Sponsoring Parents

[cicfamily]

Hi Everyone,

I am planning on sponsoring my parents to come to Canada and I have a few questions that I hope someone can answer:

1. There are 2 steps to do this, first is for me to fill out an application, and second if for my parents to submit their PR application. What forms and what catagories should my parents apply under? I couldn’t find any information on this. I am currently a PR in Canada.

2. One of the requirements to become a sponsor is you cannot receive government assistance. Does that mean that I can’t apply for maternity EI after I handed in the application?

3. I am a bit confused on the definition of the “principal applicant”. Is it my parents or me? If it’s my parents, should I put one of them as principal and one of them as accompanying?

Thanks a lot!

[SettlementOrgMod]

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your situation and questions with us.

You may already know that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will not be accepting applications for the Parent and Grandparent (PGP) program until January 2015.

You can find some information on the sponsorship forms in our Settlement.Org How do I sponsor parents, grandparents, adopted children and other relatives living outside of Canada? article.

Regarding your question about EI, according to the CIC Website in the Guide IMM 5482 – Instruction to fill the Financial Evaluation form (IMM 1283) - Question 12. – Calculation of income based on the “Option-C Printout” section,

Question 12. – Calculation of income based on the “Option-C Printout”

[…]

-Employment insurance: only maternity, parental and sickness benefits paid under the Employment Insurance Act are considered income. Other payments such as employment insurance and federal training allowances are not considered as income; and

Regarding your third question, according to the CIC glossary,

Principal applicant

When a family applies together, one member must be the main or “principal” applicant. For example, a mother applying for permanent residence with her three children would be the principal applicant. When parents are included in an application, dependent children cannot be principal applicants.

According to the Guide 5772 - Application to Sponsor Parents and Grandparents,

Information for the Principal Applicant

Who is the principal applicant?

In regard to you, the sponsor, the principal applicant is the person you are sponsoring to come to Canada and is declared as the primary applicant in the Generic Application Form for Canada (IMM 0008).

You may want to contact the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Call Centre for more information and to confirm the information provided above.

I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.

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Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CIRS
Settlement.Org