Sponsor Your Spouse or Common-Law Partner

The sponsorship immigration program of Canada allows its citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their spouses or common-law partners to Canada. Moreover, only eligible residents are permitted to invite their families to Canada.

Through the sponsorship immigration, the invited family members are allowed to live and work in Canada. Moreover, they can also become permanent residents and citizens of Canada.

Furthermore, the inviters must be financially stable and do not require any social assistance from the government of Canada.

• Sponsorship requirements

The applicants become eligible to sponsor their spouses or partners to Canada when they are permanent residents or citizens of Canada. Moreover, other conditions include the applicant to be:

• Must be at least 18 years old or above
• Permanent Resident or Canadian Citizen or registered under the Canadian Indian Act
• Canadian citizens living outside the country must need to show that they intend to live in Canada; when they want to sponsor
• The applicants cannot sponsor someone living outside Canada
• Financially stable to bear the expenses of the family for the next three years
• Not receiving any assistance from the government
• Intend to live in Canada or return back

 

• Requirements for married Applicants:

For the married applicants that are planning to sponsor their spouse, the following evidence are required for verification purposes:

• Relationship Information and Sponsorship EvaluationForm
• Proof of marriage registration
• Birth Certificate or adoption certificates (if applicable)
• Marriage certificate
• Wedding evidence (invitations, photos, etc.)

 

• Required Documents

The applicants are expected to provide proof of the following documents in order to show their eligibility. The required documents are listed. However, not all of them are mandatory, but any two of them are acceptable.

• Documents of shared ownership of property of you and your spouse
• Shared bank accounts
• Utility bills for shared accounts
• Identification documents
• Documents containing the same addresses or other supporting documents
• Other supporting documents can also be attached to show the relation

 

• Who can you Sponsor?

With this stream, the applicants can also sponsor their spouses, common-law partners, or conjugal partners. Moreover, the requirements for each relations sponsorship are also listed along with other details.

• Spouse

Canada has legalized same-sex marriages so that applicants can sponsor their spouses. The sponsored person must be:

• Legally married to the applicant
• Must be of at least 18 years of age

Demonstration of relations between applicants is mandatory.

• What are Common-law Sponsorships

Canada considers common-law marriages the same as conventional marriages; this is the reason that it is allowed to sponsor common-law partners. To apply under this criteria, the applicant must provide proof of relationship as a couple. The evidence includes living with each other for a year or above.

Moreover, the required evidence for the sponsorship of common-law partner are listed below:

• The common-law partner should not be legally married to you
• Can be of same-sex
• At least be of 18 years old
• Must be living with each other for at least consecutive 12 months
• Must be in 1 year of conjugal relationship

These documents are required to demonstrate your relationship so that the immigration officer can verify the case.

• What are Conjugal Relationships

The conjugal partner can also be sponsored to live and work in Canada. The conjugal partner in legal terms is defined as:

• That is not legally married to you or in a common-law relationship with you
• Can be of same-sex
• Must be at least 18 years of age
• Has been in a relationship with the applicant for the past consecutive year
• Lives outside Canada
• Cannot live with the primary applicant in their country of residence or marry them due to legal or immigration reasons (marital status, same-sex marriage, or persecution)

Moreover, the immigration department will require proof that you cannot live together in your marital partner’s country.

• Inland and Outland Spousal Sponsorships

Family Class (Outland) sponsorship

The family class (outland) sponsorship is applicable in that case where:

• Your spouse/common-law partner is residing outside of Canada
• You are living in Canada at the time, but you do not intend to stay in Canada for the duration of the application process

A drawback for the outland sponsorship maybe that it might be difficult for you to live with your spouse until the application is approved. However, the spouse can obtain a temporary work visa to live in Canada during the processing of their outland sponsorship.

Family Class (Inland) sponsorship

You can apply to sponsor your spouse or common-law partner in Canada Class if:

• You are living with the sponsor in Canada
• You possess a valid immigration status
• You will apply for an open work permit to work in Canada while your application is underway

However, if your spouse or common-law partner is not in Canada, they can also apply for this stream. And they are still allowed to live in Canada during the application process.

 

• Processing Time for Sponsorship applications

The average processing time for sponsorship applications is around 12 months. However, in some instances, it can take more time than 12 months. In some complex cases, the visa office may require additional proof or evidence for your marriage or relationship; this can also cause an extension in the processing time.

If you want your sponsorship application to proceed as early as possible, you can contact us. Our experienced and professional lawyers have enabled many families to unite in Canada. Moreover, we offer complimentary assessments for your cases.

• Sponsorship Cost

The sponsorship fee and other charges are as follows, for an additional dependent child, the cost is $150.

• Sponsorship fee $75
• Principal applicant processing fee $475 
• Right of permanent residence fee $500
• Biometrics: $85
• Total: $1135

 

Furthermore, if the sponsor lives in Quebec or intends to live in Quebec, an additional $289 is required.

 

• Application Refusal Causes

To be eligible for any type of spousal sponsorship, you must be able to demonstrate that your partnership is sincere and legitimate. Depending on the nature of your relationship, immigration authorities will take into account a variety of variables. To assess if your connection is real, visa officers will look at a variety of things. Some of the items they will evaluate are more traditional, such as wedding photos, videos, social media photos, trips, etc. There are some that are more specific to the region’s cultural customs. If your relationship is unusual, you must provide further evidence of its sincerity.

• Interview for Spousal Sponsorship

For spousal sponsorship cases, immigration interviews are the exception rather than the rule. However, spousal sponsorship immigration interviews are most common when there are a lack of supporting documents, conflicting information on forms vs. documents, age and religious differences, a short time between meeting your spouse and marriage, or little or no cohabitation.