Sponsorship

Permanent Residence

There are several subcategories of sponsorship: spouses and children living in Canada with the permanent resident guarantor or Canadian citizen; reunification of families including spouses and children living abroad, internationally adopted children, the sponsor’s parents and grandparents, sponsorship of refugees through groups of 2 to 5 guarantors or a Non-profit organization (NPO).

SPOUSE AND CHILDREN LIVING IN CANADA

Spouses who are married or have been living together for at least 1 year may be sponsored by their life partner sponsor, with their respective children who are neither permanent residents nor Canadian citizens.

There are no restrictions unless the guarantor is on welfare, imprisoned or convicted of specific crimes or is late in paying a debt. The guarantor cannot sponsor if he or she has been sponsored as a spouse in the last 5 years.

This category offers the advantage of allowing foreign spouses and children to work or study in Canada pending the grant of permanent residence.

SPOUSE AND CHILDREN LIVING OUTSIDE CANADA

Spouses married or cohabiting for at least one year before being separated by circumstances beyond their control may be sponsored by their spouses in Canada, with their respective children who are neither permanent residents nor Canadian citizens.

The same restrictions as spousal and child guarantors living in Canada apply in the circumstances.

When sponsoring a spouse or child, there is no need to demonstrate financial capacity to support the family. The government considers that survival reflexes will start when the loved ones settle with the guarantor.

The advantage of this subcategory is that it is treated as a priority by Immigration Canada since it involves bringing together the members of the same core family. We are talking about delays of 6 to 12 months, good year to year.

CHILDREN ADOPTED INTERNATIONALLY

Adoption of children internationally is governed in Quebec by the Adoption Secretariat International (SAI). Anyone wishing to bring their adopted child abroad must respect the rules put in place by this government agency.

PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS

Here is a category that only opens once a year for 30 days around January of each year. You have to prepare in advance not to miss the boat! You have to register your interest online and wait patiently for random selection. Since the quota is usually around 10,000 applications per year, the chances of being selected by drawing in a year are usually 1 in 10. If the guarantor is lucky, he or she is invited to submit a sponsorship application for his or her parents or grandparents.

As there is a certain craze for this category, those whose declaration of interest has not been selected can bring their loved ones temporarily via the visitor’s license known as “Super Visa”, established by Immigration Canada to remedy the situation.

This type of sponsorship requires proof of the financial capacity to provide for the needs of relatives by demonstrating having reached this capacity for the last 3 years before filing the application. The commitment to provide for the essential needs of loved ones is 20 years after their arrival in Canada. It’s a good thought!

REFUGEE

This is a program put in place by Immigration Canada to support the Canadian government’s commitment to protecting and hosting refugees. Immigration Canada invites the private sector to financially support recognized refugees within the meaning of the International Convention of Geneva (to be outside the country of origin, to fear with reason of being persecuted because of your race, your religion your nationality, your affiliation with a group or your political opinions, not being able to claim the protection of your country and be in a situation where no durable solution is achievable within a reasonable time) or who are in a situation distress (having suffered and continuing to suffer serious and personal consequences of a civil or armed conflict or massive human rights violation in your country of nationality or habitual residence).

The commitment is for a period of one year or three years according to the assessment made by Immigration Quebec or Immigration Canada of the faculty of refugees to be integrated and to support themselves by their own means. Guarantors pledge to provide housing, food, basic clothing and personal effects and transportation to refugees. Beyond this, they are expected to accompany refugees in their efforts to obtain identity and public utility documents, to learn French or English and to job Research.

Our firm works in collaboration with the Association of Multicultural Integration of Quebec, a non-profit organization working in this specific field. For more information, please visit www.aimquebec.org

The Quebec refugee sponsorship program now has a very limited quota and the application period generally lasts only one day. Immigration Canada is currently open year-round and applies to the other 12 provinces and territories in Canada.