If you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who wishes to sponsor your parent or grandparent outside of Canada to become a Canadian permanent resident, there is a parent and grandparents sponsorship program that you can take advantage of. Canada has the parent and grandparents sponsorship program that allows eligible Canadian citizens and permanent citizens who are over the age of 18 to apply to sponsor their parents or grandparents, who are outside Canada, to become Canadian permanent residents.
Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship Program
To begin with, the parents and grandparents sponsorship program operates on an invitation basis. The program has a specific time frame window within which it gets opened and closes. In recent years, the Canadian government typically opens up an opportunity for Canadians to apply under the program at a specific point in time during the year. Usually, this happens for just one set time and the government would announce that persons who are interested in sponsoring their parents or grandparents must submit an application.
Application Showing Interest
When the government is ready and they announce the opening of the program, this allows you to submit an application indicating your interest to apply. An application indicating that you have the interest to sponsor someone is not in itself an application to sponsor. You must first be selected and be issued an invitation to sponsor your parents or grandparents before you can then apply to be able to actually sponsor them.
Due to the significant numbers of persons who are interested in this program, the government opens the program for a specific period of time within which it invites persons to submit an expression of interest to sponsor. In addition, the government has a random selection process that allows it to select a set number of applicants. Typically, there is a quota that the government will not exceed. Once the government meets the quota through its random selection process, it then invites those persons whose names have been selected to apply.
Application To Sponsor
The application process is two-fold process. The application to sponsor is made by you; the Canadian permanent resident or Canadian citizen. Your application should be submitted along with an application from your parent or grandparent applying to be sponsored to become permanent residents. In other words, there will be two sets of applications that are going to be assessed.
You, the Canadian permanent resident or Canadian citizen, will be assessed and a determination will be reached on whether or not you meet the eligibility requirements to sponsor. Not every Canadian permanent resident or citizen is actually eligible to sponsor. Other than the requirement that you need to be over the age of 18, there are other requirements that must be met to be able to sponsor. For instance, persons who are in jail are not able to sponsor.
Financial Requirement
There is a financial requirement that must be for you to be eligible to sponsor your parents or grandparents. You need to show that you have the financial means to support them once they arrive in Canada. Notably, you will have an obligation to continue supporting them for up to 20 years after they do become Canadian permanent residents. Therefore, the financial requirement is very important.
Other eligibility requirements of a sponsor are related to their background. As mentioned above, you must not have spent time in jail. In addition, if you had sponsored someone before, you must not have reneged on your undertaking. Those are some of the considerations that will be made when the authorities assess your application.
Other Eligibility Requirements
Apart from the eligibility requirements for the sponsor, the parents or grandparents being sponsored must also meet certain basic requirements. One of the standard requirements concerns whether or not they have a criminal history. Criminal background checks are usually undertaken to confirm. Generally, if the persons being sponsored have any inadmissibility issues that may prevent them from being admitted into Canada, they could potentially be rendered ineligible. In most cases, inadmissibility issues can either be related to a person’s criminal history or medical condition.
In a nutshell, those are some of the details around how to go about sponsoring your parents or grandparents to become Canadian permanent residents. There are other requirements, but those are generally some of the considerations you need to be aware of.
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If you wish to sponsor your parents or grandparents to Canada and you need assistance putting together the necessary immigration application, we are here to assist you and guide you throughout the process.
Should you have any questions regarding the sponsorship program, we are available and happy to provide you with the best professional advice.
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