Dependent children
A child is a dependent child if they are under 22 and do not have a spouse or common-law partner. A child aged 22 or older also qualifies if they have depended on their parents’ financial support since before age 22 and cannot support themselves because of a physical or mental condition. The age is “locked in” on the date the sponsorship application is received.
Children can be sponsored on their own or included in a spousal sponsorship or an economic application. Adopted children can also be sponsored where the adoption is genuine, created a real parent-child relationship, and was not mainly for immigration purposes. Provincial adoption authorities are also involved.
Children have to be declared and examined when you immigrate. A family member who was not declared and examined when you became a permanent resident is excluded from the family class (Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, section 117(9)(d)). This is one of the hardest problems in family immigration, and it often needs a humanitarian application to overcome.
Parents and grandparents
Current status
On July 15, 2026, IRCC paused the intake of new applications under the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP). No new interest-to-sponsor forms or invitations are being issued until further notice. Applications already submitted continue to be processed. We will update this page when intake reopens.
When the program is open, the process runs in two stages: sponsors submit an interest to sponsor, and IRCC randomly invites some of them to apply. Invited sponsors have a fixed window to file a complete application.
Sponsors must:
- be 18 or older and a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian living in Canada;
- meet the minimum necessary income plus 30% for each of the three tax years before applying, based on Canada Revenue Agency notices of assessment (a spouse or partner can co-sign and combine income); and
- sign an undertaking for 20 years, repaying any social assistance the sponsored person receives in that period. Different terms apply in Quebec.
While intake is paused, the super visa lets parents and grandparents visit for up to five years at a time.
Other relatives
In narrow cases, you can sponsor an orphaned brother, sister, nephew, niece or grandchild who is under 18 and not married. If you have no living spouse, partner, child, parent, grandparent or other relative you could sponsor or who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you may be able to sponsor one other relative of any age. These categories are rarely used and need careful checking.
How ATWORLD IMMIGRATION helps
- We confirm who qualifies and in which category, including age lock-in and dependency.
- We review income for parent and grandparent sponsorships year by year, including co-signers.
- We assess excluded family members and humanitarian options where a child was not declared.
- We take sponsorship appeals to the IAD where a refusal can be challenged.
Last reviewed November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Immigration law and IRB procedure change often; we confirm the current rules for your file at your consultation.