Here is an overview of how you can sponsor relatives such as your brother, sister, or other family members to immigrate to Canada.
Canada welcomes over 100,000 family class immigrants per year.
It is well known that most of these immigrants arrive through the Spouses, Partners, and Children category while a smaller share arrives under the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP).
The rules surrounding sponsoring other family members are less well known. However, it is important to remember that Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) does allow you to sponsor other family members in very specific situations.
Most sponsor their spouse, partner, or parents, or grandparents. There are two other options for who you can sponsor.
Orphaned brother, sister, nephew, niece, or grandchild
IRCC states you can sponsor an orphaned brother, sister, nephew, niece, or grandchild if all of these conditions are met:
• they are your relative either by blood or through adoption
• both of their parents passed away
• they are below the age of 18
• they are not married or in a common-law or conjugal relationship
On the other hand, IRCC says you cannot sponsor this family member if any of the following applies:
• they have a parent that is still alive
• the location of their parents is unknown
• they were abandoned by their parents
• they are being cared for by someone else while one or both of their parents are still alive
• their parent is in jail or otherwise detained
Another relative
As another option, you can sponsor one relative that is related by blood or adoption of any age as long as all these conditions are met:
• the sponsor (i.e., Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person registered under Canada’s Indian Act) does not have a living relative that you could sponsor instead such as a spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, child, parent, grandparent, or an orphaned brother/sister/nephew/niece/grandchild
• the sponsor does not have any relatives that are Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or is registered under the Indian Act
If the relative you are sponsoring has a spouse, partner, or dependent children that also want to come to Canada, you will need to include them on the same sponsorship application.
