3. Check what income rules apply

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has income guidelines that say what minimum necessary income a sponsor must have. These amounts usually go up each year.

The income guidelines do not usually apply to sponsoring:

• your spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner
• your dependent child, as long as they do not have dependent children of their own
• the children of the spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner you're sponsoring, as long as those children do not have children of their own

You do not have to meet a minimum necessary income for the sponsorships listed above.

But the income guidelines will apply if your spouse or partner has a dependent child who has a dependent child of their own.

Figure out the minimum necessary income

When the guidelines apply, you will also have to complete a Financial Evaluation form.

Follow these steps to open and save an IRCC form in PDF format, using Adobe Acrobat Reader for both PC and Mac users. You cannot open the forms on your phone or tablet.

The minimum necessary income you need to be a sponsor depends on:

• the number of people in Canada who you already have a responsibility to support financially, plus
• the number of people you want to sponsor.

Social assistance

Sometimes IRCC will refuse a spouse or partner's application for permanent residence if they think that the person may need to rely on social assistance in Canada.