One way your family can join you in Canada as immigrants is through family class immigration. Through family class immigration, certain members of your family are allowed to immigrate to Canada, upon your promise that you will take care of them for a specified period of time.

This article is a summary of some important aspects of family class immigration. It is not legal advice, but rather is merely informational. It is accurate as of October 16, 2005.

Who can come to Canada?

Members of your family who may be eligible to come to Canada through the family class immigration program include your husband, your wife, or your conjugal partner, which includes your same-sex partner. In addition, your mother, your father, your grandparents, and your children may also be eligible. Additional members of your family, including your brother, sister, niece, nephew, or grandchildren may be eligible to join you in Canada as immigrants in some cases.

What do I need to do?

Before your family members can join you in Canada, you need to meet certain qualifications. Importantly, you must be eighteen years of age or more, and a Canadian citizen or a Canadian permanent resident. You must be residing in Canada if you are a permanent resident; in some cases Canadian citizens may be residing outside of Canada but remain eligible to sponsor their family members to immigrate to Canada.

You must also fill out a sponsorship undertaking. This is your promise to the Canadian government that you will support the family members you are sponsoring. Depending on the situation, this promise will endure for between three and ten years. You and the family members you are sponsoring must also sign an agreement which states that all parties understand their obligations.

In many cases sponsors must meet minimum financial requirements. The government established these financial requirements to help ensure that sponsors have the means to support their families in Canada. An important exception to financial requirements is that in cases of spousal sponsorship, the government generally does not take your financial situation into consideration.

What other ways are there to immigrate to Canada?

There are many ways to immigrate to Canada. Immigrating through the family class is just one of those routes.

In addition, it is possible to come to Canada on a temporary work, visitor, or study visa.

What are the chances of successfully immigrating to Canada?

Between January and March 2005, approximately 56,374 non-Canadians became permanent residents, which is the first step to becoming a Canadian citizen. Of this number, 12,412 were in the family class.

Sat-Sung Kalman is a Canadian immigration lawyer specializing in Canadian immigration, visitor, work, and study permits. Sat-Sung can be reached at http://www.canada-immigrate.ca, and is pleased to respond to your inquiries.