How to Sponsor Your Parents and Grandparents

Follow the instructions in the online application to scan and upload both sides of your photo.

Step 3. Pay your application fees
Step 4. Submit your online application

Before you submit your application, make sure you

• answer all questions on the forms
• electronically sign your application (type your full name exactly as shown on your passport)
• include your processing fee receipt
• upload all the supporting documents
  • upload a copy of your invitation to apply letter for the 2022 intake under the section “other” in your online application

If your application is incomplete, we will send you a request letter to submit any missing documents. You will have 30 days to submit the missing documents.

Follow the instructions in the request letter you received for details on how to submit the missing documentation. After 30 days, if your application is still incomplete, we will return the application to you and your application will not be processed.

Step 5. Send us additional information during processing

During processing, we’ll ask the person you’re sponsoring to submit their

• medical exams
• police certificates
  • You don’t have to include police certificates when you apply. We’ll ask you for them later in the process.
  • You need a police certificate for the people being sponsored and each family member 18 or older (who isn’t already a Canadian citizen or permanent resident).
  • Police certificates are generally valid for 1 year from the date they’re issued.
  • Depending on processing times, we may ask you for new certificates.
• biometrics
  • When the biometrics fee is paid, we’ll send your family members a letter asking them to give their biometrics.
  • Your family members must show this letter when they give their biometrics.
  • They have 30 days to give their biometrics in person at their closest collection point.

We’ll send instructions and let your family members know how much time they have to send us this information.

You must tell us of any change to your situation, such as:

• birth or adoption of children
• marriage or divorce
• death of a principal applicant or dependant

Step 6. Get updates about your application online

If you and the person you are sponsoring meet the eligibility requirements, we’ll mail or email you a request to link your application to an online account.

Find out how to link your application to your account after you create an account or sign in.

How we process your application

We’ll review your sponsorship application and return it to you if

• it’s incomplete
• fees are missing
• you weren’t invited to apply
• we didn’t get it before the deadline mentioned on your invitation

If we begin to process your application, we’ll

• send you an
  • application number
  • acknowledgment of receipt
• assess your eligibility as a sponsor
• assess if the person you’re sponsoring is eligible for permanent residence

If we refuse you as a sponsor

If we refuse you as a sponsor, you can choose to have us keep processing the application for permanent residence for your family members.

• If you choose to withdraw your application, you won’t get the $75 CAN sponsorship fee back. You’ll get all other fees back.
• If you want us to keep processing, you won’t get any fees back.

If you’re approved as a sponsor

We’ll assess the eligibility of the person(s) you want to sponsor.

The people you’re sponsoring must send any documents we need.

During processing, we’ll ask the people you’re sponsoring to submit their:

• medical exams
• police certificates
• biometrics
  • When the biometrics fee is paid, we’ll send your family members a letter asking them to give their biometrics.
  • Your family members must show this letter when they give their biometrics.
  • They have 30 days to give their biometrics in person at their closest collection point.

Temporary measures have been put into place for biometrics requirements and collection procedures.

Find out what to do for your biometrics

We’ll send instructions and let your family members know how much time they have to send us this information.

You must tell us of any change in circumstances, such as:

• a change in relationship status (for example, marriage, divorce, new common-law relationship)
• birth or adoption of children
• death of an applicant or dependant

If we approve your parents’ and grandparents’ permanent residence application

To finish processing their application, your parents and grandparents, and their dependants who are immigrating to Canada with them, will have to send us

• their passports, or photocopies of their passports (we’ll let you know which one they should send)
• 1 photo (front and back of 1 photo)
• the receipt for the right of permanent residence fee, if you haven’t sent it to us already.

We’ll let them know where to send this information. Once we have it and we finish processing their application, we’ll send them

• a document confirming they have been approved to become Canadian permanent residents (this document is called a Confirmation of Permanent Residence, or COPR)
• a permanent resident visa, if required
  • If the people you’re sponsoring are from countries whose citizens need a visa to travel to Canada, we’ll give them a permanent resident visa in their passport. We’ll do this even if they are already in Canada.

Check the expiry dates on the permanent resident visa and COPR.