Can I sponsor an adopted child, and is the process different?

You can sponsor a child you have adopted or intend to adopt. For children adopted abroad, IRCC works alongside provincial and territorial adoption authorities, and the adoption must comply with the laws of both the child's home country/territory and the province where you live.

The key safeguards are that the adoption creates a genuine parent-child relationship and is not arranged mainly to gain immigration status. Because of these checks, adoption-based sponsorships typically require additional documentation and coordination compared with sponsoring a biological child.