How to sponsor adult children for Canadian permanent residence

Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor their adult children for permanent residence under certain circumstances.

If you meet the requirements, you can sponsor a child who is considered to be a “dependent child,” under Canadian immigration law, and this includes many adult children.

Sponsor your dependent child for Canadian immigration

You can sponsor your dependent children and/or your spouse’s dependent children.

This article is for sponsors who intend to reside with their child anywhere in Canada outside Quebec, which follows a different process.

Who counts as a dependent child

There are two ways for a child to qualify as a dependent.

Under the age of 22

A child is considered to be a dependent child if they are under the age of 22, and they are not married or in a common-law relationship.

The child need only meet the age requirement at the time you submit your application. For eligibility purposes, their age is “locked in” at the time your application is submitted.

Financially dependent children aged 22 or older

A child aged 22 or older still counts as a dependent, provided that they cannot financially support themselves on account of a physical or mental condition, and they have been financially dependent on their parent(s) since they were younger than 22.

What’s needed for a dependent child to qualify for sponsorship

If your adult child qualifies as a dependent, the only other requirement is that they be admissible to Canada, for example, not be disqualified on account of

A criminal record;
Medical conditions; or
National security risk.

What’s needed for you to sponsor

To sponsor a dependent child, you must be aged 18 years or older, and be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or registered Indian.

If you’re a permanent resident, you must reside in Canada throughout the entire duration of the sponsorship process.

You must also show that you plan to reside in Canada with your child, and you must agree to financially support your child for the period of time established by the government’s undertaking.

Aside from the above, you need only not be disqualified as a sponsor, such as for reasons of financial insufficiency, criminality, or immigration violations.

You must also meet specific minimum income requirements for cases in which one or more of your dependent child(ren) has dependent child(ren) of their own.

If your dependent child has a dependent child of their own, you must meet the minimum annual income requirement needed to support yourself, your child, and their dependent(s).

Financial support requirements

You must agree to financially support your dependent child for the period established by the undertaking.

For children aged 22 or under, the duration is 10 years, or until they turn 25, whichever comes first.

For children above the age of 22, the duration is three years.

You must provide for all your child’s basic needs throughout the period of the undertaking.

As a permanent resident, your child can qualify for publicly-funded health insurance.

If your child receives any social assistance during the period of the undertaking, you’ll be on the hook to repay the government the full amount.

Applying to sponsor

You can find the application package for dependent child sponsorship on the immigration department's webpage: “Sponsoring your spouse, partner or dependent child.”

Select “my dependent child” as the person you intend to sponsor and input the country they are living in to obtain the document checklist and required forms.

You can complete the application yourself, or you can have a representative complete and submit the application on your behalf.

If you hire a representative, the representative must be authorized under Canadian law, either as a legal professional through licensing with a provincial or territorial law society, or as a consultant through the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.

You must declare any representative using the appropriate form, regardless of whether your representative was an unpaid friend or family member, or a professional paid representative.

Whoever prepares the application should ensure exact conformity with the government’s requirements. Even minor errors can result in rejection.

The processing time for the sponsorship of a dependent child is based on the child’s country of residence: