Lonely Canadian Rule Requirement & Estranged Family Member

[Baljit]

I read somewhere before that there is something called the “lonely Canadian rule”. I have an uncle who lives in Canada alone because he has never gotten married and has no children. The only person from his family is his biological sister who he has not spoken to or has any idea of her whereabouts for years. He feels very lonely in Canada as he has no family members so can he sponsor her under the lonely Canadian rule? Please advise.

[Rajpal (Admin)]

As per IRCC, under the lonely Canadian rule, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident can sponsor ONE adult son/daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, niece/nephew to immigrate to Canada on a permanent basis. The person you are sponsoring must be related to you by blood. You cannot sponsor someone under the lonely Canadian rule if you have any of the following relatives living in Canada:

– Spouse/common-law partners

– Child

– Parent

– Grandparent

– Sibling

– Niece/Nephew

– Aunt/Uncle

In your case, since you have a sister who lives in Canada, you will not be able to sponsor someone under the lonely Canadian rule.