Sponsoring siblings - Please Help

[andikeep2580]

Hi all

I am currentltly being sponsored to live in Canada by my Canadian-cotizen girlfriend. We have a daughter who was born here in Canada too. My mother and sister, nepthew and niece have been visiting and we were wondering wather or not we can sponsor them to join us here on a permanent basis.

Is this an option under the family class? What would be the best way to proceed?

Thanks

Andi.

 

[wilson]

Hi,

The required information is available here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse-apply-who.asp

 

[Leon]

The information you need is here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/relatives-apply-who.asp

You can sponsor your mother and if your siblings are under age 22 or if they are over 22, full time students since before the age of 22 and not married, you can sponsor them too as a package deal. You will have to show enough income to support your wife, kids and all of your family that you are sponsoring. If your wife co-signs, her income can count too. Sponsoring parents is not considered a priority thing so it generally takes a long time, 3-4 years at least.

You can sponsor nephews and nieces if they are orphans and under 18 and not married. If that is not the case, then you can check if there is a possibility for you to sponsor them under the provincial nominee program where you live, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/provincial/apply-who.asp Not all provinces have a family stream under their PNP and if they do, there will be some requirements you have to meet for how long you have lived in the province/been PR, what your funds are, the age/education/workexperience/funds of the relatives being sponsored etc.

 

[MarkGuy]

You can sponsor your mother and if your siblings are under age 22 or if they are over 22, full time students since before the age of 22 and not married, you can sponsor them too as a package deal.

Question on sponsoring children.
If I sponsor my wife and she arrives say, Jul 1, 2010.

Can I then sponsor her child on Aug 1, 2012, who will be 22 then, and a full time student since before the age of 22?

I'm asking because of the separation in time between the applications.

TIA

 

[mitamata]

Mark, I think your wife would be the one who would be sponsoring her child, not you. But yes, that's perfectly ok, the child can be sponsored later on. Just make sure they are included as her dependent in her application for PR - they have to be medically examined even though they are not being sponsored at this time. If you don't do this, then your wife will not be able to sponsor them later on.

 

[Leon]

You can and should include the daughter as a dependent child on the wifes application. Accompanying or non-accompanying. She'll in both cases have to have a medical but if you include her as accompanying, she will get the visa at the same time as the mom. She can land as a PR and then stay outside of Canada for up to 3/5 years without losing her PR.

If you list her as non-accompanying, your wife can sponsor her later as long as she is not married and either under 22 or 22(+) and a full time student. If she's under 22 at the time she applies to sponsor her, her age is locked in. If she's over 22 and a student, she has to stay a student until she becomes a PR. In both cases she has to stay single.

 

[MarkGuy]

You can and should include the daughter as a dependent child on the wifes application. Accompanying or non-accompanying. She'll in both cases have to have a medical but if you include her as accompanying, she will get the visa at the same time as the mom. She can land as a PR and then stay outside of Canada for up to 3/5 years without losing her PR.

If you list her as non-accompanying, your wife can sponsor her later as long as she is not married and either under 22 or 22(+) and a full time student. If she's under 22 at the time she applies to sponsor her, her age is locked in. If she's over 22 and a student, she has to stay a student until she becomes a PR. In both cases she has to stay single.

Thanks Mita and Leon.
Leon if I understand you correctly, if the child is intending to stay outside of Canada until her studies are completed (not even enter briefly when her Mom arrives) then the process is as follows:

-include the daughter as a dependent child on wife's application
-child has a medical at the same time wife has medical
-child receives PR visa same time as Mom, but doesn't enter Canada
-child can stay outside Canada for 3-5 years without losing PR visa. (Is it 3 or 5?)

OR is the process as follows?:

-include the daughter as a dependent child on wife's application
-child has a medical at the same time wife has medical
-child does NOT receive PR visa same time as Mom because listed as non-accompanying

 

[Leon]

If the daughter is listed as accompanying and gets the PR visa at the same time as the mother, she needs to land in Canada to activate her PR status before the visa expires. The visa usually expires a year after the medicals have been done. After activating her PR status, she can be outside Canada for up to 1095 days (3 years) in her first 5 year period as a PR and after that 3 years in any 5 year period as a PR.

