Lonely Canadian Program/Other Relative Program: Sponsor Your Relatives

Veronica meets the requirements to sponsor her aunt because she doesn’t have:

• a close living relative she could sponsor instead (such as a spouse, partner, child, orphaned sibling, parent or grandparent) and
• any other relative such as an aunt who is a citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian of Canada.

On the application, Betty will be designated as the principle applicant and her husband will be designated as a dependant.

Betty’s daughter can be included on the application only if she qualifies as a dependent child. If her daughter is older than the age limit or she doesn’t meet all the requirements, she can’t be added to Betty’s application and will have to immigrate to Canada on her own.

Example 2: Eligible to sponsor a cousin

Sam is an only child. His parents and grandparents have passed away. He was raised in the United States by his only cousin.  He immigrated to Canada as a permanent resident. He’s single (doesn’t have a spouse or a common-law partner). Sam doesn’t have any relatives in Canada who are Canadian citizens, permanent residents or registered Indians. Sam wants to sponsor his American cousin. His cousin is single (doesn’t have a spouse or a common-law partner).

Sam meets the requirements to sponsor his cousin to come to Canada because he doesn’t have:

• a close living relative he could sponsor instead (such as a spouse, partner, child, sibling, parent or grandparent) and
• any other relative who is a citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian of Canada.

Example 3: Not eligible to sponsor an aunt by marriage

Aba is a Canadian citizen. The only family she had in Canada was her mother, who passed away. Aba has always been close to her mother’s only brother and his wife. Aba’s uncle recently passed away, and Aba would like to sponsor his wife (her aunt by marriage) to come to Canada. Aba does not meet the requirements to sponsor her aunt, because they’re not related by blood.

Who you can’t sponsor

You can’t sponsor someone who is inadmissible to Canada. This means they’re not allowed to come to Canada.

4. How to apply

There are two stages in the process for your eligible relatives to become permanent residents.

1. You apply to sponsor your relatives.
2. Your family members must apply for permanent residence.

You must send both your sponsorship application and the permanent residence application for your relatives at the same time.

To apply to sponsor your eligible relatives you must:

4.1  Get the application package

The application package includes the:

• imm5287e   document checklist (PDF, 822KB)
• Application to Sponsor, Sponsorship Agreement and Undertaking [IMM 1344] (PDF, 478.72 KB)
• Financial Evaluation [IMM 1283] (PDF, 1.24 MB)
• Generic Application Form for Canada [IMM 0008] (PDF, 652 KB)
• Additional Dependants/Declaration [IMM 0008DEP] (PDF, 424.19 KB), if applicable
• Schedule A – Background/Declaration [IMM 5669] (PDF, 776.39 KB)
• Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union [IMM 5409] (PDF, 636.51 KB), if applicable
• Use of a Representative [IMM 5476] (PDF, 648.31 KB), if applicable
• Medical Condition Statement [IMM 0133] (PDF, 2.3 MB)
• Guide 5196_ Sponsorship of adopted children and other relatives – Canada.ca

Read the guide before you fill in the forms. Make sure you’re eligible to sponsor a relative before you apply. We won’t refund the sponsorship application fee.

When submitting applications:

• you’ll have to provide proof of income
• your relatives must state they will try to support themselves
• you must agree in writing to support your relatives for a set amount of time (3 to 20 years)
• include all your relative’s dependent children (if any) on your relative’s application
• include all the documents listed in the document checklist
  • missing information or documents can delay your application

All information in your application must be true. You must tell the truth about:

• your family members (include them all on your application)
• your marital status
• any change in your case

The people you sponsor must also tell us about each of their close family members. These family members must have a security and criminality check and a medical exam. If they don’t, the sponsored person won’t be able to sponsor them in the future.

Helping your relative with their application?

If you want to:

• prepare your relative’s application for them
  • This would mean that you’d be acting as their representative.
• check on their application status

You have to request permission and provide the right forms with your application.

Find out how to act as a representative or access your family member’s information.

4.2  Pay your application fees

In most cases, your fees will include:

• processing fees for you, the people you’re sponsoring and their dependants
• the right of permanent residence fee
• the biometrics fee

You have to pay your fees online (opens in a new tab).

Fees

• Sponsor a child: from $150
• Sponsor an adult (22 years or older): from $1,050

Biometrics fee

In most cases, you must pay a biometrics fee when you submit your application. Otherwise you may experience delays. The biometrics fee covers the cost of collecting fingerprints and a digital photo.