To feel like home, a person needs to have the loved ones around and Canada knows how important it is to help families who come from other countries to reunite in Canada. The Canadian Government has a special program for those who wish to sponsor a relative – Family Reunification.

If you are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada, you can sponsor your spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, dependent child (including adopted child) or other eligible relative (such as a parent or grandparent).

The sponsored person can become a permanent resident and can live, study and work in Canada. The sponsor is responsible for supporting the relative financially when he or she arrives.

Spouse

You are a spouse if you are married to your sponsor and your marriage is legally valid.

If you were married in Canada:

• You must have a marriage certificate issued by the province or territory where the marriage took place.

If you were married outside Canada:

• The marriage must be valid under the law of the country where it took place and under Canadian law.
• A marriage performed in an embassy or consulate must comply with the law of the country where it took place, not the country of nationality of the embassy or consulate.

Sponsoring your same-sex partner as a spouse

You can apply to sponsor your same-sex partner as a spouse if:

• you are a Canadian citizen and permanent resident and
• you were married in Canada and issued a marriage certificate by a Canadian province or territory or married in any country that the marriage is acceptable.

If you were married outside Canada, you may apply to sponsor your same-sex partner as a spouse as long as the marriage is legally recognized according to both the law of the place where the marriage occurred and under Canadian law.

Common-law Partner

You are a common-law partner—either of the opposite sex or same sex—if you have been living together in a conjugal relationship for at least one year in a continuous 12-month period that was not interrupted.

Conjugal partner

This category is for partners—either of the opposite sex or same sex—in exceptional circumstances beyond their control that prevent them from qualifying as common-law partners or spouses by living together.

Dependent children

A son or daughter is dependent when the child:

• is under the age of 22 and does not have a spouse or common-law partner
• is a full-time student and is substantially dependent on a parent for financial support since before the age of 22, or since becoming a spouse or common-law partner (if this happened before age 22) or
• is financially dependent on a parent since before the age of 22 because of a disability.

Feel free to contact our office via email info@spourfar.com , phone 778.908.1239 or setting up an initial consultation to learn more about the Family Class Sponsorship.