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 (for the 2025 intake)
- Family size
- Proof of income
Income required for the 3 tax years before you apply (for the 2025 intake)
| Family size | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 people | $47,549 | $44,530 | $43,082 |
| 3 people | $58,456 | $54,743 | $52,965 |
| 4 people | $70,972 | $66,466 | $64,306 |
| 5 people | $80,496 | $75,384 | $72,935 |
| 6 people | $90,784 | $85,020 | $82,259 |
| 7 people | $101,075 | $94,658 | $91,582 |
| If more than 7 people, for each additional person, add: |
$10,291 | $9,636 | $9,324 |
If you live in Quebec
You must meet Quebec's income requirements.
Family size
Family size is counted on a yearly basis. Count each person in the year they became part of your family. If someone is no longer part of your family when you apply (for example, because of death, legal divorce, or an expired undertaking), don’t include them in your family size for any of the 3 tax years.
To count the number of people you’ll be responsible for, include the following:
- The people in your family at the time of application. This includes
- yourself (the sponsor)
- your spouse (even if you’re separated, in most cases) or common-law partner
- If your spouse or common-law partner is co-signing your application, include them for all 3 years.
- If they aren’t co-signing, only include them for the years they meet the definition of a spouse or common-law partner.
- your dependent children, the dependent children of your spouse or common-law partner and any dependent children of the dependent children (if they have any)
- any other person you and your co-signer (if you have one) sponsored or co-signed, for whom an undertaking is still in effect
- Include the family members (for example, spouse, common-law partner, or dependent children) of the person you sponsored or co-signed for, whether or not they were included in the undertaking.
- The people you want to sponsor and their family at the time of application. This includes
- the person you’re sponsoring (principal applicant)
- the principal applicant’s spouse or common-law partner
- Include their separated spouse unless either the principal applicant or their spouse is in a common-law relationship with another person.
- the principal applicant’s dependent children, the dependent children of their spouse or common-law partner and any dependent children of the dependent children (if they have any)
You must include all the principal applicant’s family members, even if they
- aren’t coming to Canada
- are permanent residents of Canada or Canadian citizens
Examples of how to calculate your family size
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Example 1 — Sponsor with a co-signing spouse
Angel is sponsoring her father (who has no dependants) and will submit her application in 2025. Her husband Diego will co-sign the application to help her meet the income requirement. They married in 2023 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 2023. This means that for 2024, 2023, and 2022, Angel’s family size is 3:
- Angel
- Angel’s husband, Diego
- Angel’s father
For all 3 years (2024, 2023 and 2022), Angel and Diego must check if they meet the income requirement for 3 persons.
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Example 2 — Sponsor with a new born child
Julie is sponsoring her 2 parents and will submit her application in 2025. 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 2023.
Julie must calculate her family size on a yearly basis.
For 2024 and 2023, Julie’s family size is 5:
- Julie
- Julie’s wife, Sarah
- Julie and Sarah’s child
- Julie’s 2 parents
For 2022, Julie’s family size is 4:
- Julie
- Julie’s wife, Sarah
- Julie’s 2 parents
Because Julie and Sarah’s child was born in 2023, they only count the child in the family size starting the year the child was born.
For 2 years (2024 and 2023), Julie and Sarah must check if they meet the income requirement for 5 persons.
For 1 year (2022), they must check if they meet the income requirement for 4 persons.
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Example 3 — Sponsor with a non-dependent child
Amir is sponsoring his 2 parents and will submit his application in 2025. 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 2023.
Amir must calculate his family size on a yearly basis.
For 2022, 2023 and 2024, Amir’s family size is 4:
- Amir
- Amir’s wife, Mariam
- Amir’s 2 parents
Since Amir’s and Mariam’s son is not a dependent child when they apply, he isn’t included in the family size count for any of the 3 tax years.
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Example 4 — Non-accompanying dependants
Maria is sponsoring her mother, Irina, and will submit her application in 2025. 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 2024, 2023 and 2022, 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 (2024, 2023 and 2022), Maria must check if she meets the income requirement for 4 persons.
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Example 5 — Sponsor with a separated spouse
Juan and Lise, who are both permanent residents, are married and had a child in 2022. Juan and Lise separated in 2024. Juan is sponsoring his mother and will submit his application in 2025. Lise won’t co-sign the application. Juan’s mother doesn’t have any dependants.
For 2024, 2023 and 2022, 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 2024, they’re still legally married. Lise counts toward the family size until they’re divorced.
For all 3 years (2024, 2023 and 2022), Juan must check if he meets the income requirement for 4 persons.
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Example 6 — Principal applicant with a separated spouse
Kabir is sponsoring his mother, Naya, and will submit his application in 2025. 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 2024, 2023 and 2022, 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 (2024, 2023 and 2022), Kabir must check if he meets the income requirement for 3 persons.
If Jai and Naya legally divorce or one of them enters into a common law relationship with another person, then Jai won’t be included in the family size count for any of the 3 tax years.
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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 2025. Fatima has no dependants. Yusuf separated from his wife in 2010 and has been in a common-law relationship with Zainab since 2018.
For 2024, 2023 and 2022, 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 toward the family size instead of his wife.
For all 3 years (2024, 2023 and 2022), 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:
- Give us permission to get your tax information directly from CRA
- On the form Financial Evaluation for Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship [IMM 5768] (PDF, 171 KB), under question 8, “Sponsor Statement of Consent”:
- Check “Yes.”
- Provide your social insurance number (SIN), signature and date.
- On the form Financial Evaluation for Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship [IMM 5768] (PDF, 171 KB), under question 8, “Sponsor Statement of Consent”:
- Send us the paper copies of your notices of assessment
- Complete the form Income Sources for the Sponsorship of Parents and Grandparents [IMM 5748] (PDF, 154 KB).
- Include the notices of assessment with your application package. If you don’t have the paper copies, log in to CRA’s My Account to find them online.
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