What it means to be a sponsor

Being a sponsor means you commit to support the people you’re sponsoring (your parents and grandparents and their accompanying family members, if applicable) for a period of time, even if your situation changes.

To become a sponsor, you must sign an undertaking and a sponsorship agreement.

The undertaking

To become a sponsor, you must sign an undertaking. In the undertaking, you’ll commit to

• financially supporting the people you’re sponsoring for a period of time, called the undertaking period
  • The undertaking period to sponsor your parents and grandparents is 20 years. If you live in Quebec, it’s 10 years.
  • The undertaking period starts the day the people you’re sponsoring become permanent residents.
• making sure the people you’re sponsoring won’t need to ask the government for social assistance
  • If they receive social assistance during the time you’re responsible for them, you’ll have to re-pay the amount. You won’t be able to sponsor anyone else until you’ve re-paid it.

Once your sponsored family members become permanent residents, there is no way to cancel or shorten the undertaking period.

You’re responsible for the people you’re sponsoring for the entire 20-year (or 10 in Quebec) period, even if

• the people you’re sponsoring become Canadian citizens
• your relationship with the people you’re sponsoring changes
• you or the people you’re sponsoring move to another province or country
• you have financial problems (for example, job loss or debt)
• you sent us a request to withdraw your sponsorship application and we received it after the people you’re sponsoring became permanent residents

You can only withdraw your sponsorship application before the people you’re sponsoring become permanent residents of Canada.

Learn more about the undertaking for residents of Quebec.

The sponsorship agreement

You and the people you’re sponsoring must agree to certain responsibilities during the undertaking period. We call this the sponsorship agreement.

In the sponsorship agreement, you’ll agree to provide for the basic needs of the people you’re sponsoring. These include

• food, clothing, shelter and other needs for everyday living
• dental care, eye care and other health needs that aren’t covered by public health services

The people you’re sponsoring will agree to make every effort to support themselves and their family members.