Spousal or Common-Law Partner Sponsorship

Sponsorship Eligibility

Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents of Canada are eligible to sponsor the following family members for immigration to Canada:

Spouse, Common Law Partner, or Conjugal Partner

In order to be eligible under the partner sponsorship immigration pathways, your relationship with your spouse or partner must not have been created specifically for immigration purposes, and it must meet one of the following definitions:

Spouse: you are legally married to the person you wish to sponsor and the marriage is legally recognized in the country where it took place as well as in Canada. Note that both of you must have been physically present for the marriage in order to meet Canadian immigration requirements.

Common-law partner: you have lived together with the person you wish to sponsor for a minimum of 12 consecutive months in a conjugal relationship and you have combined your affairs in a relationship that is intended to be permanent.



Conjugal partner: you and the person you wish to sponsor have had a relationship for at least one year with the same level of commitment as a marriage or common law partnership, but circumstances beyond your control prevent you from either co-habiting or getting married. This category would be appropriate to use in situations where it is impossible for you to marry or to live together, such as same sex relationships from countries where same sex relationships are illegal.  If it is possible for you to live together, then you are expected to apply as a common law couple after 12 months.

If your relationship fits within one of those definitions, then there are two pathways by which you can sponsor your spouse, common law or conjugal partner to immigrate to Canada.  Both of these pathways average a 12 month processing time.

Inland Sponsorship (In CANADA CLASS):

If you would like to apply via inland sponsorship, the sponsored person must be living inside Canada.  The key aspects of an inland sponsorship are as follows:

• the sponsored person must be living inside Canada
• the sponsored person should not plan to travel outside of Canada until Permanent Residence is achieved
• if the sponsored person has valid temporary status in Canada, they can apply for an open work permit which is issued approximately 4 months after the application is submitted
• you must reside together with your partner in Canada while the application is being processed
• if the sponsored person does not have legal immigration status in Canada even though they reside here, they can still apply through the inland sponsorship pathway, but the open work permit will not be issued until much further into the processing timeframe
• no appeal is possible for refusal (you must apply again, if eligible)

Overseas/Outland Sponsorship (Family Class Sponsorship)

If you would like to apply via an overseas family sponsorship, the sponsored person can be living inside or outside of Canada.  If you are both residing outside of Canada, the sponsor must be a Canadian Citizen in order to apply to sponsor.  Permanent Residents are required to be inside Canada before submitting a sponsorship application.  The key aspects of overseas, or the family class sponsorship process are as follows:

• the sponsored person can travel outside of Canada if needed
• the couple does not need to reside together during the processing of the application
• if an interview is required, the sponsored person will need to attend an interview at an overseas embassy
• there is no option for a work permit to be issued as part of an overseas sponsorship, the sponsored person will not be able to work in Canada until after they are landed as a Permanent Resident
• if the sponsored person is inside Canada, they need to have legal immigration status
• appeal is possible for refusals

Requirements and Obligations

Requirements To Sponsor A Spouse or Partner

In order to sponsor your spouse or partner, you must be a Canadian Citizen or Canadian Permanent Resident and meet the following general criteria:

• you are at least 18 years of age
• you were not sponsored to immigrate to Canada as a spouse within the past 5 years
• you meet residency requirements if you are a Permanent Resident
• you are not in prison, charged with a serious crime, bankrupt or under a removal order
• you do not owe money related to a previous immigration sponsorship, alimony or child support payments
• you are not receiving social assistance except for reasons of disability

Requirements of the Sponsored Spouse or Partner

If you are the sponsored person, you must be in a genuine relationship with the Canadian sponsor and meet the following general criteria:

• you are at least 16 years of age
• you are not inadmissible for criminality, security or past misrepresentation
• you do not have an illness that poses a threat to public health in Canada
• you must plan to make every effort to support yourself in Canada

Sponsorship Obligations

As the sponsor, you will sign a sponsorship agreement to provide financial support to your partner for a period of 3 years from the time that your partner will receive Permanent Residence in Canada.  If your partner has a dependent child who is also included in the sponsorship, your sponsorship agreement means that you are financially responsible for the child for either ten years after landing, or until the child turns 25 years old, whichever deadline comes first.  If your partner has grandchildren who are included in the sponsorship, your sponsorship agreement will have a ten year sponsorship undertaking for them, and you will have to demonstrate that you meet a certain level of income before you can be approved as a sponsor.