Sibling Sponsorship (Family class)

[tintin]

Hello,

This is an unusual situation and I wonder if anybody has gone through this.
I have a friend whose blood brother (same parents) was born in Canada in 1974. But he moved back home since he was like 2/3years old. His last passport expired in 1995, so he is truly Canadian. That can be renewed.
The issue is that he is mentally (not physically) challenged (say 8yrs old) and his elder brother has been taking care of him since their father died 10 years ago. This brother wants him to come to Canada, but of course he can't come alone. So, he is thinking he should sponsor him (and his family) as this younger brother has no family here.
My thinking is that the brother has a right to be here as he is fully Canadian.

Any advice on how to go about this?

Thanks.

 

[k.h.p.]

Hello,

This is an unusual situation and I wonder if anybody has gone through this.
I have a friend whose blood brother (same parents) was born in Canada in 1974. But he moved back home since he was like 2/3years old. His last passport expired in 1995, so he is truly Canadian. That can be renewed.
The issue is that he is mentally (not physically) challenged (say 8yrs old) and his elder brother has been taking care of him since their father died 10 years ago. This brother wants him to come to Canada, but of course he can't come alone. So, he is thinking he should sponsor him (and his family) as this younger brother has no family here.
My thinking is that the brother has a right to be here as he is fully Canadian.

Any advice on how to go about this?

Thanks.

I'm confused. The two are brothers, with the same parents. How did the one brother get Canadian citizenship - was it by being born in Canada or by having Canadian parents?

If the parents were not Canadian, then both brothers would need to be born in Canada to have citizenship.

 

[tintin]

The parents came to study and gave birth to the younger brother here. They left Canada in '76 with him and he has never been back since.

 

[vensak]

I'm confused. The two are brothers, with the same parents. How did the one brother get Canadian citizenship - was it by being born in Canada or by having Canadian parents?

If the parents were not Canadian, then both brothers would need to be born in Canada to have citizenship.

Most likely one was born in Canada when parents were there (for whatever reason). Other was born outside Canada. so that one has no Citizenship right (because none of their partens became Canadian citizen).

That older brother would have to fulfill following:
1. Being in Canada at that time being (or having intention to return there)
2. Fitting in "lonely Canadian description. - that means practically no other family in Canada. (so any wife, living parent or living child, even if adopted would make it impossible).
3. Not using any welfare service in Canada.
Very tricky part is the mental health of that brother. If he really is not capable to do legal acts. If he is not, then he must have an official legal guardian that can apply on his behalf (however in that case he most likely is using some kind of welfare aid).
And if he does not have any legal guardian assigned (if he is not officially deemed to be incapable of legal acts); then with what is stated is a little bit of lottery what he can do next day (and confuse immigration office with it).

 

[k.h.p.]

The parents came to study and gave birth to the younger brother here. They left Canada in '76 with him and he has never been back since.

And the older brother is not born in Canada?

The older brother has no claim to Canadian citizenship.

The older brother can only sponsor the younger brother if there are no other living relatives in Canada, the parents are no longer living, and there are no other relatives that the younger brother can sponsor.

However, given the mental disability: sponsorship requires an undertaking and a promise to support the person being sponsored. If the younger brother cannot financially support the older brother, that would cause a problem. Additionally, I'm not confident the younger brother would be considered legally competent enough to actually sponsor the older brother.

 

[tintin]

And the older brother is not born in Canada?

The older brother has no claim to Canadian citizenship.

The older brother can only sponsor the younger brother if there are no other living relatives in Canada, the parents are no longer living, and there are no other relatives that the younger brother can sponsor.

However, given the mental disability: sponsorship requires an undertaking and a promise to support the person being sponsored. If the younger brother cannot financially support the older brother, that would cause a problem. Additionally, I'm not confident the younger brother would be considered legally competent enough to actually sponsor the older brother.

The older brother is not claiming Canadian citizenship.
Yes, I understand sponsorship requires undertaking but he can't take care of himself. He however has a right to be in Canada. He is that aware of where he is. I understand it's an unusual case and I am wondering if there are people out there that have gone through similar situation.
On sponsorship, the Canadian citizen can decide who they want to sponsor irrespective of who is still alive of the parents or siblings. He just must not have a living family in Canada....who he doesn't have.

 

[tintin]

Most likely one was born in Canada when parents were there (for whatever reason). Other was born outside Canada. so that one has no Citizenship right (because none of their partens became Canadian citizen).

That older brother would have to fulfill following:
1. Being in Canada at that time being (or having intention to return there)
2. Fitting in "lonely Canadian description. - that means practically no other family in Canada. (so any wife, living parent or living child, even if adopted would make it impossible).
3. Not using any welfare service in Canada.
Very tricky part is the mental health of that brother. If he really is not capable to do legal acts. If he is not, then he must have an official legal guardian that can apply on his behalf (however in that case he most likely is using some kind of welfare aid).
And if he does not have any legal guardian assigned (if he is not officially deemed to be incapable of legal acts); then with what is stated is a little bit of lottery what he can do next day (and confuse immigration office with it).

He is presently in his home country. None of them are in Canada yet, so none are using legal aid and none plan to use legal aid.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

The older brother is not claiming Canadian citizenship.
Yes, I understand sponsorship requires undertaking but he can't take care of himself. He however has a right to be in Canada. He is that aware of where he is. I understand it's an unusual case and I am wondering if there are people out there that have gone through similar situation.
On sponsorship, the Canadian citizen can decide who they want to sponsor irrespective of who is still alive of the parents or siblings. He just must not have a living family in Canada....who he doesn't have.

