Canada Dependent Visa: Eligibility, Application, Restrictions

Foreign residents staying in Canada permanently, can sponsor their dependents with a Canada Dependent Visa for living in the country. However, for this the residents need to be eligible for sponsoring their dependents. The dependent can be the spouse, partner or children of the resident staying in Canada. Check: Rising job vacancies in Canada

In order to sponsor the dependent, the person needs to ensure that they are able to support the dependent financially or ensure that the dependents do not need social assistance from the government. For the dependent visa the applicant has to pay a fee for their spouse, children or partner. The fee varies between $150 (~8,770 INR) and $1050 (~61,400 INR).

The processing time for the visa can vary depending upon the country from which you are applying. However, it takes about 12 months for the visa to be approved. There may be some delay due to the restrictions imposed due to covid-19. The person whom you are going to sponsor may need to submit biometrics for verification of the process.

Canada Dependent Visa Covid-19 Impact

Due to covid-19 travelling to Canada has been impacted. A person can travel to Canada only if they are eligible for the same. Certain policies can affect your ability to sponsor your dependents. Explore: Canada’s new Omicron travel guidelines, 2022

Persons who have collected Canada emergency response benefit (CERB) are eligible for sponsoring their dependents as long as they fulfil the other eligibility criteria. CERB is not considered as a social assistance in Canada. You can still sponsor your dependents while collecting CERB.

Sponsors need to include CERB in their income calculation for the tax year. Persons availing other benefits like Employment Insurance, any other CERBs, or temporary covid-19 related benefits can also sponsor their dependents.

The dependent sponsored by the person can also avail the CERB during the undertaking period, without causing any default for the sponsor. However, if the dependent avails any social assistance program during the undertaking period, then it would cause default for the sponsor and the amount would have to be repaid.

Eligibility for Canada Dependent Visa

To sponsor a dependent, one needs to fulfil the following requirements:

Should be 18 or above in age
One needs to be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or an Indian registered in Canada under the Canadian Indian Act.
One cannot be a sponsor if they are permanent residents living outside Canada.
If a resident of Canada is living outside Canada, then they have to display that they will be living in Canada when the person whom they are sponsoring becomes a permanent resident.
The person has to prove that they are not receiving any social assistance for reasons other than disability.
If the person can provide for the basic needs of the dependent.

Know more: How to immigrate to Canada in 2022

If You Live Outside Quebec: In order to become a sponsor, one needs to make a promise to complete all the financial requirements of the person they are sponsoring for a period of time. This promise is taken as an undertaking.

The undertaking commits the person to the following:

To provide the financial support for the sponsored family members when they become permanent residents.
The person has to repay the social assistance that the dependent might get.

The sponsor and the dependents need to agree to certain responsibilities during the undertaking period. This is called a sponsorship agreement.

The sponsorship agreement has the following conditions:

Sponsor has to provide the basic needs of the dependent family members.
The dependent has to make every effort to support themselves and their family members.

While applying for sponsorship the sponsor has to sign the undertaking and sponsorship agreement.

Income Requirement: There is no income requirement in order to sponsor your spouse or partner or dependent child. The sponsor only needs to show that they have enough money to meet the income requirements if:

The person is sponsoring a dependent child that has 1 or more dependent children of their own
The person is sponsoring a spouse or partner that has a dependent child, and their dependent child has 1 or more children of their own.

The information about the money required is available in the Financial Evaluation form which you will get when you download your application package.

If you live in Quebec: The sponsor has to meet Quebec’s immigration sponsorship requirements after being approved as a sponsor. The sponsor must sign an undertaking with the province of Quebec. The income requirements will be evaluated by the Quebec ministry in charge of immigration.

How to Apply for Canada Dependent Visa

There are 2 applications to apply for the sponsorship and dependent:

The sponsor must apply to become a sponsor.
The dependent must apply for permanent residence.

Both the applications should be sent together at the same time.

There are 4 steps to sponsor your spouse, partner or child:

Application package: The application package for the sponsorship program includes the following:

Documents of the sponsor and the dependent
Forms for the sponsor and the dependent
Instructions guide to complete the form for the sponsor and the dependent.

Application fees: In most cases, your fees will include:

processing fees for the sponsor, dependents
the permanent residency fees
fee of the biometrics

Third-party fees

Third party fees payment may be required for the following:

Medical examination
Police certificate

Submit your application: The mailing instructions to submit the application are provided in the guide. Applications can also be sent through courier service and the application can also be tracked through courier. The application returns to the applicant if it is incomplete or any of the fees is missing.
Additional information: Sometimes additional information may be required to be provided during processing. The information can be about medical examination, police certificate or biometrics.

Canada Dependent Visa Processing

The visa application for the sponsor and dependent can be either rejected or accepted. If your application is approved then you need to do the following:

The eligibility of the person who is being sponsored will be assessed.
The dependents can link their application to their online account.
When processing of the application begins the dependents will be sent a letter with the application.

