Sponsorship Application: Will my parents/grandparents be able to draw a pension in Canada?

By consultant On October 27, 2021

Listen to this article

To be eligible to collect a Canada Pension plan, you must:

Be at least 60 years old, AND
Have made at least one valid contribution to the CPP – in other words you must have received at least one paycheque from a job in Canada.
However, Canada has social security agreements with certain countries so if you have lived worked abroad in one of those countries you may qualify for a pension in Canada.
- Your parents or grandparents therefore need to check with their home country’s pension system to see if they have a social security agreement with Canada.
- As well, they also need to have contributed long enough to their home country’s pension system to qualify for a pension in their home country in order to be able to receive a pension in Canada.
- Go here to see a list of the countries with which Canada has a social security agreement. It includes India and China, many Caribbean countries, and a large number of European countries as well.

To be eligible for an Old Age Security (OAS) pension in Canada you must:

Be 65 years of age or older
Be either:
- A Canadian citizen, OR
- A permanent resident of Canada
- When your application is approved
Have lived in Canada for at least 10 years since the age of 18 (if applying from inside Canada)

If you are applying for OAS from outside Canada, you must:

In other words, your parents/grandparents will have to wait for at least 10 years from the date they enter Canada in order to apply for OAS.