These are some of the most common mistakes I have encountered in sponsorship applications for parents, which are very easy to avoid.
The most common mistake, which leads to the refusal of these types of application, is the lack or miscalculation of the Sponsors income. It has to be noted that, in the calculation of your income, all members of your family are taken into consideration. If, for example, a Canadian couple with two small children sponsors two parents and a brother who is under 19 years old, you have 7 persons in your family and your income must be sufficient for all of you in order to be qualified as a sponsor. Sometimes, it is not enough to use the income of only the Sponsor; so many of my clients have a co-signer in their application. The co-signer can be a spouse (a wife/husband or a common-law partner) of the Sponsor.
Some of my clients make the mistake of mentioning their gross income on the application when they are self-employed which is a grave mistake. If you are self-employed, only your net income, which is indicated in line 150 of your Notice of Assessment from Revenue Canada, can be taken into consideration. You cannot add any other money as income (some people genuinely believe that they can add their parents’ savings or the value of their homes when assessing their financial ability to sponsor, which is a mistake).
Another mistake is to appeal to the immigration officer’s “sympathetic” side in attempts to advance your situation. You should know that the immigration application approval is subject to compliance with the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and your eligibility must be in compliance with the set of rules, unless you apply for a humanitarian case. An officer has virtually no discretion to examine and apply your special circumstances and, if you are found ineligible to sponsor your parent, the officer will refuse your application notwithstanding the fact you presented the immigration authorities with a letter explaining how close you are with your parents and that they are in need of your emotional or physical support.
Many applications are refused because the forms have been completed inaccurately and the information provided was incorrect, or missing. More importantly certain mistakes such as not including certain family members, may lead to misrepresentation.