Financial Ability for Sponsorship

A sponsor needs to show a level of income that meets the minimum necessary income or low-income cut-off (LICO) for a given family number.

The sponsor not need the above requirement only if:

• The person requiring sponsorship is the spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner of the Canadian sponsor; or
• The person requiring sponsorship is the dependent child of the Canadian sponsor.

If your child has children of their own, you need to meet an income requirement to sponsor them.

If you are sponsoring your parents or parent and grandparent, you need to meet or exceed the NMI or the LICO plus 30 per cent for each of the three tax years immediately preceding the date of the application.

To confirm if the sponsor's total income is sufficient, one must deduct the following from the amount indicated on line 150 of their most recent Notice of Assessment issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

• Provincial instruction or training allowance;
• Social assistance paid by a province;
• Guaranteed income supplement paid under the Old Age Security Act; and
• Employment insurance: maternity, parental and sickness benefits paid under the Employment Insurance Act are considered income. Other payments such as employment insurance and federal training allowances are not considered income.

If you unable to show a financial source to give the essential needs of the immigrant, his or her spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner may help as a co-signer, if:

• Their combined income meets the minimum necessary income; and
• The co-signer meets all the other sponsorship requirements of a valid sponsor.

Even you receiving disability benefits or employment Insurance (unemployment) you can still sponsor your spouse, common-law or conjugal partner because it’s not considered as social assistance

If you are living in Quebec you should demonstrate a level of income that meets the minimum income as per the given family number, as established by the Quebec government in the chart below.

You not need the above requirement if:

• The person requiring sponsorship is the spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner of the Canadian sponsor; or
• The person requiring sponsorship is the dependent child of a Canadian sponsor.

You need to show a consistent financialsource and one that has consistently exceeded the low-income cut-off over the past 12 months.

Basic needs of sponsor and dependent persons:

Basic needs of Sponsored Person(s):