Canada supports family values, and this is why it has launched its Family Class program. Under this program, citizens and permanent residents of Canada can sponsor their family members in a foreign country, allowing them to immigrate to Canada. This is a great opportunity for foreign nationals to immigrate to Canada and reunite with their loved ones.

Criteria for Sponsoring Your Parents

To sponsor your parents, you must be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada. Moreover, you prove to the government of Canada that you have sufficient earnings both to support you and your dependents, as well as the incoming parents. You must not have taken financial assistance from the government, must be a responsible taxpayer and must have a good credit history.

You are eligible to apply for your parents and grandparents’ immigration soon after a year of your permanent residence. However, the government assesses your history of the last year to see if you are independent and if you have sufficient funds to support your parents. Although your parents will enjoy health benefits once they become permanent residents of Canada, you need to make sure that they get proper food, clothes, transportation, important medicines and other basic necessities.

Canada Stopped the Parental Sponsorship program in 2011

Why did Canada do this? Like the Federal Skilled Worker program, Canada has been receiving more applications for Parental Sponsorship than it could handle. The same became the fate of this category of Family Class, and the government stopped accepting new applications completely. Citizen and Immigration Canada expected that this could be a way to streamline past applications and focus on more prospective applications under the skilled labour category. The government announced that this is a temporary stop. New applications were accepted in January 2014.

What About Those in Process?

Unlike the federal skilled worker program, past applications were not cancelled. Canada continued to process parental sponsorship applications filed before November 2011.

The Super Visa Concept

Acknowledging the fact that Family Reunion is an important aspect of family values, Canada launched an alternative plan to Family Class for seniors. Using the super visa, parents and grandparents of permanent residents or citizens of Canada can travel to Canada for up to ten years. This is a multiple-entry visa, however, parents cannot stay for more than two continuous years.

The Super Visa allows parents and grandparents to meet their children. They must, however, return after two years.

The Parental Sponsorship reopens Jan 2015

The government of Canada has announced that the parental sponsorship will reopen in January 2015. This will allow parents and grandparents to immigrate to Canada the same way they used to two years ago.

Do you want to Sponsor your Parents?

If you are a permanent resident of Canada and you have been waiting for this opportunity, then this is the best time for you. As soon as the date arrives, you should be ready to file your application for parental sponsorship.

Wait, this is a complex matter!

You must understand that this is a complex matter. If you really want to sponsor your parents, you should take the time to speak to a representative. We can help you draft and submit your application. We have dealt with many parental sponsorship cases, and by proper planning, our clients were able to immigrate to Canada without any hassle.