Permanent Resident – Sponsorship

To stay permanently in Canada as a permanent resident, also known as a landed immigrant, you will need to be sponsored by your husband. Your husband can begin the sponsorship process regardless of where you are. If you are in Canada when the sponsorship application was sent in, you can stay in Canada while waiting for it to be processed.

What is sponsorship?
Does your husband have to sponsor you?
What are the requirements of a sponsor?
What are the steps in the sponsorship process?
How long is your husband responsible for you as your sponsor?
What are your husband’s obligations as a sponsor?
What are your obligations as a sponsored person?

What is sponsorship?

Sponsorship is a part of the Canadian immigration system that allows individuals to come to Canada under the Family Class of immigration. It is a way to reunite family members in Canada who have been living in separate countries and enable those family members to attain permanent resident status. In your case, your husband will sponsor you to Canada, as long as he meets the requirements of a sponsor. He is the sponsor; you are the one being sponsored.

Sponsorship is an agreement between the Canadian government (the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) and your husband (the sponsor). This agreement is a promise on the part of the sponsor to provide you with the basic requirements you will need in order to live in Canada. This means supporting you financially and making sure you receive food, shelter, clothing, and any health needs not covered by the public health care system. This undertaking ensures that you will not need to access social assistance.

Does your husband have to sponsor you?

No. Your husband’s decision to sponsor you so that you may live in Canada as a permanent resident is his choice, not his legal obligation as a married person. The marriage ceremony does not guarantee that your husband will sponsor you or that you will be able to stay and live in Canada. It is only when your husband puts in the sponsorship application and it has been approved that you can stay permanently in Canada. If your husband does not sponsor you, you will not be able to apply to become a permanent resident under the sponsorship category.

What are the requirements of a sponsor?

Your husband must

be 18 years of age or older;
be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;
be living and continuing to live in Canada when you become a permanent resident;
prove that he has sufficient income to provide for your basic living requirements;
sign an agreement to provide you with the basic living requirements.

What are the steps in the sponsorship process?

The sponsor must complete a sponsorship application form and gather any required documents to support your application.
If you are not in Canada, you (as the person being sponsored) must complete immigration forms. If you are in your home country, there may be forms specific to the region from which you are coming. Give the completed forms to your sponsor.
Your sponsor will then mail all the completed application forms and supporting documentation to the Case Processing Centre along with the fee required to process the application. If your husband is sponsoring you, the fee will be $75 (Canadian) for him as the sponsor and $475 (Canadian) for you as the applicant. Other fees are added if your husband is also sponsoring your children.

All of the application forms and any further information can be found on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website.

How long is your husband responsible for you as your sponsor?

When your husband signs the sponsorship agreement, he promises to sponsor you for at least three years from the day you become a permanent resident.

What are your husband’s obligations as a sponsor?

Once the sponsorship application has been processed and approved, and your husband is legally considered your sponsor, he has certain legal obligations:

Financial Support
The agreement or undertaking your husband signs with the Canadian government is legally binding. The agreement is a promise to financially support you for a period of at least three years so that you do not need to access financial assistance through the government. If, for some reason, you do access social or government assistance, this sponsorship agreement means your husband has promised to pay the government for your use of its services.
Before your husband’s sponsorship application is accepted, he will have to prove to the government that he has enough money to support you for the specific period of time laid out in the agreement (usually three years). If he cannot prove this, it is possible that his sponsorship application will not be accepted.

Basic Requirements
As a sponsor, your husband must provide you with the basic needs you require to live in Canada. This usually means supporting you financially, which includes providing you with shelter (a place to live), clothing, and food. It also means providing you with the means (again, financial) to receive medical attention that is not covered by the public health system should you require it (for example, dental care, eye care).
It is important to remember that once the sponsorship application has been approved and you have gained permanent resident status, your husband does not have any legal power over you personally. This means he cannot legally force you to have children or take care of his parents, and he cannot have you deported even if he has threatened to do so.
If your husband stops supporting you before three years have passed, he may not be allowed to sponsor anyone else. Consult a lawyer to ask about taking legal action against him.

What are your obligations as a sponsored person?

As a sponsored person, you do not have additional responsibilities to your husband. This means that you are not legally obligated to do what your husband says or what he wants because he is your sponsor. Legally you do not have to bear his children or take care of his parents if you do not want to do so.

You have the same responsibilities as any other permanent resident or Canadian citizen. You are responsible for following the laws of Canada and the province where you live.

Your responsibility is towards the Canadian government, not your husband. You have to take actions to become self-supporting. This means that while you are being sponsored and your husband is taking care of your basic needs, you have to be finding ways to support yourself financially. Often, this means looking for work, taking English language classes, and learning about Canadian society. This will help you integrate into Canadian society.