Family Immigration

If you want a family member to join you in Quebec, you need to apply to sponsor them. If your application is approved, your relative can then apply for family immigration.

To sponsor close relatives who wish to apply for permanent residency in Quebec you must be

1. over 18

2. a Canadian citizen or permanent resident

3. resident in Quebec

Under the Canada–Quebec Accord, Quebec has a role in determining sponsorship eligibility for Quebec residents. This means that if the application is for family immigration to Quebec, you must first apply at the federal level and then complete a second application, which will need to be approved by the Quebec government at provincial level.

Procedure

The first step is to send an Application to Sponsor (demande de parrainage) to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), which represents the federal government.

If the application is approved, you will then have to lodge an Undertaking Application (demande d'engagement) with the Ministère de l'Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec (MICC), which represents the Quebec government.

The sponsored person will also have to fill out an Application for a Selection Certificate – Family Class (Demande de certificat de sélection – catégorie du regroupement familial), which is sent with the Undertaking Application. If the application is successful, the sponsored person will receive a CSQ (Quebec Selection Certificate) and can use this to apply to CIC for permanent residence.

When sponsoring an immigrant, you undertake legally to support him/her financially for the first three to ten years (decided by their relation to you) following their arrival in Canada. When making your application you may have to meet certain income requirements. If you have previously sponsored relatives or family members who have subsequently received social assistance, you may not be allowed to sponsor another person.

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Sponsoring from abroad

You can sponsor relatives or family members from abroad if they are your:

• spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, 16 years of age or older
• parents or grandparents
• dependent children, including adopted children
• children under 18 years of age whom you intend to adopt
• brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces or grandchildren who are orphans, under the age of 18 and not married or in a common-law relationship

A son or daughter is dependent when s/he is:

• under the age of 22 and does not have a spouse or common-law partner;
• over 22 but a full-time student, substantially dependent on a parent for financial support and either unmarried or married/entered into a common-law partnership before the age of 22
• 22 or over but is financially dependent on a parent, and was dependent before his or her 22nd birthday, due to a mental or physical disability.

Spouse or common-law partner inside Canada

You may sponsor a spouse or common-law partner who is already in Canada, if they have been living with you there. Sponsorship of a spouse or common-law partner includes their dependent children, whether inside or outside of Canada.

Adopting a child

To adopt a child from another country, you must go through both the adoption process and the sponsorship and immigration process.

There are different rules for adopting inside and outside Quebec: for international adoptions you will need to go through the Sécretariat à l'adoption internationale (International Adoption Office).