To be eligible

• You must be a Canadian Citizen or a Permanent Resident living in Canada
• You must be of at least 18 years of age
• You cannot have been sponsored to Canada as a spouse within the last 5 years
• You must meet the financial criteria set by immigration authorities (unless you are sponsoring a spouse)
• You must not be receiving any social assistance for reasons other than a disability
• You must not be in prison, bankrupt, charged with a serious offence
• You must be able to provide financial support for the basic needs of a spouse or partner and dependent children such as food, clothing, shelter, etc and dental care, eye care, and other health needs that aren’t covered by public health services

You may sponsor:

Spouse

• They must be legally married to you

Common Law Partner

• They are not legally married to you
• You must have lived together for at least 12 consecutive months prior to applying

Conjugal Partner

• They are not legally married to you
• They must have been in a relationship with you for at least 1 year
• They are living outside of Canada
• They cannot marry you or live with you in their country of residence due to significant legal and immigration reasons

Dependent (Child)

• They must be of 21 years of age or younger
• They are not married or in a common-law relationship
• If the dependent is 22 or older, they are eligible if they suffer from a mental or physical disability and have been financially dependent before the age of 22
• They must be a biological child or adopted by you

Orphaned sister, brother, niece, nephew, or grandchild

• They are related to you by blood or adoption
• They are under the age of 18
• Both their mother and father have passed away
• Single (not married, or in a common-law or conjugal relationship)

Other eligible relatives

• They are related to you by blood or adoption
• They may be of any age

If you do not have any relatives that can be sponsored (such as a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt or uncle, niece or nephew)