In this type of appeal, an immigration officer of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has refused to issue a visa to a parent or grandparent whom you have sponsored. The refusal may have also included a family member who was coming with your parent or grandparent as a dependent. The officer decided that you (and your co-signer if you have one) do not have the income required to sponsor a parent or grandparent. This income level for a sponsorship of this kind is the
minimum necessary income + 30%.
The minimum necessary income (MNI) requirement for the
sponsorship of a parent or grandparent is equal to the low income cut-offs + 30%, taking into account the number of family members for whom you are or will be financially responsible. The low income cut-offs (LICOs) are income thresholds established by Statistics Canada below which a family will likely devote a larger share of its income on the necessities of food, shelter and clothing than the average family.
If you live in the province of Québec
You must meet the Government of Québec’s income requirements for sponsoring a family member. In this type of appeal, the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion has refused your application because you did not meet these requirements.
Subsection 9(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) says that you may appeal this decision only on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. The IAD can allow your appeal if it is satisfied that there are sufficient humanitarian and compassionate considerations, which are
explained below.
Can you demonstrate that you had the minimum necessary income + 30% when you applied to sponsor?
If you believe that the officer’s decision was wrong because you in fact
did have the minimum necessary income + 30% during the three years before you applied to sponsor your parent or grandparent, you must demonstrate this.
You should provide documents that show the following as at the date you filed the sponsorship:
- The number of people in your family unit: that includes you and all family members, including all those you sponsored and their dependents where the sponsorship undertaking has not ended. If you have a co-signer, you must include all those your co-signer sponsored and their dependents where the sponsorship undertaking has not ended.
- Your income (and your co-signer’s income if you have one) for the three years before you applied to sponsor: this income should be equal to or more than the minimum necessary income + 30% for each of the three years.
- Any mistakes that you believe were made in handling your case.
What documents should you provide to show past and current income?
Be sure to provide notices of assessment you have received for your income tax from Canada Revenue Agency. If it is helpful, you may also wish to provide:
- T4 slips
- pay stubs
- letters from employers outlining your rate of pay, weekly hours and monthly or annual income, including any bonuses
- financial statements prepared by your accountant if you own a business
- corporate tax assessments for your business.
Download form
IMM 5768 — Financial Evaluation for Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship from IRCC’s “Find application forms and guides” tool. Complete it and include it with your documents.
Do you have humanitarian and compassionate reasons for your appeal?
Another way to succeed in your appeal is to show the IAD that there are sufficient
humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) grounds for your appeal, even if you did not have the minimum necessary income + 30% when you applied to sponsor. Being successful on these grounds will largely depend on the discretion of the decision-maker, who will weigh the sufficiency of these factors and take into consideration all of the relevant evidence to reach a fair and equitable result.
You should provide documents that show the following:
- The number of people in your family unit: That includes you and all family members, including all those you sponsored and their dependents where the sponsorship undertaking has not ended. If you have a co-signer, you must include all those your co-signer sponsored and their dependents where the sponsorship undertaking has not ended.
- The minimum necessary income needed for a family unit of that size.
- Your income (and your co-signer’s income if you have one) for
the 3-year period before the scheduled date of your appeal hearing or Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) conference. How close you are to meeting the minimum necessary income + 30% is a consideration in deciding whether or not to allow or dismiss your appeal.
In addition, here are some humanitarian and compassionate factors that the IAD may consider:
- How strong is your relationship with the family member you are sponsoring?
- Do you have other family members in Canada? What is their relationship with you and the person you are sponsoring?
- Are you able to visit the family member you are sponsoring in his or her country? What is their situation there?
- Why is it important to have the family member you are sponsoring join you in Canada?
- What kind of support could the family member you are sponsoring provide to you if they were allowed to come to Canada?
- Will the best interests of a child be affected if the sponsorship is refused?
What documents should you provide to show humanitarian and compassionate grounds?
In addition to the documents you provide to show income (detailed above), you can send documents that show the closeness of your relationship with the family member and the importance of the sponsorship. Examples include letters and other messages, phone bills, family photographs, and receipts for money transfers or plane tickets.
Testimony of witnesses at the hearing, including yourself as sponsor and the applicants, may also show humanitarian and compassionate grounds.