Parental and Grandparental Sponsorship Requirements

The parental sponsorship category is scheduled to reopen in January 2015 and is part of Canada’s commitment to unite families. Eligible permanent residents and Canadian citizens who qualify to sponsor may facilitate their parents or grandparents for permanent resident status.

In order to qualify as a sponsor, you must:

• be 18 years of age or older,
• be a Canadian citizen, Registered Indian or permanent resident,
• be sponsoring a member of the Family Class,
• sign an undertaking promising to provide for your parent’s basic requirements
• Meet the LICO requirements

As you intend to be sponsoring your parent or grandparent, there are other factors that you should consider as well. Essentially, you will need to demonstrate the validity of your relationship as well as your financial capabilities.

You will need to be able to financially demonstrate that you meet the minimum requirements of the Low Income Cut Off (LICO). The LICO is the minimum necessary income you will require, as the sponsor, in order to qualify for sponsoring your parents or grandparents.

The LICO is based on your family size and the size of the family you are sponsoring. For example, if you have a wife and child and intend on sponsoring your grandparents, this would count as 5 people. According to the LICO, you would need a minimum necessary income of $49, 102.00 CAD. See below for the LICO requirements:

Note that the financial undertaking when sponsoring your parents is 10 years. This means that you are financially responsible for your parents for 10 years starting from the date they obtain their permanent resident status.