponsorship application, then the sponsorship application will not be processed.
  • All fees will be refunded, except for the $75 sponsorship fee.
• *Proceed with the application for permanent residence. Processing fees will be retained.
  • If you check the box to proceed with the application for permanent residence, then the sponsorship application will be failed.
  • None of the fees will be refunded if the application is refused.

It may seem like a “no-brainer” to select the first option at first. However, the real meaning of this question is as follows:

• If you select the first box – to withdraw your application if found ineligible,
  • the applicant, the parent, will not have an application refusal record on file.
  • the sponsor is waiving appeal rights, since legally this is an application withdrawal and not an application refusal.
  • the immigration officials will not consider any humanitarian and compassion grounds.
• If you select the second box – to proceed with the application,
  • the application would most likely be refused, except when humanitarian and compassionate grounds are provided and explained in the application.
  • the sponsor would then be able to appeal this decision at the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB).
  • the applicant, the parent, will have an application refusal on record, should the abovementioned appeal is unsuccessful.

It is crucial to select the right box according to your circumstance. If you have selected the second box, and received a refusal, and if you wish to proceed with an appeal, it is best to hire a professional to help you to increase your chance of success during the appeal.

If you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and are interested in sponsoring your parents or grandparents, it is important to understand the requirements of the program and to ensure that you meet all of the eligibility criteria. For more information, talk to us, or please visit the Government of Canada website.

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The content above is not intended to provide legal advice or opinions of any kind and may not be used for professional or commercial purposes. E&OE.