After you apply
On this page
Keep your information up to date
To avoid delays in processing, make sure your contact information and your application details are up to date.
Use our web form to tell us of changes in your application, such as
- a change in relationship status (for example, marriage, divorce, new common-law relationship)
- the birth or adoption of a child
- the death of an applicant or dependant
- contact information updates, including
- phone number
- mailing address
Don’t mail us changes to your contact or application information. If you do, we won’t acknowledge your request and we won’t update your application. This could lead to a delay in processing your application.
If you change your contact information, make sure you check your old contact information until we update your application.
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 in your invitation to apply
If we begin to process your application, we’ll
- send you
- an application number
- an acknowledgment of receipt
- assess your eligibility as a sponsor
- assess if the person you’re sponsoring (and their dependants, if applicable) is eligible for permanent residence
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If you’re approved as a sponsor
We’ll assess the eligibility of the people you’re sponsoring.
If you live in Quebec
Before we assess the eligibility of your family members:
- the person you’re sponsoring must complete and sign the form Demande de sélection permanente – Catégorie du regroupement familial (PDF, 269 KB) (in French only) and return it to you promptly
- you must enclose this form with your undertaking application to the Government of Quebec
If the Government of Quebec approves your undertaking application, they’ll send us the information we need to process your parents’ and grandparents’ permanent resident application.
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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. There is no guarantee that your family member’s application will be approved.
- If you want us to keep processing, you won’t get any fees back.
- If you choose to withdraw your application, you won’t get the $75 CAN sponsorship fee back. You’ll get all other fees back.
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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.
The people you’re sponsoring will have to show their COPR and their permanent resident visa (if we issued one) to the border services officer or immigration officer in Canada before their documents expire.
Find out more about how your family members can prepare for arrival.
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If we refuse your parents’ and grandparents’ permanent residence application
If we refuse their permanent residence application, we’ll let you know
- why we refused it
- how to appeal the decision
Track and update your application
During processing, track your application and make sure it’s up to date by
- checking the status of your application
- updating your address or other information, if necessary
- adding or changing your representative or getting access to your family’s information, if necessary
- withdrawing your application, if desired
- paying the right of permanent residence fee or requesting a refund
Check the status of your application
For sponsors
Sponsors can check the status of their application by using our online tool. You can do this after we start processing your application and we’ll send you a letter with your application number. This can also take several weeks or even months. Unfortunately, we can’t give an exact time because every case is different.
Our telephone and social media agents also won’t be able to tell you the date you’ll get the letter with your application number. They don’t have this information.
If you want to manage your parents’ and grandparents’ application for them
As the sponsor, if you want to check on your parents’ and/or grandparents’ application status, you must first request access to their information.
To protect your parents’ and grandparents’ privacy, they need to give us their written consent before we’ll share any of their personal information with you, or give anyone access to their application information.
Find out how the people you’re sponsoring can give you access to their information.
You can ask for permission just to check their status, or you can ask to act as what we call a “representative” if you want to
- fill out and submit your parents’ and grandparents’ application for them
- communicate with us on their behalf
To become your parents’ and grandparents’ representative, you must complete, sign and save the use of a representative form (PDF, 264 KB) to add or change a representative and include it with your application. The people you’re sponsoring must also sign the form.
If you’ve already submitted your sponsorship application, send it to us through our web form. Include your
- full name
- date of birth
- country of birth
- application number (if you know it)
- UCI (if you know it)
Upload the form after you’ve completed all the required fields.
For the people being sponsored
The people you’re sponsoring can check their application in 2 ways. They can
- create an IRCC secure online account and link their application to it
- This includes either a paper application or one submitted online through the Permanent Residence Portal.
- They can do this only when we’ve started processing their application and we’ve sent them their application number
- use the online tool, which is updated daily
Linking the parent and/or grandparent application to an online account
When we start processing your family members’ application, we’ll send them a letter with their application number.
It can take several weeks or even months to get this letter. Unfortunately, we can’t give an exact time because every case is different. Our telephone and social media agents also won’t be able to tell you the date when your family member(s) will get the letter.
After they get this letter, the principal applicant can link their application to their online account. This way, they can communicate with us quickly and securely and get updates and messages about their application online.
Find out how to create an online account and link an application.
You (the sponsor) can link their application for them if you’re managing your family members’ application and you’re designated as their representative.
See the top questions about linking your application.
If your processing time has passed
If the normal processing time for your application has passed, you can contact us using our web form.
Withdraw your sponsorship application
You can withdraw your sponsorship application any time before the person you’re sponsoring becomes a permanent resident of Canada.
You may be able to get a refund if we haven’t started processing your application.
Use our web form to request the withdrawal of your sponsorship application.
In your request, include your
- full name
- date of birth
- country of birth
- application number (if you know it)
- UCI (if you know it)
- signed withdrawal request letter
Submit your right of permanent residence fee or request a refund
The right of permanent residence fee must be paid before the people you’re sponsoring can become permanent residents. If it wasn’t paid at the time of application, we’ll contact the people you’re sponsoring to explain how they can pay the right of permanent residence fee online.
You can request a refund for the right of permanent residence fee if
- you’re withdrawing your sponsorship
- your parent or grandparent was refused
- We can only issue refunds once you decline your right of appeal.
To send us the proof of payment or to request a refund, use our web form. In your request, include your
- full name
- date of birth
- country of birth
- application number (if you know it)
- UCI (if you know it)
- copy of the official receipt
- copy of signed right of appeal letter (if you have one)
- letter of explanation if you’re requesting a refund
Don’t send the same request more than once. It’ll delay the processing of your refund.
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