Legal Ease, July 4

Nunavut lawyer James Morton explains how to sponsor a family member to come to Canada. (FILE PHOTO)

Can I sponsor a family member to come to Canada?

Canada is, to a large degree, a nation of immigrants. This is easily seen in the large multi-cultural cities of the South but even in Nunavut, immigration has made a major difference to daily life.

Canada has nearly seven million immigrants who make up a little more than 20 per cent of the total population.

Naturally, immigrants want to establish themselves and then bring their family to come and live with them. My own parents came to Canada in that very way.

Establishing roots in Canada usually means becoming a Canadian citizen.

To become a citizen, a permanent resident (someone admitted to Canada to work and live) must show they know how to speak and write in one of Canada’s official languages (either English or French), confirm they plan to live in Canada after becoming a citizen and show they have lived in Canada for at least 4 years out of the 6 years (1,460 days).

If these qualifications are met, the individual shows a knowledge of Canada and swears allegiance to the Crown. They are then a Canadian.

Canadian citizens or permanent residents can sponsor some relatives to come to Canada as members of the family class. Family class includes:

• your spouse or common-law partner;

• your dependent children; this means a child under the age of 22 who does not have a spouse or common law partner. You may be able to sponsor a child over the age of 22 in some circumstances; and,

• you may also be able to sponsor other relatives depending on the circumstances.

Some people are not allowed to come to Canada even if they could otherwise be sponsored. Those excluded people are known as “inadmissible.”

There are many reasons why people are inadmissible into Canada, such as:

• they pose a security risk to Canada;

• they have committed human or international rights violations;

• they have been convicted of a crime, or they have committed an act outside Canada that would be a crime;

• they have ties to organized crime;

• they have a serious health problem;

• they have a serious financial problem;

• they lied in their application or in an interview or one of their family members is not allowed into Canada.

When you sponsor a relative, you make a commitment to financially support him or her for three to ten years, depending on the relationship.

This is not a trivial commitment since you may well be called upon to pay support if your relative needs it. You have to be able to prove you earn enough money to offer support.

Since December 22, 2014, eligible spouses or common-law partners have the opportunity to work in Canada while they wait for their application for permanent residency to be processed.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada will issue open work permits to certain spouses or common-law partners who are applying for permanent residence from inside Canada, before the approval in principle decision on their application is made.