If you have been waiting to sponsor parents to Canada or sponsor grandparents to Canada for permanent residence, now is your opportunity. Citizenship & Immigration Canada will be re-opening the Parental Sponsorship program on January 4, 2016, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Sponsor Eligibility
Be 18 years or older;
Be a Canadian citizen or a Permanent Resident;
You are a Canadian citizen, under some conditions you may not have to reside in Canada, but it is far easier if you do. Permanent Residents must reside in Canada in order to sponsor parents and/or grandparents;
Provide financially for your sponsored parents and/or grandparents. You will have to sign a sponsorship agreement with an Undertaking, where you are legally obligated to provide any financial support, if necessary, to family members you are sponsoring;
Meet certain income requirements that ensure you can provide financial support if needed.
The following may cause you to be ineligible to sponsor if you:
Failed to provide financial support in the past to any other sponsored relative;
Defaulted on child support or alimony;
Received government support that was not disability payments;
Were convicted of a violent criminal offence, an offence against a relative, a sexual offence.
Are in prison;
Defaulted on an immigration loan;
Have declared bankruptcy and not yet been released (a “discharge”) from bankruptcy;
Are under a removal order.
Also, any amounts owing as a result of:
A default on a loan or other financial obligation;
Having had a sponsored relative go on social assistance in the past;
Any alimony or child support payment owing must be paid in full before you can sponsor another relative.