Haitian-Montrealers line up to send cash to relatives in the disaster-struck country. They can now sponser relatives for immigration. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

Hundreds of Haitian-Montrealers have started the paperwork to sponsor family members struggling in Haiti after the January earthquake.

People started lining up before dawn Thursday at the Maison d'Haiti to begin the paperwork necessary to sponsor relatives to come to Canada, after the Quebec government loosened immigration rules to help Haitians affected by the natural disaster.

The biggest challenge for many is proving they have the financial means to support sponsored relatives for five years.

Haitian-Canadians wait to meet with immigration officials in Montreal to sponser their relatives back home. (CBC)

"Immigration Quebec wants to make sure that people really have the necessary guarantees," said Marjorie Villefranche, the centre's director general, in an interview with CBC's French-language service.

"If not, it's very cruel to fill out a form and to be then told that you're not eligible."

Several people who showed up at the centre on Wednesday were turned away because officials ran out of applications.

The sponsorship program is expected to run for one year, or until 3,000 people have been accepted.