Family Sponsorship

Minister John McCallum has announced that processing times for the family class immigration programs will be reduced to 12 month. The government goal to eventually reduce processing times to as low as six months.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that applicants who are interested to sponsor parents and grandparents may complete an online form to express their interest to sponsor. The form will be available to be completed as of January 3, until 12 p.m. EST on February 2, 2017

Quebec's immigration department will cap family sponsorship applications until June 25, 2026.

A Temporary Resident Visa or visitor visa (TRV) is an official document placed in your passport that demonstrates to Canadian authorities that you have met the requirements for admission into Canada as a visitor, student or worker. Canada requires citizens of certain countries to obtain a TRV before they can enter Canada.

John McCallum, Canada's Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, has stated that his department plans to speed up processing times for family class immigration, economic immigrants and refugee claimants by applying the lessons learned from bringing 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada over a short period time of only 3 months.

Due to a large application backlog in 2011, the federal government paused parental sponsorship program which allowed Canadians and permanent residents to sponsor and bring their foreign parents and grandparents to Canada.

Whether you need to move to Canada before sponsoring your spouse depends entirely on whether you are a permanent resident or a Canadian citizen, and on which sponsorship stream you choose.

IRCC will invite up to 30,000 sponsors over a two-week period beginning the week of September 20.

Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor their dependent child(ren) for permanent residence, helping families reunite in Canada.

As a commitment to family values and unity from Canada, the Government of Canada running the Spousal Sponsorship Program which allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their spouse or common-law partner for Canadian Permanent Residency.

Canada aims to process spousal sponsorship applications within 12 months.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC, formerly known as CIC) has updated the documents required in order to submit an application for the Super Visa Program, which allows the parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents to come to Canada as visitors for an extended period The Super Visa allows its bearer multiple entries to Canada for a period up to 10 years. The key difference between a Super Visa and a visitor visa is that the Super Visa allows an individual to stay for up to two years on initial entry into Canada, while a 10-year multiple entry visitor visa would only have a status period for each entry of six months only.

The reopening of the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) on May 21st highlights the ongoing limitations of the program. For the fourth year in a row, Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will select applicants from the 2020 pool, leaving potential sponsors from subsequent years without an opportunity. However, the Super Visa offers an alternative route for Canadians to reunite with their loved ones.

For Canadians unable to sponsor parents or grandparents through the limited PGP lottery, the super visa provides a faster, year-round alternative.

The Super Visa allows parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents to visit their family for up to five consecutive years without renewing their visitor status. Furthermore, parents and grandparents can enter Canada multiple times with the Super Visa for up to 10 years.

When you include a spouse or common-law partner in your Canadian immigration application, it can adjust your CRS score in a couple of ways. For personal attributes like age and education, you might get a few less points if you apply with a partner. For instance, solo applicants in their twenties score a bit higher for age than those applying with a partner. However, there's a silver lining: your partner's own education and language abilities can add extra points to your total score.

So while you might lose some points for your individual qualifications when applying with a spouse, you can gain points for your partner's skills and experience. The system is designed to balance out, with or without a spouse, allowing a total of up to 500 points.

If your partner is already a Canadian citizen or resident, though, your application would be assessed as if you're applying alone, potentially giving you a higher score in the personal factors. Overall, the key takeaway is that a partner's credentials can complement yours, which might just be the boost your application needs.

The MNI varies depending on the number of family members being supported in Canada, the location of the sponsor in Canada, and the number of family members being sponsored.

Potential sponsors who received an invitation now have less than 60 days to submit a complete application

Women’s rights activists are hailing a commitment by Immigration Minister John McCallum to change spousal sponsorship rules they say unfairly penalize women and racial minorities.

If you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you may be able to sponsor your parent or grandparent to come to Canada. Through the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP), your parent or grandparent will receive Canadian permanent residence and may eventually be able to apply for Canadian citizenship.