What do I have to repay if the person I sponsored receives social assistance?
Short answer
In Quebec, the sponsor must repay the amounts paid out if, during the undertaking, the sponsored person or an accompanying family member receives last-resort financial assistance (social assistance), special benefits, or accommodation in a public residential and long-term care centre.
In detail
A sponsorship undertaking has two parts: providing for the sponsored person's basic needs, and repaying the government any amounts it paid in the sponsor's place during the undertaking.
The Gouvernement du Québec identifies the benefits concerned: last-resort financial assistance, special benefits, and accommodation in a public residential and long-term care centre.
This repayment obligation attaches to the period of the undertaking. It is therefore the date of each benefit paid out, compared against the duration of the undertaking, that determines what is covered.
What to document
Your signed undertaking with its dates, any notice of claim you receive, and the detail of the periods and amounts claimed. Keep your own proof of support for the same period as well. If there is a dispute, it is those two sets of dates that get compared.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
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Official sources
- Gouvernement du Québec — Responsibilities and obligations related to the undertaking (sponsoring a spouse or partner)
- Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration — Guide des procédures d'immigration, ch. 3, s. 6: Family reunification (March 2026)
Related questions
- How long does the undertaking last for a dependent child I sponsor?
- How does Quebec select skilled workers for permanent immigration?
- My CSQ was refused can I challenge the decision?
- How long do I have to ask for a review from Quebec's immigration ministry?
- Can I send my request for review by email?
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.