REQUIREMENTS:

Family class applicants have a family member who is already a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who sponsors them to come to the country.

The applicant must be a:

• wife, husband or conjugal (common-law) partner
• parent or grandparent
• brother, sister, nephew, niece or grandchild who is orphaned, unmarried and under 18
• dependent son or daughter
• child under 18 whom the sponsor plans to adopt
• other relative, if the sponsor doesn't have another relative described above, either abroad or in Canada

SPONSORS:

Sponsors are financially responsible for the immigrant for the following periods of time:

• three years for their spouse, conjugal partner or children over 22 years of age
• 10 years for a dependent child who is less than 22 years of age or until the child turns 25 years of age, whichever comes first
• 10 years for anyone else not mentioned

PROCESS:

The sponsor and applicant fill out an application, which has two parts: one for the sponsor and one for the applicant. Both apply at the same time.

It could take up to five years from start to finish, depending on the number of applicants in the country where the application is being made. Here's what you can expect:

• first, CIC sends you an acknowledgement that it has received the applications
• next is an interview, which could be waived if everything on the application is acceptable. Issues over your credentials and background could raise questions
• you are notified of a decision once the authorities have checked out whether you are a security threat, a criminal or have medical problems
• in a few months, you are cleared to come to Canada For more information, check out the CIC's Family Sponsorship page.

FOLLOWUP:

Once in the country, Citizenship and Immigration Canada does little tracking. If a person applies for welfare, CIC is notified and investigates.

If the sponsor hasn't fulfilled his/her responsibilities, CIC will recover, from the sponsor, the social assistance benefits given out. Any default of a sponsorship will also be noted if the sponsor seeks to make another sponsorship application. Sometimes a sponsor isn't able to fulfill his or her responsibilities because of losing a job or some other problem. If that happens, CIC will hold an inquiry and report its findings to the Immigration Appeal Board. The appeal board then holds a hearing at which the immigrant can make their case. The immigrant could be deported. However, this rarely happens.