If she does not have the time or money to go and enter Canada for as much as a day to activate her PR before the expiry of the visa, it will not be worthwhile to apply for her at the same time. In that case it would be better to list her as non-accompanying and apply to sponsor her later. Still make sure to apply for her early enough that she will still be a full time student when she arrives in Canada as a PR. If she has already graduated at that point and was over 22 at the time of the application, then she is no longer considered a dependent child.

 

[MarkGuy]

If the daughter is listed as accompanying and gets the PR visa at the same time as the mother, she needs to land in Canada to activate her PR status before the visa expires...

If she does not have the time or money to go and enter Canada for as much as a day to activate her PR before the expiry of the visa, it will not be worthwhile to apply for her at the same time. In that case it would be better to list her as non-accompanying and apply to sponsor her later. Still make sure to apply for her early enough that she will still be a full time student when she arrives in Canada as a PR. If she has already graduated at that point and was over 22 at the time of the application, then she is no longer considered a dependent child.

It sounds like the best/safest way to go would be for the daughter to make a brief trip over to activate her 5-year visa.
She is currently studying for a nursing degree. But if she opts not to accompany her mother, then she would be in a catch-22 situation, as she wouldn't be able to graduate as a nurse in her country, from what you are saying.

Her long-term aim is to first graduate as a nurse and then consider whether she wants to continue her studies to become a doctor.

 

[Leon]

She would be able to graduate but she would be safer to do a short trip anyway to do her landing proceedings before she graduates or enroll herself in a university program in Canada. That is only if the application to sponsor her is sent in after she reaches age 22. If it goes in before then, her age is locked in.

If she gets the visa with the mother and lands as a PR, she can still spend up to 3 years outside Canada to complete her nursing degree. Depending on where she is from, she will likely have some licensing requirements to work as a nurse in Canada. If she decides she wants to continue her studies to become a doctor, she should do that in Canada because foreign doctors have huge licensing issues.

 

[MarkGuy]

She would be able to graduate but she would be safer to do a short trip anyway to do her landing proceedings before she graduates or enroll herself in a university program in Canada.
... If she decides she wants to continue her studies to become a doctor, she should do that in Canada because foreign doctors have huge licensing issues.

Thanks very much Leon, this is a great help!

 

[MarkGuy]

You can and should include the daughter as a dependent child on the wifes application....

If you list her as non-accompanying, your wife can sponsor her later as long as she is not married and either under 22 or 22(+) and a full time student. If she's under 22 at the time she applies to sponsor her, her age is locked in. If she's over 22 and a student, she has to stay a student until she becomes a PR. In both cases she has to stay single.

Leon I was just reading some stuff on the Can Gov website:

4. Pay the fee and get the necessary receipt.

The fees are:
....
* $550 for a dependant of the principal applicant who is 22 or older, or who is under 22 and married or in a common-law relationship.

This seems to imply that you can apply to sponsor a child who is 22 or older, which you hadn't mentioned before. Did I miss something?
Or is that $550 for a dependant who has simply stayed in school all this time?

Also some questions about out-of-country applications.
First I'd like to clarify what I mean about "out-of-country"

I mean the sponsor being/living out-of-country at the time of application (not the person being sponsored).

Is the complete package simply mailed to the same office in Canada that you would mail to had you, the sponsor applied in-country?
Are sponsor out-of-country applications handled quicker than sponsor in-country applications?

TIA

 

[Leon]

As I said, you can sponsor a child 22 or older only if they are still considered a dependent child at the time of the application and as well as when they land as a PR. If they are to be considered a dependent child, they must be studying full time since before the age of 22 and not married or the other option, there is something wrong with the child, disability of some kind causing them to be dependent on the parent financially.

A Canadian citizen is allowed to sponsor a spouse or dependent children from outside Canada provided they provide evidence that they will be moving to Canada when they get the PR. The application is still sent to the same place as if the sponsor was in Canada and I have no idea if it takes longer because of the added proof needed.