How much income do I need to sponsor my parents and grandparents?

You, the sponsor (and your co-signer, if you have one), must have enough money to support all the people you’ll be financially responsible for once you become a sponsor, including yourself. We call this your “family size.”

To show that you have enough money, you’ll have to prove that you meet the income requirements for each of the 3 tax years before the date you apply.

For the 2024 intake, we’ll assess sponsors and co-signers on their income for tax years 2023, 2022 and 2021.

We can't assess whether you meet the income requirements until you apply (if you're invited).

This table applies to you, as a sponsor and co-signer, if you live in any province or territory except Quebec. If you live in Quebec, the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) will assess your income.

We can’t assess whether you meet the income requirements until you apply (if you’re invited).

Income required for the 3 tax years before the date you apply (if you’re applying for the 2024 intake)

The sponsor and the co-signer (if there is one) must each submit 3 notices of assessment, or equivalent documents, issued by the minister of National Revenue. The assessments must be for the 3 tax years immediately before the date we receive the application.

If you (or your co-signer, if you have one) don’t submit 3 years of notices of assessment, you won’t meet the requirements to sponsor.

Income requirement for the 2021 tax year

Since many sponsors and co-signers may have been affected financially by the COVID-19 pandemic, the income requirement for the 2021 tax year was reduced to the minimum necessary income, instead of the minimum necessary income plus 30%.

Sponsors and co-signers can also count these benefits in their income calculation for the 2021 tax year:

• regular Employment Insurance benefits (rather than just special Employment Insurance benefits)
• any Canada Emergency Response Benefits issued under the
  • Employment Insurance Act or
  • Canadian Emergency Response Benefit Act
• other temporary COVID-19 related benefits
  • as long as they’re not part of provincial or territorial social assistance programs

Note: This doesn’t apply to the income requirement for the 2023 or 2022 tax years, which is the minimum necessary income plus 30%.