Family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents may be eligible for a Canada visa under certain conditions. Quebec is the only Canadian province that introduced a cap of 13,000 visas to be issued to family members in the next two years.
Sponsor family members for a visa application
Under certain conditions, Canadian nationals and permanent residents may act as sponsors for family members, allowing them to live and work in Canada. Having a Canadian sponsor allows the family member in question to get a visa more easily. In that case, the sponsor has to support the family member in Canada and to provide for their basic needs if necessary. Canadian residents may sponsor the following family members:
- Spouses and registered partners
- Underage children and adult children who are dependent on their parents
- Parents and grandparents
- Orphaned relatives under the age of 18
- Adopted children
Income requirement for sponsoring family members
Canadian residents need to meet a number of requirements to be allowed to sponsor a family member. One of the most important requirements relates to the sponsor’s income. The sponsor has to prove that they can provide for the family financially. The income requirement depends on the family size.
If a 1-person household wants to sponsor one partner, child, parent or grandparent, they need a minimum income of 44,530 CAD (around 25,125 GBP or 30,150 EUR) per year. A family of 3 persons needs an income of at least 54,743 CAD (around 30,900 GBP or 37,100 EUR) and a family of 4 needs to prove a household income of at least 66,466 CAD (around 37,500 GBP or 45,050 EUR). The minimum amount depends on the final size of the household. For example, if you already have a 3-person household in Canada, you need to have an annual household income of at least 66,466 CAD to be allowed to sponsor the visa application of an additional person.
Quebec has its own visa policy
While the national government of Canada wants to promote immigration to attract more highly skilled workers, there are concerns about this plan in the province of Quebec. This is because of the unique Francophone culture, which may be threatened by a large influx of immigrants. Therefore, Quebec has decided to deviate from the national-level policies and to create their own immigration policy. One peculiarity about Quebec’s visa policy is that French-speaking applicants often get prioritised. The government has capped the numbers of work visas that are issued to applicants who do not speak French, and there are many visas that require applicants to do a French language test.
New cap for family visas
Quebec made a remarkable policy change on 26 June 2024. The province has introduced a cap on the maximum number of family visas it will issue until 25 June 2026. Until 25 June 2026, the province will issue no more than 13,000 family visas that were applied through a sponsor in Canada. 10,400 of these visas are intended for partners, spouses, and adult children. The remaining 2,600 visas are intended for parents, grandparents and other family members of the Canadian resident. Once these caps are reached, Quebec will only issue family visas in case of the following exceptions.
Minor children of the sponsor and orphaned children of a family member are exempted from the visa cap. Another exception applies to adult children who are dependent on their parents due to mental or physical reasons. In these cases, a resident of Quebec may always act as a sponsor for the family member, without having to consider the cap of 13,000 visas.
Consequences of the visa policy change
The consequences of the policy change are not yet clear. Nothing changes for sponsors and their family members for the time being, as the limit has not yet been reached. Residents of Quebec may still act as sponsors for the visa applications of family members if they fulfil the requirements. When the cap will be reached depends on the number of submitted applications, but this is expected to happen at some point in 2025. This will make it harder for immigrants in Quebec to get a Canada visa for their family members.