Au Canada

June 20, 2010 2:09 PM

Would having a naturalized Canadian sibling make it easier for an American citizen to become a permanent resident of Canada?

I am an American citizen. My brother is too. He is a resident of Canada. If he decided to become a citizen, would that have any benefits or process-lubricating effects whatsoever towards me potentially attempting to move there? Asking mostly out of idle curiosity.

Anonymous because though this question is fully innocent and legitimate, anything immigration-related is so sensitive and suspicion-wrought I don't really want to have this attached to my record.

Thanks!

posted by anonymous to law & government (5 answers total)

Sure! But not that much.

From the guidelines, he probably can't be a sponsor. Unless he's got no spouse/kids/parents/aunts&uncles who could instead be sponsored. So if it's just the two of you in your family, then he can sponsor you.

Assuming that this isn't true, then he's proof of your "adaptability" if you apply under the skilled worker criteria. That is 5 points of the maximum 10 points in adaptability, and you need 67/100 across categories to get in. So it's a good 7.5% of your way towards immigrating.
posted by Lemurrhea at 2:22 PM on June 20, 2010

Sort-of, under certain circumstances. If you're under 18 and not married or in a common-law relationship you can be sponsored by your sibling. Also, if you apply for immigration as a skilled worker, having a sibling who is Canadian contributes to your score. See the Citizenship and Immigration Canada page about sponsoring relatives.
posted by Emanuel at 2:23 PM on June 20, 2010

Lemurrhea beat me, and apparently I missed the part where you have to be under 18, orphaned, and not married/common-law.
posted by Emanuel at 2:26 PM on June 20, 2010

Yeah, from what I know (a few friends working at immigration centers, both in bureaucracy and at points of entry), the sponsoring of an adult sibling only comes up when they're immigrating out of dire situations (tsunamis and the like) when it's not uncommon for everyone else to have died. It's a loophole for emergencies in countries that you wouldn't be a refugee from.
posted by Lemurrhea at 2:37 PM on June 20, 2010

To answer the question more precisely: No. Naturalizing has nothing to do with it. If your brother were eligible to sponsor you, (if you were under 18 and your entire family had died in a tsunami) he would be eligible regardless of whether he was a resident or a citizen. His naturalizing has no potentially lubricating effects.

Even the extra points that Emanuel points to are for "having a relative in Canada" not for having a relative who is a citizen.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 3:12 PM on June 20, 2010