By Catherine Sas, Q.C. and Silke Kuhn
Special to The Post

It may seem odd that in certain circumstances a grandson or granddaughter can sponsor a grandparent but a father or mother can’t sponsor their child. However, the immigration law surrounding sponsorship is not as straightforward as it seems, and more often than not, as we have come to see as Vancouver immigration lawyers, the reverse is true: it is harder to sponsor a grandparent than a daughter or son. 

Under the Family Class, a permanent resident or Canadian citizen has the opportunity to sponsor the immigration of a spouse, parent, grandparent, child, or other specific relative. In the case of dependent children, a father or mother can sponsor a son or daughter as their dependent up until they turn 22 years of age. Unlike with most other Family Class sponsorships, the parent does not need to meet the Low Income Cut-Off figures (LICO) in order to sponsor their child. Furthermore, a dependent child can be allowed to be reunited with their parent(s) even if they have a medical condition that would otherwise make them inadmissible to Canada. These are significant distinctions to facilitate family re-unification in Canada. 

On August 1, 2014 the former Conservative Government reduced the cutoff age for a dependent child under Canada’s immigration program from 22 to 19. It is important to note that the current Liberal government restored that age threshold to the original 22 as of October 24, 2017.

Parent and grandparent sponsorship (PGP) differs from that of child sponsorship in several ways. The financial requirements for PGP sponsorship are far more rigorous than that of child sponsorship. For a grandchild to be able to sponsor a grandparent, they are not only required to demonstrate their ability to financially support their grandparent, but they must meet specific income thresholds as reported on three consecutive Notices of Assessments (NOAs) issued by the Canada Revenue Agency, and must exceed the LICO figures by 30%. This is a fairly onerous threshold to meet. In 2018 the income required for a single grandson to sponsor his single grandfather, was $40,379 (and very close to that for the preceding three years). If the grandson was married with two children and he was sponsoring his single grandfather, he would need a combined Canadian family income of $68,358. It does not matter what the grandfather’s income is, as only the Canadian grandson and his spouse’s income are considered for the purposes of meeting the LICO figures.

Furthermore, while dependent children are exempt from being deemed inadmissible if they have a severe medical condition that would demand more care, this exemption doesn’t hold for grandparents. Grandparents must demonstrate that they are medically admissible to Canada meaning that they don’t have a medical condition that could place a significant demand on Canada’s health care system.

Another consideration to keep in mind is the minimum age requirement for sponsors. Both child and grandparent sponsorships require the sponsor to be at least 18 years of age. While most parents who wish to sponsor their child aren’t restricted by this minimum age requirement (it being less likely that they are under 18 years of age), this requirement could theoretically serve as a larger obstacle for parent or grandparent sponsorships. For PGP sponsorship, the age requirement does restrict younger grandchildren from sponsoring their grandparent before they turn 18. However, this age limit is somewhat arbitrary because even if the grandchild could sponsor their grandparent while younger than 18, it is very unlikely that they would meet the burdensome LICO requirements.

Probably the most significant distinction about the two Family Class application processes is that sponsorship of spouses and dependent children is a right of a permanent resident or citizen whereas sponsorship of a grandparent or parent is through an Invitation to Apply (ITA) model. Even where a sponsor meets all the criteria to be eligible to sponsor their grandparent, they may not receive an invitation to apply. This year when the PGP Family Class category opened on January 28, 2019, the full allotment of applications was filled within six minutes! Yes, six minutes! The ITA model for the PGP Family Class sponsorship process adds another hurdle to the path to being able to sponsor a grandparent.

So, while the title question about sponsorship ability does raise a genuine issue, because of lighter financial responsibilities, the exemption from medical inadmissibility for dependent children, and the automatic right of sponsorship, it is typically much easier in Canada’s Family Class immigration program for a father to sponsor his son than for a grandson to sponsor his grandfather.

Catherine Sas, Q.C. has over 25 years of legal experience. She provides a full range of immigration services and is a leading immigration practitioner (Lexpert, Who’s Who Legal, Best Lawyers in Canada). Go to canadian-visa-lawyer.com or email catherine@sasanding.com.