Family Class Immigration to Canada
Canadian citizens and permanent residents may sponsor the following family members:-Spouses,
Common-Law Partners, and Conjugal Partners aged 16 and over
-Parents and Grandparents
-A dependent child of the sponsor, including an adopted child or a child the sponsor intends to adopt
-Orphaned brothers, sisters, nieces, or grandchildren under the age of 18 and who are not married or living in a common-law relationship
-In cases where there are no persons in the above categories, the "last remaining family member" may sometimes be sponsored but successful applications of this kind are rare.
A stated aim of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act is to achieve reunification of family members. For this reason, sponsorship applications for spouses, common-law partners and conjugal partners and dependent children are processed as a priority. In other cases, for instance where parents are sponsored, the family members may be allowed to stay in Canada while their applications are processed if they can demonstrate adequate funds and that they have their own medical coverage. Where family class sponsorship is one of several options available to persons seeking to immigrate to Canada, it follows that it will often be the best choice. If a sponsorship application is processed outside Canada and is refused, an appeal may be filed with the Immigration Appeal Division
It is a good idea to seek expert advice when contemplating a sponsorship application as, even in what appear to be relatively straightforward cases such as sponsorship of a spouse, the application requires extensive and accurate documentation if it is to succeed and be processed as quickly as possible.
