Hello all,
I thought this would help people who are looking for the question of "Can you leave Canada when you submit a Grand/Parents Sponsorship Application?". And the answer is, you have to remain a resident of Canada from the day you apply till the day the application gets processes (Rejected/PR Grant). I have dug deep into this, and the following are my findings:
Approved sponsorship application
120 For the purposes of Part 5,
…
(b) a foreign national who makes an application as a member of the family class and their accompanying family members shall not become permanent residents unless a sponsorship undertaking in respect of the foreign national and those family members is in effect and the sponsor who gave that undertaking still meets the requirements of section 133 and, if applicable, section 137.
Section 133 (1)(a) states:
133 (1) A sponsorship application shall only be approved by an officer if, on the day on which the application was filed and from that day until the day a decision is made with respect to the application, there is evidence that the sponsor
(a) is a sponsor as described in section 130;
Section 130 (1)(a) states:
Sponsor
130 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a sponsor, for the purpose of sponsoring a foreign national who makes an application for a permanent resident visa as a member of the family class or an application to remain in Canada as a member of the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class under subsection 13(1) of the Act, must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who
(b) resides in Canada;
Here is an excerpt from a case that discusses what it means to “reside in Canada”:
[15] Neither the Act nor the Regulations define what it means to be a resident. The leading case with regard to residency for the purpose of sponsorship is Iao[3]. …
[16] In Iao Chief Justice Crampton cited Koo[4], which identified six questions to be addressed in determining whether an applicant for citizenship is “regularly, normally or customarily” resident in Canada. That test was modified in Gao[5] in order to be applicable in the spousal sponsorship context. As Justice Crampton stated: The focus of this modified test was stated to be upon whether the appellant had ‘centralized his mode of living in Canada’”. He then listed the factors to consider:
i) Was the individual physically present in Canada for a long period prior to recent absences, which occurred immediately before or during the application to sponsor the applicant for a permanent resident visa?
ii) What is the extent of the appellant’s physical absences?
iii) Where are the appellant’s immediate family and dependents?
iv) Does the pattern of physical presence in Canada indicate a returning home or merely visiting the country?
v) What is the quality of the connection with Canada: Is it more substantial than that which exists with any other country?
The test of whether a sponsor “resides in Canada” is highly fact specific. There are no specific number of days that you need to be residing in Canada in order to satisfy this test, but a short trip for tourism purposes should not result in a finding that you are no longer residing in Canada. If you would like to be living in some other country for a few months, that would depend on the specific circumstances of the case.
Please note that if you move, you are required to update IRCC with your change in residential address.
If you are no longer residing in Canada, then you would no longer meet the requirements of section 133, and your family members would no longer be eligible to become permanent residents.
Hope this would be helpful to whomever is looking for this information. Best of luck!
I thought this would help people who are looking for the question of "Can you leave Canada when you submit a Grand/Parents Sponsorship Application?". And the answer is, you have to remain a resident of Canada from the day you apply till the day the application gets processes (Rejected/PR Grant). I have dug deep into this, and the following are my findings:
Approved sponsorship application
120 For the purposes of Part 5,
…
(b) a foreign national who makes an application as a member of the family class and their accompanying family members shall not become permanent residents unless a sponsorship undertaking in respect of the foreign national and those family members is in effect and the sponsor who gave that undertaking still meets the requirements of section 133 and, if applicable, section 137.
Section 133 (1)(a) states:
133 (1) A sponsorship application shall only be approved by an officer if, on the day on which the application was filed and from that day until the day a decision is made with respect to the application, there is evidence that the sponsor
(a) is a sponsor as described in section 130;
Section 130 (1)(a) states:
Sponsor
130 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a sponsor, for the purpose of sponsoring a foreign national who makes an application for a permanent resident visa as a member of the family class or an application to remain in Canada as a member of the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class under subsection 13(1) of the Act, must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who
(b) resides in Canada;
Here is an excerpt from a case that discusses what it means to “reside in Canada”:
[15] Neither the Act nor the Regulations define what it means to be a resident. The leading case with regard to residency for the purpose of sponsorship is Iao[3]. …
[16] In Iao Chief Justice Crampton cited Koo[4], which identified six questions to be addressed in determining whether an applicant for citizenship is “regularly, normally or customarily” resident in Canada. That test was modified in Gao[5] in order to be applicable in the spousal sponsorship context. As Justice Crampton stated: The focus of this modified test was stated to be upon whether the appellant had ‘centralized his mode of living in Canada’”. He then listed the factors to consider:
i) Was the individual physically present in Canada for a long period prior to recent absences, which occurred immediately before or during the application to sponsor the applicant for a permanent resident visa?
ii) What is the extent of the appellant’s physical absences?
iii) Where are the appellant’s immediate family and dependents?
iv) Does the pattern of physical presence in Canada indicate a returning home or merely visiting the country?
v) What is the quality of the connection with Canada: Is it more substantial than that which exists with any other country?
The test of whether a sponsor “resides in Canada” is highly fact specific. There are no specific number of days that you need to be residing in Canada in order to satisfy this test, but a short trip for tourism purposes should not result in a finding that you are no longer residing in Canada. If you would like to be living in some other country for a few months, that would depend on the specific circumstances of the case.
Please note that if you move, you are required to update IRCC with your change in residential address.
If you are no longer residing in Canada, then you would no longer meet the requirements of section 133, and your family members would no longer be eligible to become permanent residents.
Hope this would be helpful to whomever is looking for this information. Best of luck!
