Canadian Family Class Immigration - One Way Of Immigrating To
By Sat-Sung Kalman, Fri Dec 9th

One way you can your family can join you in Canada as immigrantsis through family class immigration. Through family classimmigration, certain members of your family are allowed toimmigrate to Canada, upon your promise that you will take careof them for a specified period of time.

This article is a summary of some important aspects of familyclass immigration. It is not legal advice, but rather is merelyinformational. It is accurate as of October 16, 2005.

Who can come to Canada?

Members of your family who may be eligible to come to Canadathrough the family class program include yourhusband, your wife, or your conjugal partner, which includesyour same-sex partner. In addition, your mother, your father,your grandparents, and your children may also be eligible.Additional members of your family, including your brother,sister, niece, nephew, or grandchildren may be eligible to joinyou in Canada as immigrants in some cases.

What do I need to do?

Before your family members can join you in Canada, you need tomeet

certain qualifications. Importantly, you must be eighteenyears of age or more, and a Canadian citizen or a Canadianpermanent resident. You must be residing in Canada if you are apermanent resident; in some cases Canadian citizens may beresiding outside of Canada but remain eligible to sponsor theirfamily members to immigrate to Canada.

You must also fill out a sponsorship undertaking. This is yourpromise to the Canadian government that you will support thefamily members you are sponsoring. Depending on the situation,this promise will endure for between three and ten years. Youand the family members you are sponsoring must also sign anagreement which states that all parties understand theirobligations.

In many cases sponsors must meet minimum financial requirements.The government established these financial requirements to helpensure that sponsors have the means to support their families inCanada. An important exception to financial requirements is thatin cases of spousal sponsorship, the government generally doesnot take your financial situation into consideration.

What other ways are there to immigrate to Canada?

There are many ways to immigrate to Canada. Immigrating throughthe family class is just one of those routes.

In addition, it is possible to come to Canada on a temporarywork, visitor, or study visa.

What are the chances of successfully immigrating to Canada?

Between January and March 2005, approximately 56,374non-Canadians became permanent residents, which is the firststep to becoming a Canadian citizen. Of this number, 12,412 werein the family class.

About the author:Sat-Sung Kalman is a Canadian lawyer, specializingin Canadian immigration, visitor, study, and work permits.