There are two process in applying for a family visa application. First, they will determine if your sponsor meets the eligibility to be a sponsor. Second, principal applicant's background check which takes place in the visa office where the applicant resides.
Before we proceed in discussing the requirements and process, let me share who can be sponsored under the family class:
-Spouse of Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident
-Dependent child of sponsor and/or of the principal applicant
-Common law partner
To apply for this type of visa, the completed application must be submitted once at Case Processing Centre in Mississauga, Ontario.
Questions I asked myself before I applied for my family:
-Can I sponsor my spouse or family even if I'm working part time/temporary/casual?
Yes. The sponsor for family visa application doesn't require to meet the low income cut-off provided by CIC. Yet, the sponsor needs to prove that he has a job to support the needs of his spouse or family. If the dependent child has dependent child of his own, that's the time the sponsor is required to meet the low income cut-off.
-Can I sponsor my spouse or family even if I just arrived in Canada last year?
Yes. There's nothing in their website that restricts the sponsor to apply for family visa even if the sponsor arrived in Canada in less than a year.
-Can my family do the upfront medical?
Yes. Applicants under the family visa category can do the upfront medical and submit the receipt together with the application as a proof that the applicants are already done the medical exam.
-Can I still apply as sponsor even if I don't have the Notice of Assessment or Option C print-out?
Yes. Make sure that you provide an employment certificate, pay stubs and a letter of explanation why you cannot provide the mentioned requirements.
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The answers above are based on my personal experience. I applied for my family while I'm on a temporary job, arrived in December 2015 and No Option C print-out, yet I got approved as Sponsor. :)
I only followed the checklist available in the CIC's website and did a lot of reading before I decided to sponsor them. We all know how hard it is for us to be away from our family. Applying for a family visa takes a lot of time, money and effort. I would just suggest to be careful in filling-out the application forms, do not staple your documents and separate the documents of sponsor and PR applicant/s.
Once you submitted your application, the first email you'll receive from CIC is the Acknowledgement of Receipt (AOR1), then the Sponsor's Approval (SA). In my case, I haven't received my SA yet, but I tried calling CIC and they confirmed that I got approved. 2 days after calling them, my husband received his AOR 2 emailed by the Canadian embassy-Manila. From there, you will know if you still have additional documents that need to submit. After the AOR2 and no additional documents required, you only have to wait for the Passport request from the embassy for visa stamping. :)
