To sponsor a family member you must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, at least 18, living in Canada, with a sponsorship application actually filed. A citizen living abroad can still sponsor a spouse, partner, or a dependent child who has no children of their own, provided that citizen will be back living in Canada when the person lands. If you got your own status by being sponsored as a spouse or partner, you have to wait five years as a permanent resident before you can sponsor a new partner.
(1)Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a sponsor, for the purpose of sponsoring a foreign national who makes an application for a permanent resident visa as a member of the family class or an application to remain in Canada as a member of the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class under subsection 13(1) of the Act, must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who (a)is at least 18 years of age; (b)resides in Canada; and (c)has filed a sponsorship application in respect of a member of the family class or the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class in accordance with section 10.
(3)A sponsor who became a permanent resident or a Canadian citizen after being sponsored as a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner under subsection 13(1) of the Act may not sponsor a foreign national referred to in subsection (1) as a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner, unless the sponsor has been a permanent resident, or a Canadian citizen, or a combination of the two, for a period of at least five years immediately preceding the day on which a sponsorship application referred to in paragraph (1)(c) is filed by the sponsor in respect of the foreign national.