During the application process the dependents will be asked to submit the following documents

medical exams
police certificates
biometrics
- Letter for biometrics is sent after the payment of the biometrics fees.
- The payment receipt for biometrics must be shown during submitting the documents
- Biometrics need to be submitted within 30 days the closest collection point.

If the application for the permanent residence is rejected then the following will happen:

The reason for the refusal will be communicated
The process of appealing the decision will be communicated if you are sponsoring someone from outside Canada.
- Sponsoring decision of spouse living inside Canada cannot be appealed.

Entry With Canada Dependent Visa

Provide mandatory travel information required using ArriveCAN. Following documents need to be provided at the point of entry in Canada:

Confirmation letter of Permanent Residence
- Document sent after approval
Valid passport
Permanent resident visa
Quebec Selection Certificate, if dependents are going to live in Quebec
Additional documents as instructed

If the family members are already in Canada, then they need to appear in one landing interview and need to submit documents as required.

The border officer will:

Confirm that the permanent resident certificate and visa has not expired
Will confirm the information provided by the dependents in the application form

The sponsored members need to disclose the funds that they are carrying with them like :

cash
stocks
bonds
money orders
traveller’s cheques.

Who Cannot Sponsor Their Family?

One cannot sponsor a dependent if :

Sponsor is less than 18 years old.
The sponsor won’t live in Canada when the dependent you want to sponsor become permanent residents.
Sponsor is not a permanent resident of Canada, a Canadian citizen, or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act.
The sponsor is a temporary resident, that is he is visiting, studying or working in Canada on a visa or permit. Check: Canada student visa
The permanent residence application of the sponsor is still in process
- Sponsors must have permanent resident status at the time they submit their sponsorship application.
Sponsor doesn’t have enough money to support the dependents.

Sponsor may not be eligible to sponsor their spouse or partner if they:

Themselves were sponsored by a spouse or partner and they became a permanent resident less than 5 years ago.
are still financially responsible for a previous spouse or partner that they sponsored. This means they are still bound by the 3-year undertaking to take care of this person.

One may not be eligible to become a sponsor if :

They have already applied to sponsor the parent, spouse, or child whom they are currently seeking to sponsor and a decision on that application hasn’t been made
The sponsor is in jail, prison or a penitentiary
If the sponsor didn’t pay back:
- immigration loan
- a performance bond
- court-ordered family support payments such as alimony or child support (not applicable if you live in Quebec)
The sponsor didn’t give the financial support that they agreed to give when they had signed a sponsorship agreement to sponsor someone else in the past (not applicable if you live in Quebec)
The sponsor has declared bankruptcy and is not discharged (not applicable if you live in Quebec)
The sponsor has received social assistance for a reason other than a disability
The sponsor was convicted of attempting, threatening to commit or committing a violent criminal offence, any offence against a relative or any sexual offence inside or outside Canada
The sponsor cannot legally stay in Canada and must leave the country because they received a Removal Order

There can be other reasons that can make the sponsor ineligible to sponsor their spouse, partner or child. The reason for not being approved as a sponsor is communicated.

Who Can Get Canada Dependent Visa

A person can sponsor his/her spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent children.

Spouse: A person’s spouse can be of either sex and must be:

legally married to him/her
at least 18 years old

Common-law partner: Your common-law partner:

Should not be legally married to you
Can be either male or female
Should be at least 18 years old
Should be living with you for at least 12 consecutive months, meaning you’ve been living together continuously for 1 year in a conjugal relationship, without any long periods apart. Any time that you have spent away from each other should have been
- short
- temporary

If any of the common-law partner choose to end the relationship, it is considered to be over. After that you need to give proof of your common-law relationship.

Conjugal partner: A conjugal partner is someone who is

Not legally married to you or in a common-law relationship with you
Can be of either sex
Should be of at least 18 years old
Should have been in a relationship with you for at least 1 year
lives outside Canada
Not able to live with you in their country of residence or marry you because of legal and immigration reasons such as
- marital status (Example: they are married to someone else in a country where divorce isn’t possible)
- sexual orientation (Example: Same-sex relationship which are not accepted, or same-sex marriage is illegal where they live),
- persecution (Example: relationship is between different religion and they might be punished socially.

In case of a conjugal partner you need to provide proof.

Dependent children: Children are considered as dependents if:

They are under 22 years old
they don’t have a spouse or common law partner

Children who are 22 or above can also be considered as dependents if they meet the following criteria:

they have a mental or physical condition and they are unable to support themselves
They were depended on you before the age of 22

If they qualify as a dependent child, you can sponsor

Own child
- If the person is a Canadian citizen, then they cannot sponsor their own children as they are Canadian citizen already.
- If the person is sponsoring just his child, without sponsoring their spouse or partner, then they have to name the child as the principal applicant in the application. The other legal guardian has to provide consent for the same.
- If the child you are sponsoring also has a child, then they are to be shown as dependent in the application.
- A person can also sponsor an adopted or orphaned child.
Spouse or partner and their child
- If a person is sponsoring a child of his spouse or partner then they have to show the partner as primary applicant and the child as the dependent.

Eligibility of the people you’re sponsoring: To prove the eligibility requirements, the dependent have to complete the following: