Bring Child to Canada

Bring Child to Canada

The government of Canada takes care of their citizens and permanent residents. That is why they encourage parents to bring their child to Canada and reconcile families. When you are planning to bring your child to Canada, you should know what to do in this case.

Requirements to Bring Child to Canada

First, you need to know the eligibility requirements for child sponsorship. You can bring your child to Canada if you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is no less than 18 years old. Also, you should prove that you do not get social assistance from the Canadian government. If you are a citizen of Canada who lives abroad, you must prove that you are going to live in Canada when you bring your child to Canada. However, you cannot apply for child sponsorship if you are a permanent resident of Canada who lives abroad.

Then, you need to check whether your child is recognized as dependant by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. You can bring your child to Canada if they are no more than 22 years old and if they are not married or in a common-law relationship. In case your child is more than 22 years old, they can be qualified as a dependant if they meet both requirements. First, they cannot take care of themselves due to mental or physical conditions. Second, they depended on you before the age of 22. Also, you can use the online tool to find out whether your child is dependant in the eyes of Canadian law. It is worth mentioning, that your child can be a citizen of Canada as well as you, even if they were born abroad. You cannot sponsor a child who already has Canadian citizenship. You can check online whether your child is a citizen of Canada.

By the way, you need to name your child as the principal applicant if you want to bring your child to Canada without sponsoring your spouse or partner. However, you need to prove that the other parent or legal guardian allows you to bring the child to Canada. If your child has their own child, you need to include your grandchild as a dependant in the sponsorship application. You can also sponsor an orphaned member of your family or adopted child.

As a rule, immigration officers do not assess your income. But you need to prove that you have sufficient funds if you want to bring your child to Canada who already has one or more dependent children of their own. If you wonder how much money you need to have to bring the child to Canada, you can visit this web page to find out the updated information. To prove that you can provide for the basic needs of your dependant, you also need to complete and sign the undertaking agreement. It is an official promise to take care of your dependent child. According to the government of Canada, basic needs include food, dressing, accommodation, health needs and other things for everyday life.

If you are sponsoring a dependent child who is more than 22 years old, the length of the undertaking is three years from the day your dependant gets a permanent residence status. If you are sponsoring a child who is less than 22 years old, the duration of the undertaking is ten years or until your child turns 22.

Step-by-Step Guide to Bring Child to Canada

Before describing the sponsorship application process in detail, you need to know that you should apply under the Family Class to bring your child to Canada. It is the only class that allows sponsoring children as principal applicants. Moreover, you need to specify the class of application on the checklist, which you will submit with your application.

The first step of the application process is to get the sponsorship application package. It includes the checklist on how to bring your child to Canada, relevant forms and instructions. To get the package, you need to visit this web page, select who you sponsor, and the country of residence of your child. You need to print the checklist, fill it out, and include its copy in the application package.

The second step is to prepare all documents. It is better to use the checklist to be sure that you submit all required documents. If some documents are not in English or French, you need to attach the English or French translation of the documents, the certified copies of the original documents, and an affidavit from the translator. You should keep in mind that the immigration officer will return your application package to you if it does not have all the documents and forms listed on the checklist. If you cannot prepare some documents, you need to explain the situation to the officer.

The third step is to complete all forms. Like with the previous steps, you should use the checklist to fill out the required forms. It might be useful to know that the last page of the checklist has the list of the signatures for each form. If forms do not have all signatures, the application to bring your child to Canada will be returned to you. You, as the sponsor, must complete these forms: Application to Sponsor, Sponsorship Agreement and Undertaking (IMM 1344) and Sponsorship Evaluation and Relationship Questionnaire (IMM 5532). If you want to sponsor a child who does not have their own child, you also need to fill out the Sponsorship Evaluation form (IMM 5481). If the sponsored dependent child has their own child, you should complete the Financial Evaluation form (IMM 1283).

The principal applicant needs to fill out Application to Sponsor, Sponsorship Agreement and Undertaking (IMM 1344), Generic Application Form for Canada (IMM 0008), Additional Family Information (IMM 5406), and Sponsorship Evaluation and Relationship Questionnaire [IMM 5532). If the sponsorship application has more than five dependants, the sponsored person also needs to submit an Additional Dependants/Declaration (IMM 0008DEP). If your child is older than 18 years, they need to complete Schedule A – Background/Declaration (eIMM 5669) too. These forms must be signed by one of the parents or a legal guardian if your child is less than 18 years old.

The last step is to send the application package to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. But before that, you need to pay the government fees and make sure that the application is complete. Then you need to submit the application package by courier service or mail.

Government Fees

If you want to bring your child to Canada, you need to pay 150 CAD per child. It includes the sponsorship fee of 75 CAD and the processing fee of 75 CAD. You should pay the fees online. To do this, you need a valid email address, a Canadian credit or debit card and a printer. In the end, you should print two copies of the IRCC official receipt with a barcode. Submitting the application to bring your child to Canada, you should add one copy of the receipt to it and keep the second copy for your records. You should know that the immigration officer will return the application if you send another type of processing fee payment.

Processing Time

According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the processing time of the application to bring your child to Canada varies by country. Before submitting your application, you can check the processing time online. If you have already applied to bring your child to Canada, you can check the application status via the online tool.

 

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