Check if you’re eligible

If you’re eligible, you can sponsor your parents and grandparents, related by blood or adoption.

Who can sponsor their parents and grandparents

You can sponsor your biological or adopted parents and grandparents if

• you’re invited to apply
• you’re at least 18 years old
• you live in Canada
  • Your primary residential address must be in Canada when you submit your application and until we make a decision on your application.
• you’re a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act
• you have enough money to support the people you want to sponsor
  • to show that you have enough, you’ll have to provide your proof of income
  • you may have a spouse or common-law partner co-sign the application to combine your incomes
• you meet all other requirements under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations

You must also commit to support the people you’re sponsoring by signing a sponsorship agreement called an undertaking.

If you live in Quebec

If we approve your sponsorship application, we’ll ask you to submit an undertaking application to the Quebec ministry in charge of immigration. You must also meet Quebec’s immigration sponsorship requirements.

Don’t submit your undertaking application to Quebec until we tell you to do so. If you don’t wait for our confirmation, Quebec won’t process your application.

Who can’t sponsor their parents and grandparents

You may not be eligible to sponsor your parents and grandparents if you

• are in jail, prison or penitentiary
• didn’t pay back
  • an immigration loan
  • a performance bond
  • court-ordered family support payments such as alimony or child support ^{Footnote *}
• didn’t provide the financial support you agreed to when you signed a sponsorship agreement to sponsor someone else in the past^{Footnote *}
• declared bankruptcy and are not discharged ^{Footnote *}
• receive social assistance for a reason other than a disability
• were convicted of a violent criminal offence, any offence against a relative or any sexual offence inside or outside Canada
• can’t legally stay in Canada and must leave the country because you received a Removal Order

There may be other reasons that make you ineligible to sponsor your parents and grandparents. If we determine you’re not eligible to sponsor, we’ll tell you why.