Family sponsorship lets a Canadian citizen or permanent resident bring their spouse, partner, dependent child, or parents and grandparents to Canada as permanent residents. Which category applies to you, and which pathway is actually open right now, changes everything about how you move forward. This page helps you find both before you apply for anything.
Family sponsorship is the immigration program that lets a Canadian citizen or permanent resident sponsor an eligible relative to become a permanent resident of Canada. As the sponsor, you sign an undertaking agreeing to financially support the person you’re sponsoring for a set period after they arrive, generally 3 years for a spouse or partner and up to 20 years for a parent or grandparent.
Three real categories sit under family class immigration. Spouse or partner sponsorship covers married, common-law, and conjugal relationships. Dependent child sponsorship covers your own biological or adopted children. Parent and grandparent sponsorship covers bringing your parents or grandparents to live in Canada permanently, a category that works quite differently from the other two right now.
To sponsor anyone, you need to be at least 18 years old, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and not currently receiving social assistance for reasons other than a disability. Certain past convictions and unresolved debt from an earlier sponsorship can also affect your eligibility as a sponsor.
Category | Who it’s for | Current status | Next step |
Spousal or partner sponsorship | Married, common-law, or conjugal partners | Open, no minimum income required | Full details on our dedicated page |
Dependent child sponsorship | Biological or adopted children under 22 | Open | Covered below |
Parent and Grandparent Program | Parents or grandparents seeking permanent residence | Intake paused, 2025 invitations still processing | Covered below |
Super Visa | Parents or grandparents wanting extended visits | Open, the main current option for this group | Covered below |
One of these categories already has its own full page on our site. The rest are covered below.
You can sponsor a spouse you’re legally married to, a common-law partner you’ve lived with continuously for at least 12 months, or a conjugal partner in situations where living together hasn’t been possible. Unlike parent and grandparent sponsorship, there’s no minimum income requirement here, and the total government fee is $1,260 CAD, or $660 CAD if you defer the $600 Right of Permanent Residence Fee until later in the process.
Whether your relationship documentation is strong enough, and which fee timing actually makes sense for your situation, is worth working through properly on our Spousal Sponsorship page rather than assuming this outline covers everything specific to your case.
Your biological or adopted child qualifies if they’re under 22 and not married or in a common-law relationship. A child 22 or older can still qualify if they’ve depended on you financially since before turning 22 and can’t support themselves because of a physical or mental condition.
$180 CAD per child, with no Right of Permanent Residence Fee attached, since that fee only applies to the principal applicant in most family class cases.
This is where the most current, and most misunderstood, information on this page sits. As of 2026, IRCC isn’t accepting new Parent and Grandparent Program applications. The department is processing applications from sponsors who received an invitation during the 2025 intake, with a target of roughly 15,000 admissions per year through 2028 under the current Immigration Levels Plan.
If you weren’t part of that invited group, waiting for the next PGP intake isn’t your only option right now, and it isn’t necessarily the fastest one either.
Sponsors who do have an active PGP file need to meet the Minimum Necessary Income requirement, calculated using Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-Off plus 30 percent, based on your family size and assessed across the three tax years immediately before your application was received. This is the one family sponsorship category where income genuinely matters.
The Super Visa is a multiple-entry temporary resident visa valid for up to 10 years, letting your parent or grandparent stay in Canada for up to 5 years at a time, considerably longer than a standard visitor visa allows.
You need to provide a signed letter of invitation and show proof of income meeting the Super Visa’s own income test. Your parent or grandparent needs private medical insurance from a Canadian insurer, covering at least $100,000 and valid for at least one year from their date of entry.
While the Parent and Grandparent Program stays paused, the Super Visa is the realistic way most families are bringing a parent or grandparent to Canada right now, even if permanent residence remains the longer-term goal.
| Category | Government fee |
|---|---|
| Spouse or partner, with RPRF | $1,260 CAD |
| Spouse or partner, without RPRF | $660 CAD, plus $600 RPRF paid later |
| Dependent child | $180 CAD per child |
| Parent or Grandparent Program | $1,260 CAD, when intake reopens |
| Biometrics | $85 per person, $170 per family |
These figures reflect IRCC’s fee schedule following the April 30, 2026 increase. Confirm the exact current amount at canada.ca before you pay, since fees are adjusted periodically.
A client came to Brightlight assuming the Parent and Grandparent Program was the only way to bring her mother to Canada, and that she’d simply have to wait for the next intake to reopen with no clear timeline in sight.
Brightlight reviewed her income and documentation and confirmed she qualified for the Super Visa in the meantime, giving her mother up to 5 years in Canada at a time while her name stays associated with any future PGP announcement. Her mother arrived within months rather than waiting indefinitely.
Your situation may be different. Either way, we will tell you honestly what your options are.
No immigration consultant can guarantee a family sponsorship application will be approved. What Brightlight guarantees is an accurate identification of which category and pathway actually fits your family’s situation, and careful preparation so IRCC has no reason to ask questions.
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No. As of 2026, IRCC isn't accepting new PGP applications. The department is processing files from sponsors invited during the 2025 intake, targeting roughly 15,000 admissions per year through 2028. If you weren't part of that group, the Super Visa is currently the realistic way to bring a parent or grandparent to Canada while waiting for the next intake announcement.
It depends on who you're sponsoring. There's no minimum income requirement for spousal, partner, or dependent child sponsorship. Parent and grandparent sponsorship is different, requiring the Minimum Necessary Income test, based on Statistics Canada's Low Income Cut-Off plus 30 percent, assessed over the three tax years before your application. The Super Visa uses its own separate income test.
Sponsoring a spouse or partner costs $1,260 CAD total, or $660 CAD if you defer the $600 Right of Permanent Residence Fee. Each dependent child costs $180 CAD, with no RPRF. Parent and Grandparent Program sponsorship costs $1,260 CAD when intake reopens. Biometrics add $85 per person or $170 per family. Confirm current figures at canada.ca before paying.
Parent and grandparent sponsorship leads to permanent residence, but the program's intake is currently paused. The Super Visa is a temporary, multiple-entry visa valid up to 10 years, allowing stays of up to 5 years at a time, without granting permanent status. Many families use the Super Visa now while waiting for a future PGP intake to open.
Yes. Spousal sponsorship covers married, common-law, and conjugal relationships under the same category, though each has its own proof requirements. Common-law generally requires 12 continuous months living together. Conjugal partner applies when cohabitation genuinely hasn't been possible, often due to legal or immigration barriers in your partner's home country.
Have a question not answered here? Speak directly with our licensed RCIC.
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