Sponsoring Parent and Sister?

[buddhadimple]

Hello to all!

It's been years - but after our super speedy common-law spouse immigration approval, we pretty much packed and came back to Canada pronto. We've been here since late 2010, and my partner has been a permanent resident ever since.

Currently, his mum is visiting us from England and she loves Canada. She would love to retire here (she's retired now, but found herself finding a new job to keep busy). We'd like to sponsor her. We have the income and she gets a private pension anyway. I have a few questions though.

1) At the time of our immigration application, we didn't list any dependents (the only one to get a medical check was my partner). We don't have any children, and his parents weren't dependents at the time (and aren't now). So, I just want to make sure we are able to sponsor her.

2) Secondly, she has a grown daughter (26) who is dependent on her due to mental health issues. Her daughter is physically and mentally capable but she has some kind of anxiety issues and obsessive compulsive behaviour and is awaiting a specialist's diagnosis. She has never worked a job before and she didn't finish school because of her problems. Could she bring her daughter with her as a dependent, or could we sponsor my partner's sister separately? We all agree that she would be much happier in Canada and would do much better than in England. However we worry that she would be seen as a "drain" on the system.

3) Lastly, his mother has a degree and is learning French. I realize this is a family class immigration and not a skilled worker program (she's 62 now so not likely a worker candidate), but would these support her application at all?

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

 

[scylla]

Unfortunately parent and grandparent sponsorship applications are no longer being accepted by CIC. This freeze was put in place late last year (November?) and is expected to last two years.

So the short answer is that right now you cannot sponsor her. Keep your eyes on the CIC site. Hopefully CIC will start accepting applications again in about a year and a half.

 

[buddhadimple]

Wow. I knew the Harper Conservatives were messing around with things but this is news to me: cutting wait times by barring new applications, which is just going to cause a rush of applications when the gates come up. Doesn't really make sense to me, especially when they just laid off a bunch of CIC workers... so it doesn't look like it's going to go any faster 24 months from now either. I digress...

I looked at the CIC website, and it didn't say anything about a freeze on the page I was on. However it did have a message on a separate page.

This is the page I found by going to the main website > Sponsoring Your Family > Immigrate to Canada Permanently > Family Class (parents, grandparents, adopted children and other family members). http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/famcls.asp I suppose they're still accepting applications to for people to join family in Canada, but the sponsorship applications are what are delayed? If someone could clarify for me, that would be great! Thanks!

Looks like the so-called "Super Visa" is the best bet, as she'd just be a visitor for 2 years at a time. However, that doesn't solve the problem of her daughter, as the super visa has no provision for dependants. Any suggestions?

 

[scylla]

CIC is no longer accepting parent / grandparent applications. If you submit an application now, it will be returned to you. Here's the full press release from last year:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2011/2011-11-04.asp

Also see the following "who can apply" page which lists the freeze:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/relatives-apply-who.asp

When the freeze lifts in about a year and a half, we know there are going to be at least some changes to the parent/grandparent sponsorship process which will likely impact the application process. This is why applications are no longer being accepted.

The super visa is a great way for your partner's mother to come and visit for extended periods of time. The one downside (as you've correctly identified) is that only she can apply for the super visa - dependents don't qualify. Her daughter could come here as a regular tourist and then apply to extend her stay. Unfortunately I think that's pretty much the only option for her daughter (apart from coming on a student or work visa).