Sponsor Income Requirements: LICO and Minimum Income

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) define the minimum necessary income (MNI) as Statistics Canada's low income cut-off (LICO) for urban areas of 500,000 people or more, for a group the size of your family unit (IRPR s. 2). Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) publishes the amounts in tables. The income rule itself is in IRPR s. 133(1)(j), and how income is calculated is in s. 134.

Federal minimum for a family of 1 (2025 table)

$30,526

Added for parent and grandparent sponsors

+30%

Parent and grandparent sponsors must meet it in each

3 tax years

Fallback period if a notice of assessment is missing or too low

12 months

The most common mistake is the family size, not the income. You must count yourself, your spouse or partner, your dependent children, the person you sponsor and all their family members, even those who are not coming to Canada, and everyone still covered by an undertaking you or your co-signer gave earlier. One missed person can put you below the line.

The exemptions come from IRPR s. 133(4): a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner with no dependent children, or whose dependent child has no dependent children; a dependent child with no dependent children; and a child under 18 you intend to adopt in Canada. Everyone else in the family class needs the income test. Even when no income test applies, every other sponsor requirement does, including the bar on receiving social assistance for a reason other than disability.

• You and your familyYourself, your spouse or common-law partner (even a separated spouse, in most cases), your dependent children and your partner's dependent children, and their dependent children
• The people you sponsorThe principal applicant and their spouse or partner and dependent children, whether or not they are coming to Canada
• Earlier undertakingsEveryone you sponsored or co-signed for whose undertaking is still in effect or not yet in effect, with their family members
• Your co-signer's undertakingsIf your spouse co-signs, also anyone they sponsored or co-signed for under an undertaking still in effect

For parents and grandparents, family size is counted separately for each of the 3 tax years. Count each person from the year they joined your family; for the 2025 intake, a child born in 2023 counts for 2023 and 2024 but not for 2022. A co-signing spouse counts in all 3 years, even if you married later; a spouse who does not co-sign counts only in the years they were your spouse or partner. Someone who is no longer part of your family when you apply, for example after a divorce, death or the end of an undertaking, is not counted in any year.

1. 1

   Most sponsors: the last notice of assessment

   IRCC uses your Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) notice of assessment for the most recent tax year before you apply, minus excluded amounts (IRPR s. 134(1)(a) and (b)). Complete the Financial Evaluation form (IMM 1283).

2. 2

   If it is missing or too low

   IRCC uses your Canadian income in the 12 months before you apply, shown by pay stubs, a statement of business activities, bank statements or other income records (IRPR s. 134(1)(c)).

3. 3

   Parents and grandparents: 3 notices

   IRCC uses the income on your notices of assessment for each of the 3 tax years before you apply (IRPR s. 134(1.1)). You can let IRCC get them from the CRA by giving consent and your social insurance number, or send paper copies.

4. 4

   Add a co-signer if needed

   Your co-signer's income is calculated the same way and added to yours (IRPR s. 134(1)(d) and (1.1)(c)).

5. 5

   Keep meeting it

   You must meet the requirement from the day you apply until the decision. An officer can ask for updated evidence if more than 12 months have passed since IRCC received your application, or if there is information that you can no longer meet your obligations (IRPR s. 134(2)).

• Provincial training allowancesAllowances for a program of instruction or training
• Social assistanceAny social assistance received from a province
• Resettlement assistanceFederal financial help under a resettlement assistance program
• Most Employment InsuranceEmployment Insurance benefits other than special benefits, which do count
• Guaranteed Income SupplementThe monthly supplement under the Old Age Security Act
• Canada child benefitNot counted as income
• Assets and help from othersIRCC does not consider assets, potential earnings or help from other family members. Income earned during a bankruptcy with settlement arrangements does not count.

Co-signers. Only your spouse or common-law partner can co-sign. They must meet the sponsor requirements, and they become jointly and fully responsible with you for the whole undertaking (IRPR s. 132(5)). You cannot have a co-signer when sponsoring a spouse or partner, and you do not need one for a dependent child with no children.

IRCC's federal table is dated 2025 on the Financial Evaluation form page, and its parents and grandparents table is for the 2025 intake. New parent and grandparent intake has been paused since July 15, 2026, and IRCC has not published a table for a later intake. Check both before you apply.

In Quebec, you add Table A for your family, Table B for the people you sponsor, and Table B again for anyone under an accepted undertaking still in force. Table A must be covered by Canadian-source income; Table B can be covered by Canadian-source income or assets held in Canada. You must have had the income in the 12 months before applying and show it will continue for the undertaking. A co-signing spouse's income and assets can count. Quebec adjusts the amounts every January 1.

If IRCC refuses you as a sponsor, what happens depends on the choice you made when applying: withdraw (all fees except the sponsorship fee are refunded) or continue with the family member's application. For a family class refusal, a sponsor can appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division within 30 days after receiving it.