Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor their foreign-born children to immigrate to Canada. Sponsored children will obtain Canadian permanent residence, allowing them to live in Canada indefinitely, go to school, access social services and eventually transition to Canadian citizenship.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS
A child sponsorship application is a two-step process. The Canadian citizen or permanent resident applies to sponsor the child and is assessed in Canada. Once this application is approved, the immigration authorities move the file to the appropriate country of the child’s residence and will process the child’s application for permanent residence.
To be approved as a sponsor, the Canadian or permanent resident must meet the following requirements:
• be at least 18 years of age
• reside in Canada (this only applies to permanent residents)
• be willing to sign a 10-year undertaking to be financially responsible for the child once he or she arrives in Canada
In addition, a sponsor cannot be subject to a removal order, detained in prison, or in default of any previous sponsorship undertaking or payment obligation ordered by the court. Finally, a sponsor cannot have declared bankruptcy or be in receipt of social assistance, other than for reason of disability. With regards to criminal convictions, a sponsor will not be eligible if they have been convicted of any offence of a sexual nature or of an offence resulting in the bodily harm of a family member.
MINIMUM INCOME REQUIREMENTS
There is no minimum income requirement to sponsor a child. However, the immigration authorities will assess whether they believe the sponsor has sufficient income and/or assets to support the child once he or she arrives in Canada.
The inability of an immigrant to financially support him or herself once they arrive in Canada is a ground for refusal. It is therefore necessary for the sponsor to be able to show employment or assets sufficient to support themselves and their child.
REQUIREMENTS TO QUALIFY AS A DEPENDENT CHILD
A dependent child is now a child under the age of 22 who is unmarried and not in a common-law relationship. The child may be either the biological or adopted child of the sponsor.
CHILD OF A CANADIAN CITIZEN MAY AUTOMATICALLY BE A CITIZEN
It should be noted that not all foreign-born children necessarily need to be sponsored for permanent residence. Children born to a Canadian citizen parent outside Canada will automatically be considered Canadian citizens as long as their Canadian parent or parents were not themselves born abroad.
In this regard, as of April 17, 2009, when the Citizenship Act was amended, only the first generation born abroad will automatically be considered citizens. A child born to a Canadian outside of Canada must be registered as a citizen in order to be recognized as such. This requires an application to the citizenship authorities that can be done either inside or outside of Canada.
ADOPTED CHILDREN
Children who are adopted outside of Canada, or will be adopted once they arrive in Canada, can be sponsored for permanent residence, or in some cases can apply directly for Canadian citizenship. The adoption must conform to the legal requirements of both the birth country and of Canada.
When processing such applications, the immigration authorities will assess whether they believe that the adoptive relationship is a genuine child-parent relationship, or whether the adoption is simply intended to facilitate the immigration of the child to Canada, the latter being a grounds for refusal.
The immigration authorities will also assess whether they believe the adoption to be in the best interests of the foreign child. If they believe that the child’s interests would be better served by remaining in the home country, they may reject the sponsorship application on this basis. In all cases of adoption, the genuine and informed consent of the biological parents must be obtained.
SPONSORING AN ORPHANED CHILD OF A CLOSE RELATIVE
An orphan is a child whose parents are both deceased. Orphans under the age of 18 and who are unmarried can be sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, provided that the orphan is the brother or sister, nephew or niece, or grandchild of the Canadian sponsor.
OTHER RELATIVES
Where a Canadian sponsor does not have any spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, child, parent, grandparent, sibling, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece living in Canada, and no relative living abroad who may be sponsored under the regular categories, then they may sponsor any other relative regardless of their age.
Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada says…
“A primary objective of this regulatory amendment is to enhance family unity and reunification by enabling Canadians and permanent residents to bring their young adult children between 19 and 21 years of age to Canada. This is consistent with two of the main stated objectives of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act: with respect to immigration, “to see that families are reunited in Canada,” and with respect to refugees, “to support the self-sufficiency and the social and economic well-being of refugees by facilitating reunification with their family members in Canada.” — IRCC
Applying to sponsor a child or other family member is exciting! Be sure to always meet the deadlines and requests from IRCC and reach out to others who are going through the process or have already obtained their PR. To communicate with other candidates and applicants, join the Foothills Immigration Forum on Facebook.
