Canada Lists Minimum Salary Requirements for Sponsoring Family Visa
- Canada's immigration authority set out the minimum income a sponsor must earn across 3 consecutive tax years before submitting a sponsorship application
- The income threshold rises with family size, starting at $47,549 for 2026 for a family of 2 and reaching over $101,000 for a family of 7
- Sponsors who fall short of the required income can add a spouse or common-law partner as a co-signer to combine their earnings
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Canada's federal immigration authority has released the minimum income a person must earn to sponsor friends or family members for a visa, with the figures tied directly to family size and covering the three tax years before the date of application.
The requirements apply to the 2026 intake and are designed to ensure that sponsors can financially support everyone they will be responsible for, including themselves, the person they are sponsoring, and any dependants on either side.
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Income thresholds by family size
According to Canada, for a family of two people, the sponsor must show earnings of at least $47,549 third year, $44,530 in second year, and $43,082 in first year. A family of three requires $58,456, $54,743, and $52,965 for the same three years respectively. The threshold for four people stands at $70,972, $66,466, and $64,306, while a family of five must show $80,496, $75,384, and $72,935.
For six people, the required income is $90,784, $85,020, and $82,259, and for seven people, $101,075, $94,658, and $91,582.
Each additional person beyond seven adds $10,291 for the third year, $9,636 for the second year, and $9,324 for first year. Sponsors living in Quebec must meet that province's separate income requirements instead.
How family size is counted
Family size is calculated on a yearly basis and includes the sponsor, their spouse or common-law partner, dependent children on both sides, and any individuals currently covered by an active undertaking from a previous sponsorship.
All of the principal applicant's family members must be counted, even if they are not coming to Canada or already hold Canadian permanent residency or citizenship.
Proving one meet the requirements
To confirm they meet the income threshold, sponsors must provide a Notice of Assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for each of the three relevant tax years. There are two ways to do this: sponsors can give immigration authorities permission to retrieve the tax information directly from CRA by completing the relevant section of Form IMM 5768 with a social insurance number and signature, or they can submit paper copies of their Notices of Assessment alongside Form IMM 5748.
Sponsors who do not have physical copies of their assessments can retrieve them through CRA's online My Account portal.
Source: Getty Images
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