Immigration rates for family sponsorship in Canada fall in April, but rise in 2022

The latest data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shows the number of new permanent residents in Canada through family sponsorship programs declined for the fourth consecutive month in April.

Since welcoming 19,240 family members to Canada last December as part of family sponsorship programs, there has been a steady decline each month.

In January, 12,705 came to Canada with family sponsorship, dropping to just 11,090 in February and again to 9,925 in March.

In April, Canada welcomed 11,595 fewer family members as new permanent residents than the December high.

Despite that downward trend, the number of new permanent residents through family sponsorship programs is still higher this year due to the relatively strong start to the year.

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In the first four months of this year, 41,370 new permanent residents came to Canada under family sponsorship, an increase of 17.9 percent or 6,283 new permanent residents compared to the same period last year.

Because it is Canada’s most populous province, Ontario has also seen the largest number of new permanent residents through family sponsorships so far this year, with 20,650 new arrivals arriving under those programs.

But the other provinces and territories also attracted new permanent residents through family sponsorship programs during that period. included:

Based on current levels of family sponsorship immigration in the first four months of this year, Canada could welcome 124,110 such new arrivals by the end of this year, if the trend continues.

Family sponsorship poised to end the year at 52.4%

That would be a level of family-sponsored immigration 52.4 percent higher than last year, when 81,430 new permanent residents settled in Canada through these programs.

In the first four months of this year, compared to the same period last year, family sponsorships fell in popularity only in Nunavut, where they fell by 50 percent.

Elsewhere in Canada, family sponsorships grew most in popularity in the Atlantic Canadian province of New Brunswick, where they grew by 56.7 percent over the same period last year, and in the Yukon, where growth increased by 50 percent. new permanent residents through family sponsorship.

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Under family sponsorship programs, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada aged 18 or over can sponsor certain family members to become Canadian permanent residents.

With that permanent residence, those family members can live, study and work in Canada.

The sponsor assumes all financial responsibility for his or her family member once he or she arrives in Canada.

To be a sponsor, the Canadian citizen or permanent resident must:

• enter into a sponsorship agreement with the family member to be sponsored in which the sponsor undertakes to support the family member financially, if necessary. This agreement also says that the person who becomes a permanent resident will make every effort to provide for his or her maintenance;
• provide financial support to a spouse, spouse or spouse for three years from the date they become a permanent resident, and;
• provide financial support to a dependent child for 10 years, or until the child turns 25, whichever comes first.

Family members that can be sponsored include:

• husband – (restrictions apply)
• common law partner – (restrictions apply)
• spouse – (restrictions apply)
• dependent children
• parents – (Additional terms and conditions apply)
• grandparents – (Additional terms apply)
• siblings, cousins, granddaughters or grandsons who are orphans, under the age of 18 and not married or in a common relationship
• another family member of any age or relationship, but only under specific conditions
• accompanying relatives of the above (e.g. spouse, partner and dependent children).

Sponsored spouses can work in Canada under family sponsorship programs

Spouses and partners coming to Canada under the sponsorship programs are allowed to work under the Spousal Work Permit Pilot Program.

The program is designed to allow spouses and partners to work while their immigration applications are finalized.

Eligible candidates must be located in Canada and be sponsored for permanent residency below the class of husband or wife. Candidates must also have a valid temporary status as a visitor, student or employee.

Under the sponsorship programs, sponsors contract with the Canadian immigration authorities to reimburse the government for any social assistance payments made to the sponsored individual. Sponsors remain bound by the commitment throughout the term of the contract, even in the event of changed circumstances such as a breakdown of marriage, legal separation, divorce or change in financial situation.

In the case of a spouse, a spouse, or a spousal partner, a sponsor must sign a commitment to repay the federal or provincial government from the date they establish a permanent become a resident for a period of three years.

In the case of a child under the age of 19, of the sponsor or spouse, spouse or spouse, the obligation begins on the day the child becomes a permanent resident of Canada for a period of 10 years or until the child reaches the age of 25.

In the case of a dependent child over the age of 19, the obligation commences on the day the dependent child becomes a permanent resident, for a period of three years.

For parents and grandparents, the guarantee obligation applies for a period of 20 years from the date on which the member of the family class becomes a permanent resident. For all other family members, the obligation applies for 10 years.