Who should be included in the sponsorship application?
The application should include
- the principal applicant who is being sponsored as a parent or grandparent of the sponsor
- the principal applicant’s spouse (even if separated) or common-law partner
- the principal applicant’s dependent children from current and previous relationships, whether they are coming to Canada or not
- the dependent children of the principal applicant’s spouse or common-law partner
- the dependent children of any dependent children included on the application
All the dependent family members, whether accompanying the principal applicant to Canada or not, must be declared on the application and be examined. If family members are not examined, it is not possible to sponsor them at a later date. This includes children in the custody of a former spouse or common-law partner.
In addition, failure to declare dependent family members on the application and have them examined goes against the duty to provide truthful and accurate information, and may cause them to be found inadmissible to Canada.
Note: In the case of a principal applicant who is separated from their spouse, the principal applicant’s separated spouse is considered a “family member”, as per paragraph
R1(3)(a), since they are still legally married until they are divorced. However, it should be noted that there could be situations in which subparagraph
R5(b)(ii), which details excluded relationships, applies to a foreign national (i.e. the principal applicant). A separated spouse of a foreign national must be counted for the calculation of the MNI
unless the spouse has lived separate from the foreign national for at least one year
and is the common-law partner of another person. For clarity, either the foreign national (i.e. the principal applicant) or their separated spouse may be the common-law partner of another person.