Regulation 153 — Sponsorship requirements

(1) In order to sponsor a foreign national and their family members who are members of a class prescribed by Division 1, a sponsor

(a) must reside or have representatives in the expected community of settlement;

(b) must make a sponsorship application that includes a settlement plan, an undertaking and, if the sponsor has not entered into a sponsorship agreement with the Minister, a document issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees or a foreign state certifying the status of the foreign national as a refugee under the rules applicable to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees or the applicable laws of the foreign state, as the case may be; and

(c) must not be — or include — an individual, a corporation or an unincorporated organization or association that was a party to a sponsorship in which they defaulted on an undertaking and remain in default.

(1.1) Paragraphs 13(1)(a) and (b) do not apply to the document referred to in paragraph (1)(b) issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees or a foreign state.

(1.2) If the foreign national has chosen to have their application for a permanent resident visa attached to the sponsorship application in accordance with paragraph 140.2(1)(b), the sponsor must send the sponsorship application and the application for a permanent resident visa to the Department’s Case Processing Centre in Canada for processing those applications.

(2) The undertaking referred to in paragraph (1)(b) shall be signed by each party to the sponsorship.

(3) All parties to the undertaking are jointly and severally or solidarily liable.

(4) A party or a sponsor who defaults on an undertaking ceases to be in default

(a) in the case of a sponsor who defaults on a financial obligation, when the sponsor has reimbursed the government concerned, in full or in accordance with an agreement with that government, for amounts paid by the government;

(b) in the case of a party, other than an organization or association, who defaults on a financial obligation, when the defaulting party has reimbursed any other party to the sponsorship, in full or in accordance with an agreement with that party, for amounts paid by that party;

(c) in the case of a sponsor who defaults on a non-financial obligation, when the sponsor satisfies an officer that they are in compliance with the obligation; and

(d) in the case of an organization or association that was a party to a sponsorship and defaulted for any reason, when a period of five years has elapsed from the date of default.