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Sponsor family guide

Sponsor your family

Browse guides about sponsor family. Choose a program, document, deadline or problem to get started.

In brief

Start with the page closest to your question. Each guide links to government instructions and explains what to check before you apply, respond or make a decision.

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People gathering at a community event

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Find the guide you need

Choose the page closest to your question, program, document or problem.

A parent and child arriving at a community health clinic
Sponsor family

Sponsoring a spouse or partner

Compare spouse, common-law and conjugal sponsorship, sponsor eligibility, relationship evidence and in-Canada versus Family Class processing.

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A welcoming Canadian elementary school entrance
Sponsor family

Inland spouse or partner sponsorship

Understand the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada class, cohabitation, temporary status, travel and open work-permit considerations.

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A household reviewing a financial plan
Sponsor family

Family class spouse or partner sponsorship

Use Family Class sponsorship for a spouse or partner abroad, understand visa-office processing, travel and appeal considerations.

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A welcoming community clinic waiting area
Sponsor family

Proving a common-law relationship for Canadian sponsorship

Learn why IRCC requires proof of common-law status for partner sponsorship and how to document 12 continuous months of living together.

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A family preparing luggage before leaving their Canadian home
Sponsor family

Conjugal partner sponsorship

Understand Canada’s narrow conjugal-partner category, the one-year relationship requirement and barriers preventing marriage or cohabitation.

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Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
Sponsor family

Sponsoring a dependent child

Check dependent-child age and relationship rules, custody and consent evidence, medical screening and undeclared-family-member risks.

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A newcomer using an unbranded automated banking machine
Sponsor family

Parents and Grandparents Program

Understand the July 2026 Parents and Grandparents Program pause, existing application processing, sponsorship obligations and alternatives.

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A family arriving with luggage
Sponsor family

Super visas for parents and grandparents

Check host income, insurance, medical and visitor requirements for a parent or grandparent super visa under the March 2026 changes.

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A bright unfurnished Canadian rental apartment
Sponsor family

Sponsoring other relatives

Learn the narrow orphaned-relative and last-remaining-relative rules and why adult siblings, cousins and extended family usually cannot be sponsored.

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A suitcase organized for a move to Canada
Sponsor family

Immigration and adopted children

Coordinate provincial adoption, the child’s country of origin and Canadian immigration or citizenship processes for an adopted child.

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An immigration lawyer handling a time-sensitive telephone call
Sponsor family

Who can sponsor a family member

Check Canadian family-sponsor status, age, residence, financial and default rules before beginning a spouse, child or relative application.

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The landscape of the Northwest Territories, Canada
Sponsor family

Sponsorship undertakings and financial responsibility

Understand the sponsor’s binding support promise, undertaking periods, social-assistance debt, co-signers and what happens after separation.

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Identity and application documents on a desk
Sponsor family

Family sponsorship document checklist

Assemble sponsor, identity, civil-status, relationship, police and financial records for a complete Canadian family sponsorship application.

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A newcomer speaking with employers at a community job fair
Sponsor family

Proving a genuine relationship

Present credible relationship history, cohabitation, communication, financial and family evidence without manufacturing a perfect-looking file.

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A permanent resident being welcomed home at an airport
Sponsor family

After submitting a sponsorship application

Track sponsor assessment, biometrics, medical, background, interviews and changes after filing a Canadian family sponsorship application.

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A professional consultation in an office
Sponsor family

Family sponsorship refusals

Assess relationship, sponsor and admissibility refusal reasons and compare appeal, reapplication, reconsideration and judicial review.

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Winnipeg, Manitoba
Sponsor family

Appealing a family sponsorship refusal

Understand the IAD notice deadline, disclosure, hearings, legal validity and humanitarian evidence in a Canadian sponsorship appeal.

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How to use this hub

A genuine relationship still needs organized proof

01

Sponsor

Confirm eligibility, undertakings and any fact that prevents sponsorship.

02

Relationship

Apply the correct legal category and document how it developed.

03

Applicant

Address identity, family composition and admissibility completely.

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The landscape of British Columbia, Canada
Sponsor family

Sponsoring a spouse or partner

Compare spouse, common-law and conjugal sponsorship, sponsor eligibility, relationship evidence and in-Canada versus Family Class processing.

Read the guide
A newcomer speaking with staff at a public service centre
Sponsor family

Inland spouse or partner sponsorship

Understand the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada class, cohabitation, temporary status, travel and open work-permit considerations.

Read the guide
People connecting in their community
Sponsor family

Family class spouse or partner sponsorship

Use Family Class sponsorship for a spouse or partner abroad, understand visa-office processing, travel and appeal considerations.

Read the guide
People preparing to move into a home
Sponsor family

Proving a common-law relationship for Canadian sponsorship

Learn why IRCC requires proof of common-law status for partner sponsorship and how to document 12 continuous months of living together.

Read the guide
A couple and adviser reviewing an immigration plan
Sponsor family

Conjugal partner sponsorship

Understand Canada’s narrow conjugal-partner category, the one-year relationship requirement and barriers preventing marriage or cohabitation.

Read the guide
A family planning an international move
Sponsor family

Sponsoring a dependent child

Check dependent-child age and relationship rules, custody and consent evidence, medical screening and undeclared-family-member risks.

Read the guide