If he has the mental capacity of an 8 year old, he will not qualify as a sponsor. Sponsors must be able to sign legally binding documents and show that they can support their family members financially.

Also, Canadians cannot decide who they want to sponsor irrespective of who is still alive. A person can only sponsor a sibling if they have no living parents/grandparents, no children/spouse/common-law partner and no Canadian relatives anywhere in the world.

 

[tintin]

If he has the mental capacity of an 8 year old, he will not qualify as a sponsor. Sponsors must be able to sign legally binding documents and show that they can support their family members financially.

Also, Canadians cannot decide who they want to sponsor irrespective of who is still alive. A person can only sponsor a sibling if they have no living parents/grandparents, no children/spouse/common-law partner and no Canadian relatives anywhere in the world.

True, there are specific people to sponsor. But this is a complicated case.

So, who decides who to take care of him here? He is fully Canadian.
Does this not qualify for H&C grounds? He can't come back alone to Canada.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

True, there are specific people to sponsor. But this is a complicated case.

So, who decides who to take care of him here? He is fully Canadian.
Does this not qualify for H&C grounds? He can't come back alone to Canada.

It's not complicated and there are no H&C grounds. With the mental capacity of an 8 year old, I highly doubt that he is the one driving this desire to go to Canada. It is more likely the elder brother wanting to come to Canada and looking for any means possible. Having a mentally challenged Canadian sibling does not entitle him to come to Canada. If this is truly about the disabled brother being better off in Canada, they can hire a caregiver for him here.

 

[tintin]

It's not complicated and there are no H&C grounds. With the mental capacity of an 8 year old, I highly doubt that he is the one driving this desire to go to Canada. It is more likely the elder brother wanting to come to Canada and looking for any means possible. Having a mentally challenged Canadian sibling does not entitle him to come to Canada. If this is truly about the disabled brother being better off in Canada, they can hire a caregiver for him here.

You mean he should shell out money for a total stranger to take care of his brother? And sponsorship generally is about people desiring to come to Canada of course. No law against that in my own opinion.

I would like information from people that have gone through this situation as I perfectly understand that no situation is unique.

 

[k.h.p.]

You mean he should shell out money for a total stranger to take care of his brother? And sponsorship generally is about people desiring to come to Canada of course. No law against that in my own opinion.

I would like information from people that have gone through this situation as I perfectly understand that no situation is unique.

What we are telling you is that there are two issues with what you are proposing:

• The law in Canada only allows a Canadian to sponsor a sibling if there are no other relatives that the Canadian could sponsor and the Canadian is alone in Canada. Parents must be dead or otherwise nonexistent. No spouse. No children. Whether you like it or not, this is the law.
  
  
• The law in Canada also requires that the Canadian take a decision themselves to sponsor their family member and must contract to support that family member for three years (or more). This is an undertaking of support. A person with the mental age of 8 cannot contract in Canada. If the guardian ad litem or de facto is the older brother being sponsored, I doubt that IRCC will permit you, acting for your brother, to undertake to support you. Plus, how would your brother have sufficient funds to support you and your family? That is part of the test.

I believe you have a novel case here. The law cannot prevent your brother from returning to Canada, no. But the law may not allow your brother to sponsor you.

There is another case on this forum of a live-in caregiver being "sponsored" by her husband, who has dementia, is in a long-term care facility, and who has a guardian appointed. IRCC has sent a procedural fairness letter to the principal applicant warning them that a decision to deny was about to be taken because they had concerns that the sponsor was able to actually sponsor - given that they had dementia, were in a care facility, and had an appointed guardian. Your case is very similar to that one.

 

[canuck78]

Up to you. You can send your brother to Canada and hope he gets decent care by the social service agencies. I would highly discourage that because many people fall through the cracks and his quality of life could be pretty poor but that is what he is entitled to as a citizen. As already specified, he is not a way for your family to immigrate to Canada.

 

[tintin]

What we are telling you is that there are two issues with what you are proposing:

• The law in Canada only allows a Canadian to sponsor a sibling if there are no other relatives that the Canadian could sponsor and the Canadian is alone in Canada. Parents must be dead or otherwise nonexistent. No spouse. No children. Whether you like it or not, this is the law.
  
  
• The law in Canada also requires that the Canadian take a decision themselves to sponsor their family member and must contract to support that family member for three years (or more). This is an undertaking of support. A person with the mental age of 8 cannot contract in Canada. If the guardian ad litem or de facto is the older brother being sponsored, I doubt that IRCC will permit you, acting for your brother, to undertake to support you. Plus, how would your brother have sufficient funds to support you and your family? That is part of the test.

I believe you have a novel case here. The law cannot prevent your brother from returning to Canada, no. But the law may not allow your brother to sponsor you.

There is another case on this forum of a live-in caregiver being "sponsored" by her husband, who has dementia, is in a long-term care facility, and who has a guardian appointed. IRCC has sent a procedural fairness letter to the principal applicant warning them that a decision to deny was about to be taken because they had concerns that the sponsor was able to actually sponsor - given that they had dementia, were in a care facility, and had an appointed guardian. Your case is very similar to that one.

Thanks. Its case study that I am interested in. I am a Canadian, so it's not my case.
And I know the first point to be correct.
I am advising that they try anyways. They don't have any living relative in Canada.

 

[tintin]

Up to you. You can send your brother to Canada and hope he gets decent care by the social service agencies. I would highly discourage that because many people fall through the cracks and his quality of life could be pretty poor but that is what he is entitled to as a citizen. As already specified, he is not a way for your family to immigrate to Canada.

I am a Canadian. This is not my case.