Language selection

Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada

Search

Income requirements for the sponsor

To be a sponsor, you must have enough money to support all of the people you’ll be financially responsible for, including yourself. We call this your “family size.”

To show that you have enough money, you’ll have to prove you meet the income requirements for each of the 3 tax years before the date you apply.

If you don’t meet the income requirements by yourself, your spouse or common-law partner can co-sign your application to combine your incomes.

On this page

Income required for the 3 tax years before you apply (if you’re applying for the 2024 intake)

Family size 2023 2022 2021
2 people $44,530 $43,082 $32,898
3 people $54,743 $52,965 $40,444
4 people $66,466 $64,306 $49,106
5 people $75,384 $72,935 $55,694
6 people $85,020 $82,259 $62,814
7 people $94,658 $91,582 $69,934
If more than 7 people, for
each additional person, add:		 $9,636 $9,324 $7,120

Income requirement for the 2021 tax year

Since many sponsors and co-signers were affected financially by the COVID-19 pandemic, the income requirement for the 2021 tax year was reduced to the minimum necessary income, instead of the minimum necessary income plus 30%.

Sponsors and co-signers can also count these benefits in their income calculation for the 2021 tax year:

Note: This doesn’t apply to the income requirements for the 2023 and 2022 tax years, which are the minimum necessary income plus 30%.

If you live in Quebec

You must meet Quebec's income requirements.

Family size

To count the number of people you’ll be responsible for, include the following:

You must include all the principal applicant’s family members, even if they

Examples of how to calculate your family size
  • Example 1 — Sponsor with a co-signing spouse

    Angel is sponsoring her father (who has no dependants) and will submit her application in 2024. Her husband Diego will co-sign the application to help her meet the income requirement. They married in 2022 and have no children.

    Angel must calculate her family size on a yearly basis. Since co-signers must be included in all years, she must include Diego in the family size for all 3 years even though they married in 2022. This means that for 2023, 2022, and 2021, Angel’s family size is 3:

    • Angel
    • Angel’s husband, Diego
    • Angel’s father

    For all 3 years (2023, 2022 and 2021), Angel and Diego must check if they meet the income requirement for 3 persons.

  • Example 2 — Sponsor with a new born child

    Julie is sponsoring her 2 parents and will submit her application in 2024. Julie’s wife, Sarah, will co-sign the application to help her meet the income requirement. Julie and Sarah have a young child who was born in 2022.

    Julie must calculate her family size on a yearly basis.

    For 2023 and 2022, Julie’s family size is 5:

    • Julie
    • Julie’s wife, Sarah
    • Julie and Sarah’s child
    • Julie’s 2 parents

    For 2021, Julie’s family size is 4:

    • Julie
    • Julie’s wife, Sarah
    • Julie’s 2 parents

    Because Julie and Sarah’s child was born in 2022, they only count the child in the family size starting the year the child was born.

    For 2 years (2023 and 2022), Julie and Sarah must check if they meet the income requirement for 5 persons.

    For 1 year (2021), they must check if they meet the income requirement for 4 persons.

  • Example 3 — Sponsor with a non-dependent child

    Amir is sponsoring his 2 parents and will submit his application in 2024. Amir’s wife, Mariam, will co-sign the application to help him meet the income requirement. Amir and Mariam have a son, Ali, who turned 22 years old in 2022.

    Amir must calculate his family size on a yearly basis.

    For 2023, Amir’s family size is 4:

    • Amir
    • Amir’s wife, Mariam
    • Amir’s 2 parents

    For 2022 and 2021, Amir’s family size is 5:

    • Amir
    • Amir’s wife, Mariam
    • Amir’s and Mariam’s son, Ali
    • Amir’s 2 parents

    Because Amir and Mariam’s son met the definition of a dependent child (under 22 years old) in 2022 and 2021, they must count Ali in the family size for those years.

    For 1 year (2023), Amir and Mariam must check if they meet the income requirement for 4 persons.

    For 2 years (2022 and 2021), Amir and Mariam must check if they meet the income requirement for 5 persons.

  • Example 4 — Non-accompanying dependants

    Maria is sponsoring her mother, Irina, and will submit her application in 2024. Maria is single and has no children. Her mother has been married to Oleg (Maria’s stepfather) since 2009. Oleg has a 15 year old son, Alexei (Maria’s stepbrother). Maria’s stepfather and stepbrother will not come to Canada with Irina.

    Maria must calculate her family size on a yearly basis. She must include all family members, even those not coming to Canada.

    For 2023, 2022 and 2021, Maria’s family size is 4:

    • Maria
    • Maria’s mother, Irina
    • Maria’s stepfather, Oleg
    • Maria’s stepbrother, Alexei

    Maria includes her stepfather and stepbrother because they are Irina’s dependants (her spouse and dependent child) even though they’re not coming to Canada.

    For all 3 years (2023, 2022 and 2021), Maria must check if she meets the income requirement for 4 persons.

  • Example 5 — Sponsor with a separated spouse

    Juan and Lise, who are both permanent residents, are married and had a child in 2021. Juan and Lise separated in 2023. Juan is sponsoring his mother and will submit his application in 2024. Lise won’t co-sign the application. Juan’s mother doesn’t have any dependants.

    For 2023, 2022 and 2021, Juan’s family size is 4:

    • Juan
    • Juan’s spouse, Lise (even though they’re separated)
    • Juan and Lise’s child
    • Juan’s mother

    Even though Juan and Lise separated in 2023, they’re still legally married. Lise counts towards the family size until they’re divorced.

    For all 3 years (2023, 2022 and 2021), Juan must check if he meets the income requirement for 4 persons.

  • Example 6 — Principal applicant with a separated spouse

    Kabir is sponsoring his mother, Naya, and will submit his application in 2024. He has no dependants. Naya separated from her husband, Jai, in 1995. Neither Naya nor Jai are in a common-law relationship with another person.

    For 2023, 2022 and 2021, Kabir’s family size is 3:

    • Kabir
    • Kabir’s mother, Naya
    • Naya’s spouse, Jai (even though they’re separated)

    Even though Naya and Jai separated in 1995, they’re still legally married. Jai counts towards the family size until:

    • they’re divorced or
    • one of them enters a common-law relationship with another person

    For all 3 years (2023, 2022 and 2021), Kabir must check if he meets the income requirement for 3 persons.

  • Example 7 — Principal applicant with a separated spouse and a common-law partner

    Fatima is sponsoring her father Yusuf and will be submitting an application in 2024. Fatima has no dependants. Yusuf separated from his wife in 2010 and has been in a common-law relationship with Zainab since 2018.

    For 2023, 2022 and 2021, Fatima’s family size is 3:

    • Fatima
    • Fatima’s father, Yusuf
    • Yusuf’s common-law partner, Zainab

    While Yusuf and his wife are still legally married, Yusuf isn’t a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and has a common-law partner, Zainab. This means that Zainab counts towards the family size instead of his wife.

    For all 3 years (2023, 2022 and 2021), Fatima must check if she meets the income requirement for 3 persons.

Proof of income

To prove you meet the income requirements, you must provide a notice of assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for each of the 3 tax years before the date you apply.

There are 2 ways you can do this:

  1. Give us permission to get your tax information directly from CRA
  2. Send us the paper copies of your notices of assessment

Page details

Date modified: