BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR SPONSORSHIP

To be a sponsor
»A Canadian Citizen or a Permanent Resident
»You must be 18 years of age or older.
»You must provide financial support for a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner for three years from the date they become a permanent resident.
»You must provide financial support for a dependent child for 10 years, or until the child turns 25, whichever comes first.

You can sponsor: 
»Spouse
»Common Law Partner
»Conjugal Partner
»Dependent Children
»Parents and Grandparents
»Brothers or Sisters, Nephews or Nieces, Granddaughters or Grandsons who are orphaned, Under 18 years of age and not married or in married or in a common law relationship.
»Another relative of any age or relationship (conditions apply)

Definitions of the Terms
Spouse: You are a spouse if you are married to your sponsor and your  marriage is legal.
»If you were married in Canada. You must have a marriage certificate issued by the province or territory where the marriage took place.
»If you were married outside Canada
›The marriage must be valid under the law of the country where it  took place and under Canadian law, and
›The marriage, if performed in an embassy or consulate, must Follow the law of the country where it took place, not the country the embassy or consulate represents

Common-law partner
»You are a common-law partner either of the opposite sex or the same sex-if:
›You have been living together in a conjugal relationship for at least one year in an ongoing 12-month period (you’re allowed short absences for business travel or family reasons).
›You will need proof that you and your common-law partner have combined your affairs and set up a household together. This can be form of variety proofs set by Citizenship and immigration of Canada.

Conjugal partner
›This category is for partners either of the opposite sex or same sex in situations beyond their control that keep them from living together so they would count as common-law partners or spouses.
›A conjugal relationship is more than a physical relationship. It means you depend on each other, there is some permanence to the relationship, and there is the same level of commitment as a marriage or a common-law partnership.

Dependent children
A son or daughter is dependent when the child:
›is under age 19 and does not have a spouse or common-law partner, or
›is 19 years of age or older and has depended largely on the financial support of a parent since before age 19 because of a physical or mental condition.