Canada Family Visa
The Canadian Government does understand that families wish to be together and immigration is permitted for many members of the family. Some family members – such as spouses and dependent children – can be included on the initial visa application for new immigrants to Canada, while parents, grandparents, and others must be sponsored by Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
Requirements for family immigration
Spouses and Partners
Your spouse or common-law partner can normally be
included in your own application for
immigration. A common-law partner is defined as
a person of any sex (including same-sex
partners) who has been living with you as a
partner for at least 1 year. Similar information
needs to be provided for your partner as for the
"Principal Applicant" (yourself) on the visa
application form.
Your spouse's dependent children can also be
included on your visa application.
This is normally a straightforward family
immigration application to make.
Children
As of August 2014 only dependent children under the age of 19 can be included in your visa application, except in the case of children with certain physical and/or mental disabilities and health conditions, who have no age limit. Previously children up to the age of 22 could be included.
A dependent child is defined as any child under the age of 19 who does not have a spouse or partner, or any child of any age who is financially dependent on you (or your spouse) due to a physical or mental disability or health condition. If you or your spouse's dependent children have dependent children of their own, these children can also be included on your visa application.
Parents and Grandparents
In most cases parents cannot be included on the initial visa application, and must instead be sponsored by a permanent resident or citizen, except in rare cases where the parents or grandparents are living in some hardship, and there are compelling humanitarian and compassionate reasons to allow them to be included on the initial application.
Eligibility
In order to sponsor your parents and grandparents to enter Canada as permanent residents you and your parent(s)/grandparent(s) must co-sign a sponsorship agreement, which states:
Restrictions
You may be unable sponsor your parents or grandparents if any of the following conditions apply:
Others
Sponsorship applications can be made for orphaned relatives under 19 years of age such as brother, sister, nephew, niece or grandchild. Sponsoring these relatives has similar eligibility requirements and restrictions with sponsoring parents/grandparents (above).
Further, you can normally sponsor a child under 19 years of age that you plan to adopt (subject to the relevant adoption laws).
Further information, help, and advice
Our team of specialists has got great experience in immigration services, and have helped thousands of people to study and work in Canada. All applications for Canadian visas are dealt with in-house by a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada.
For more information and advice on Canadian immigration law and Canadian visa applications please contact us on call +1 647 640 3844 or at consultants@tnacanadaglobal.com