1. Learn about the financial responsibilities of a sponsor

When you sponsor someone to become a permanent resident, you have to sign an agreement with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). This agreement is called a sponsorship undertaking. It says you’ll support the person financially for a certain period of time after they arrive in Canada. The period of time varies depending on who you’re sponsoring.

When you sign the undertaking, you agree to make sure that the sponsored person’s basic needs are met. This means making sure they have things like housing, food, and clothing, or the money to pay for them.

If the person you sponsored gets social assistance while the sponsorship agreement is in effect, you’ll have to pay that money back.

How long the sponsorship agreement lasts

A sponsor must support their:

• parents or grandparents for 20 years
• spouse or partner for 3 years
• children for between 3 and 10 years, depending how old the child was when they were sponsored

Family law in Canada says that you may still be responsible for supporting your spouse or children financially after the sponsorship ends.