You can sponsor certain relatives if you’re 18 years of age or older and a:

✔ Canadian citizen or

✔ Person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act or

✔ Permanent resident of Canada

You must live in Canada to sponsor eligible relatives unless you:

✔ Are a Canadian citizen who lives abroad and

✔ Plan to return to Canada when your relatives immigrate and

✔ Are sponsoring your spouse; common-law or conjugal partner; or dependent children who have no dependent children

✔ Your spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner

✔ Your dependent children

✔ Dependent children of your spouse or partner

✔ Your adopted child

✔ Your parents and their dependent children (your brothers and sisters, or half brothers and sisters, or step-brothers and step-sisters)

✔ Your grandparents

✔ Your orphaned brother, sister, nephew, niece or grandchild

✔ Other relative if specific conditions are met

You may not be able to sponsor a relative if you:

✔ Are in prison

✔ Have not paid your alimony or child support payments

✔ Have declared bankruptcy and haven’t been released from it yet

✔ Got social assistance for reasons other than being disabled

✔ Didn’t pay back an immigration loan, made late payments or missed payments

✔ Sponsored another relative in the past and didn’t meet the terms of the sponsorship agreement

✔ Were convicted of a violent crime, any offence against a relative or any sexual offence, depending on details of the case, such as the type of offence, how long ago it was, or whether a record suspension was issued (formerly called “pardons” in Canada).

✔ Other things not on this list may stop you from being able to sponsor a relative.