Family Class Immigration
Bring your foreign parents to live in Canada
Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor their parents and grandparents to immigrate to Canada. Sponsored parents and grandparents will obtain permanent resident status, allowing them to live in Canada indefinitely, to work or study if they want to, and to access social services such as medical care. A parental sponsorship application is a two-step process whereby the Canadian applies to be approved as a sponsor, then once this application is accepted, the foreign parents or grandparents apply for permanent residence on this basis. The basic requirements of the program are as follows:
Income Requirement for Parents Sponsorship 2021
The Canadian sponsor has to show income at least 30 percent above the LICO (low income cut-off level) in order to meet the minimum necessary income requirement. The amount of income required is based on total family size, including the sponsor, his or her immediate dependents, and the family members being sponsored, including any dependents that they may have. The income tables for 2020 are as follows:
| Family Size | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 people | $32,899 | $41,007 | $40,379 |
| 3 people | $40,445 | $50,414 | $49,641 |
| 4 people | $49,106 | $61,209 | $60,271 |
| 5 people | $55,695 | $69,423 | 68,358 |
| 6 people | $62,814 | $78,296 | $77,095 |
| 7 people | $69,935 | $87,172 | $85,835 |
| If more than 7 people, for each additional person, add: | $7,121 | $8,876 | $8,740 |
- Income Requirement is for Three Years – the sponsor has to show that they have met the minimum necessary income requirement for the past three years.
- Notice of Assessment(s) is the Only Evidence of Income – to prove their income sponsors may only use their income tax returns as documentary evidence, as the immigration authorities will not consider other evidence of income.
- 20 Year Sponsorship – the sponsor has to agree to be financially responsible for the parent or grandparent for a period of 20 years.
- 10,000 Applications Limit – Only 10,000 applications will be accepted in 2016. The immigration authorities justify this measure as being necessary to enable them to continue working on reducing the existing backlog of parental sponsorship applications. This cap renews in January of each year and the limit of applications is usually received within days of the renewal, so it is important to have your application prepared and ready to file by the beginning of the year in order to have it filed.
It should be noted that the parental sponsorship category suffers from extremely long processing times, as the immigration authorities consider this kind of case to be low priority. Processing times of 4 years or more are common. Therefore, if you are planning to sponsor your parents or grandparents, the sooner you start the better. In the meantime, parents and grandparents can obtain a “Super Visa” to remain in Canada as visitors for extended periods.
