Parent/Grandparent sponsorship Canada

Parent/Grandparent sponsorship Canada

One of the most popular programs available for family members is the Parent/Grandparent sponsorship program through Immigration Canada.

The program is a random draw and it is only done once a year and you never really know when it’s going to happen because Immigration Canada does not announce it until a couple weeks before.

They will announce that they are taking application for the draw and not always the rule but often it is just a month or two before the draw is set to take place. This year was an exception but we will ignore this last year.

It’s a simple application that is filled out by the applicant and submitted to show your interest in the draw.

Now here is the tricky part.

The draw is limited to the amount of people who will have the opportunity apply through immigration Canada for their parents or grandparents to come. Usually around 10 to 20 thousand people are drawn from the pool which is totally random and can have upwards of 120 thousand submissions of interest into the pool.

The big problem is people who chose to submit their name into the program many have not check to see if they qualify in the first place. This really is a per peeve of mine. If someone is going to apply then they should check the requirements to ensure they do. Why? Well, the why should be easy to figure out.

It is a draw and if they do not meet the requirements and cannot apply then the letter of offer is gone. It doesn’t get put back into the system for the persons who do qualify it is just a lost application.

So, what is the biggest reason that they usually don’t qualify. Well, it’s the income requirements that you must meet for this last year’s tax season and the 2 years previous to that.

The income requirements are not like the usual LICO (low-income Cutoff) it is the LICO plus and additional 30% on top of that. The good thing is that you and your spouse/partner can use both incomes within the household together to meet the requirements.

Wow, sounds great right. Well, it is actually if you are from a culture that only the husband works outside of the home and you would not be able to show an income because you don’t have one. Well, their income can be used instead.

Here is the drawback for the co-signer. If you are going to help your spouse by supporting the application then you must be ready to be on the hook for the next 20years that your in-laws are here.

You are responsible for them as well. Even if you and you spouse separate or divorce you are still required to be financially responsible for them. This means things like if they decide to use the social system then you are responsible for paying all funds they receive back to the government. So, if you have a falling out with them or with your spouse you still have a very long-term obligation.

Immigration Canada will hold you to this contract and you will not be able to get out of it. Well, not totally if you die then they can’t get money from a dead person. Even if your spouse passes away you are still responsible for their parents for the life of the agreement.

You are responsible to make sure they have to mention a couple things. Food, shelter, medical care, household supplies etcetera.

So, what should you take form this blog? Well, do some research before you submit a notice of interest to immigration Canada for the Parent and Grand Parent draw.

Make sure you are going to meet the financial requirements that they ask. These are not flexible numbers at all and they will not except yours because it may only be a small difference or they may not notice if I try to sneak this in.

I know you all want to help your parents because they brought you into this world and supported you until you came to Canada though a Study Permit most likely and helped you along the way.

But, remember there are other people who do qualify and know they qualify and you have taken away their chance of sponsoring their parent or grandparents because you didn’t check the financial requirements needed or any of the other requirements and the application is now lost.

Be considerate you will have your chance again in the future when you do meet the requirements and wouldn’t it be nice knowing your chances of getting a successful application is much higher because others have checked and opted out submitting a notice of interest to Immigration Canada because they knew they didn’t meet the requirements that year.