If you are foreign national you may be selected as member of the Family Class on the basis of your relationship to a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident.

To qualify as a family class member, you must be related to your sponsor in one of the following ways:

• spouse
• common-law/same-sex partner
• fiancé(e)
• dependent children
• parent or grandparent
• brother, sister, nephew, niece, or grandchild
• adopted children or to be adopted by sponsor or under sponsor's guardianship

You may qualify as a sponsor (subject to meeting eligibility requirements) if you are Canadian citizen (including those residing abroad with the intention to return to Canada to reside) or permanent resident (restricted to those residing in Canada only), age eighteen (18) and over.

A Family Class sponsorship proceeds in two steps. In the first step, the Canadian sponsor submits an application in Canada. The sponsor must in most cases meet certain income requirements that are determined based on his or her place of residence and the number of people he or she is sponsoring.
In the second step, the relative abroad, or applicant, applies to a visa office. The applicant must establish his or her relationship to the sponsor as well as pass medical and background checks.


If you want to sponsor any of the above family members, you will have to meet certain income requirements. If you have previously sponsored relatives who have applied for welfare, you may not be allowed to sponsor another person. This is an obligation to be taken seriously. In addition to signing an undertaking to sponsor, you must sign an agreement with your relative.