Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations

Marginal note:Requirements for sponsor

• 133 (1) A sponsorship application shall only be approved by an officer if, on the day on which the application was filed and from that day until the day a decision is made with respect to the application, there is evidence that the sponsor

  • (a) is a sponsor as described in section 130;

  • (b) intends to fulfil the obligations in the sponsorship undertaking;

  • (c) is not subject to a removal order;

  • (d) is not detained in any penitentiary, jail, reformatory or prison;

  • (e) has not been convicted under the Criminal Code of

    • (i) an offence of a sexual nature, or an attempt or a threat to commit such an offence, against any person,

    • (i.1) an indictable offence involving the use of violence and punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 10 years, or an attempt to commit such an offence, against any person, or

    • (ii) an offence that results in bodily harm, as defined in section 2 of the Criminal Code, to any of the following persons or an attempt or a threat to commit such an offence against any of the following persons:

      • (A) a current or former family member of the sponsor,

      • (B) a relative of the sponsor, as well as a current or former family member of that relative,

      • (C) a relative of the family member of the sponsor, or a current or former family member of that relative,

      • (D) a current or former conjugal partner of the sponsor,

      • (E) a current or former family member of a family member or conjugal partner of the sponsor,

      • (F) a relative of the conjugal partner of the sponsor, or a current or former family member of that relative,

      • (G) a child under the current or former care and control of the sponsor, their current or former family member or conjugal partner,

      • (H) a child under the current or former care and control of a relative of the sponsor or a current or former family member of that relative, or

      • (I) someone the sponsor is dating or has dated, whether or not they have lived together, or a family member of that person;

  • (f) has not been convicted outside Canada of an offence that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an offence referred to in paragraph (e);

  • (g) subject to paragraph 137(c), is not in default of

    • (i) any sponsorship undertaking, or

    • (ii) any support payment obligations ordered by a court;

  • (h) is not in default in respect of the repayment of any debt referred to in subsection 145(1) of the Act payable to Her Majesty in right of Canada;

  • (i) subject to paragraph 137(c), is not an undischarged bankrupt under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act;

  • (j) if the sponsor resides

    • (i) in a province other than a province referred to in paragraph 131(b),

      • (A) has a total income that is at least equal to the minimum necessary income, if the sponsorship application was filed in respect of a foreign national other than a foreign national referred to in clause (B), or

      • (B) has a total income that is at least equal to the minimum necessary income, plus 30%, for each of the three consecutive taxation years immediately preceding the date of filing of the sponsorship application, if the sponsorship application was filed in respect of a foreign national who is

        • (I) the sponsor’s mother or father,

        • (II) the mother or father of the sponsor’s mother or father, or

        • (III) an accompanying family member of the foreign national described in subclause (I) or (II), and

    • (ii) in a province referred to in paragraph 131(b), is able, within the meaning of the laws of that province and as determined by the competent authority of that province, to fulfil the undertaking referred to in that paragraph; and

  • (k) is not in receipt of social assistance for a reason other than disability.

• Marginal note:Exception — conviction in Canada

  (2) Despite paragraph (1)(e), a sponsorship application may not be refused

  • (a) on the basis of a conviction in Canada in respect of which a pardon has been granted and has not ceased to have effect or been revoked under the Criminal Records Act, or in respect of which there has been a final determination of an acquittal; or

  • (b) if a period of five years or more has elapsed since the completion of the sentence imposed for an offence in Canada referred to in paragraph (1)(e).

• Marginal note:Exception — conviction outside Canada

  (3) Despite paragraph (1)(f), a sponsorship application may not be refused

  • (a) on the basis of a conviction outside Canada in respect of which there has been a final determination of an acquittal; or

  • (b) if a period of five years or more has elapsed since the completion of the sentence imposed for an offence outside Canada referred to in that paragraph and the sponsor has demonstrated that they have been rehabilitated.

• Marginal note:Exception to minimum necessary income

  (4) Paragraph (1)(j) does not apply if the sponsored person is

  • (a) the sponsor’s spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner and has no dependent children;

  • (b) the sponsor’s spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner and has a dependent child who has no dependent children; or

  • (c) a dependent child of the sponsor who has no dependent children or a person referred to in paragraph 117(1)(g).

• Marginal note:Adopted sponsor

  (5) A person who is adopted outside Canada and whose adoption is subsequently revoked by a foreign authority or by a court in Canada of competent jurisdiction may sponsor an application for a permanent resident visa that is made by a member of the family class only if the revocation of the adoption was not obtained for the purpose of sponsoring that application.