If you are a permanent resident card holder of Canada or are a Canadian citizen, you can sponsor your spouse, common-law partner or dependent children to come to Canada as permanent residents. But, to become a sponsor one should be of 18 years or older. The dependent spouse, children or parents can be inside or outside Canada at the time of application. Following are the various kinds of spouse visas an applicant can apply for: A sponsor for a spouse visa Canada must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident living in Canada and should be of at least 18 years. The sponsor also needs to provide financial support for their spouse or dependent children for 3 years till 10 years. A spouse must be legally married to their sponsor, or must be in a legally valid same-sex or opposite-sex marriage and should be recognized by both Canadian law and the law of the country where the marriage took place. Both the sponsor and the spouse should also undergo health and character checks. An applicant can only sponsor his or her spouse or dependant only if: (i) He or she is above 18 years of age. (ii) Must be able to provide financial support to spouse, common-law partner, dependent children or parents. (iii) The sponsor should not have sponsored his or her relative before.
The Eligibility for a spouse or dependent is as follows: (i) you are eligible to apply as a spouse for a sponsor in Canada only if your marriage is legal. (ii) A dependent should be under 22 years of age and should not be married. (iii) Same-sex partners and civil union partners are also eligible under the dependant visa category. (iv)The spouse or dependant should be able to meet certain health and character requirements. Parents and grand-parents of permanent residents of Canada can be sponsored by their children or grand-children living in Canada. This new program has started from Dec 1, 2011. An applicant can sponsor his or her parents or grand-parents and they enjoy their vacation for up to years without the renewal of any kind of visa.  The parent and grand-parent visa should be applied by a person who is a: (i) Parent or a grand-parent of a citizen of Canada or a Canadian permanent resident. (ii) Is invited by a Canadian host for a family vacation. (iii) Can provide a written proof of financial support from their child or grand-child during his or her stay in Canada. (iv) have insurance cover for minimum 1 year. (v) Meets character and health requirement specified by CIC. The applicants who are granted parents and grand-parent super visa can apply for Multiple Entry Visa till 10 years. If one’s application is approved by CIC, a letter is issued to the applicant that allows the applicant to visit his or her family for 2 years.
