What it means to be a sponsor

You must commit to supporting the people you’re sponsoring (your spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or child), even if your situation changes.

To become a sponsor, you must complete and sign a form that includes

• the undertaking
• the sponsorship agreement

If you live in Quebec

You must sign an undertaking with the Government of Quebec.

Learn about

• Quebec’s undertaking for sponsoring your spouse or partner
• Quebec’s undertaking for sponsoring a dependent child

The undertaking

In the undertaking, you’ll commit to

• financially supporting the people you’re sponsoring for a period of time, called the undertaking period
• 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 repay the amount. You won’t be able to sponsor anyone else until you’ve repaid it.

How long you have to support someone

The undertaking period begins once the people you’re sponsoring become permanent residents. Its length depends on who you’re sponsoring.

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

You’re responsible for them for the entire undertaking 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 processed it after the people you’re sponsoring became permanent residents

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

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.

You’ll agree to provide for the basic needs of the people you’re sponsoring. This includes

• 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 person you’re sponsoring will agree to make every reasonable effort to support themselves and their accompanying family members.

Exception: Dependent children under 22 years old don’t sign the sponsorship agreement.