Immigration Corner | Can my granddaughter sponsor me?

Dear Miss Powell,

My granddaughter lives in Canada. Can she file for me? My daughter died recently and I don't have any other relatives here in Jamaica. I'm retired and she is 28, married, with one child. I think I could be helpful to her, plus it would be a joy to just be close to my granddaughter and her family.

SW

Dear SW,

If your granddaughter is a permanent resident or a citizen of Canada, she can sponsor you to become a permanent resident of Canada under the family class category of parent and grandparent sponsorship. Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has limited the number of applications that it will accept on an annual basis to 10,000. The quota is currently full; however, the programme will be reopened on January 3, 2017. Therefore, now is the time to prepare your documents so that you can submit them promptly when they begin accepting applications.

Your granddaughter must prove that she is financially able to sponsor you. This means that she must not have had government financial assistance for any reason other than as a result of a disability and not declared bankruptcy or defaulted on an immigration loan payment. She will be required to sign a sponsorship agreement indicating that she will be financially responsible for you for a period of time ranging anywhere from three to 10 years from the time that you have been granted permanent residence.

 REQUIRED INCOME

She will need to be earning a minimum of CAD$38,272 per annum, and the amount increases based on the number of persons in your granddaughter's family. There is a federal income table for sponsors of parents and grandparents that you will need to examine, and you will also need to provide the Notice of Assessment from Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for the past three years.

To be eligible, she must not have been convicted of a criminal offence or an offence against a family member.

Your granddaughter must submit an application to sponsor you. To do so, she will need to complete the required forms which are available online. The forms must be done accurately and be consistent with the facts and supporting documents. Examples of the forms to be submitted are the application to sponsor and sponsorship agreement. If she is using an authorised representative such as a lawyer, she should also complete a use of representative form.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

The required supporting documents are a photocopy of her passport, permanent resident or citizenship card/certificate, and birth certificate that shows her status in Canada. She must also submit a photocopy of her parent's birth certificate, with your name as the mother to prove that you are her grandmother. If she is using a co-sponsor such as a spouse or another family member, similar documents will be required of the co-sponsor.

The required fee must be paid online and proof of payment submitted with the application. You will be required to do criminal and medical checks as part of the process.

This process can take anywhere from 12 to 24 months to process, so you should ensure that you and your granddaughter are prepared to submit a completed application along with all the required supporting documents on January 3, 2017. All documents must be mailed to the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga.

I strongly recommend that you consult with an immigration lawyer immediately to ensure that you get personalised responses to all your questions.

Deidre S. Powell is a lawyer, mediator and notary public Email: info@deidrepowell.com Subjectline: Immigration or Tel: 613.695.8777/ 876.922.4092 or contact her on Facebook: Jamaicanlawyer