January 30, 2025

What is Family Class Sponsorship in Canada?

Posted by Hannah Cho - Bellissimo Law Group PC

Family Class Sponsorship is a Canadian immigration program designed to reunite citizens and permanent residents with their close family members. It allows sponsors to support relatives in becoming permanent residents while committing to meet their basic needs for a specified period to avoid reliance on social assistance.

Priority is given to applications involving spouses, common-law partners, conjugal partners, dependent children, adopted children, orphans, and children to be adopted in Canada. Applications are submitted alongside permanent residence applications to a Case Processing Centre (CPC), which manages and evaluates them, with some eligibility checks handled by other offices under Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

The program accommodates a range of family relationships, including spouses, partners, dependent children (including adopted), parents, grandparents, and orphaned relatives under 18. In certain conditions, a single relative can also qualify. Canadian citizens abroad may sponsor a spouse or partner if they plan to live in Canada after approval.

Sponsors and applicants must meet specific requirements, including medical, criminal, and background checks, and relationships must be genuine. Partnerships or adoptions formed solely for immigration purposes are ineligible, and the applicant bears the responsibility of proving legitimacy.

Sponsors must be at least 18 years old, reside in Canada, and must not be subject to removal orders, criminal convictions, or financial instability. Canadian citizens abroad can sponsor a partner or child if they plan to return to Canada. Sponsors must also sign an undertaking, a binding agreement to financially support the sponsored individual, covering basic necessities to ensure they do not burden public resources.

This undertaking, formalized through the IMM 1344 form, requires signatures from the sponsor, co-signer (if applicable), and the sponsored individual or their legal representative if unable to sign.


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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

Hannah Cho

Hannah graduated from the J.D. program at Western Law in 2023.  While in law school, Hannah was the Vice-President of the Western Law Charter Society, where she organized and moderated panel discussions on pressing legal issues concerning the Canadian Constitution and Charter rights.  She also volunteered as a Student Clinician at the Law Student Legal Advice Program in British Columbia, where she gained experience handling a wide range of legal matters, including residential tenancy, employment and human rights law Before law school, Hannah received her B.A. (Hons.) with distinction from the University of Toronto, St. George, in Criminology and Book and Media Studies.

Prior to joining Bellissimo Law Group PC, Hannah worked as a student-at-law at a private immigration law firm, where she gained experience in Canadian immigration law by working on a range of matters including temporary residency applications, work permit applications, applications for permanent residence based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, and she has also co-written several articles on immigration law for platforms such as Law360 and International Law News.

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