Canadian citizens and permanent residents who are in relationships with people from other nations can now sponsor them to become permanent residents of Canada. There are two-person options by which you can support your spouse; joint law partner or conjugal partner.
Although covid-19 has caused a lot of disruption to the application process for many, the immigration, refugees, and citizenship Canada (IRCC) continue to allow and process spousal sponsorship applications. IRCC aims to expedite married processing during the pandemic, which is why spousal processing applications stay a priority.
Canada plans to welcome more than 400,000 new immigrants every year. With a target of 60% as economic class skilled workers, refugees, and family class immigrants, Canada intends to welcome about 80,000 yearly under its spouses, partner, and children category. All of these are under the immigrants’ level plan.
The followings are a criterion that qualifies you to be a sponsor:
You have to be 18 years of age or older
You have to be a Canadian citizen, an individual registered under the Canadian Indian Act, or a permanent resident living in Canada
You should be able to provide for the basic needs of yourself, your spouse or partner, and dependent children (if applicable)
You must live in Canada or be a Canadian citizen intending to return to the country
As A Sponsor, You Should:
Have the means to support your partner financially
Ensure your partner does not require social assistance from the government
As a sponsor, you are responsible for providing financial support to the person you are sponsoring and dependent children. You will also be required to undertake some promises to provide for the basic needs of the sponsored individual. Basic needs to be provided include:
Medical expenses, except by the public health insurance, i.e., eyes and dental care
Clothing and other requirements for daily survival
Housing and utility bills
Food and personal hygiene products
The undertaking is often for three days, and your responsibility as the sponsor begins right after the project is approved. Your spouse, common-law, or conjugal partner becomes a permanent resident.
You are not allowed to withdraw the undertaking, regardless of the circumstances, including financial or personal situation changes, as long as the sponsorship application is approved by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
There is no speculated income requirement for sponsoring your spouse or partner to Canada. However, you must be aware of the financial responsibility of spousal sponsorship. They include:
You should not be in bankruptcy or be receiving support benefits from any province
It would help if you also had enough income or assets to support your partner or spouse once they arrive in Canada
If you can, however, sponsor your spouse, joint law partner, or conjugal partner if you are receiving employment insurance benefits or disability benefits.
Including dependent children will attract an additional payment of $150 per child. The organization will also issue an additional fee of CAD 289 if you reside or intend to move to QUEBEC, where you will get permanent residence.
To ensure that you can sponsor your foreign spouse or partner under this immigration program, you have to prove that you are both in a real relationship under any of these three categories:
You must also ensure that the individual you are sponsoring is:
Before the sponsored person can get the visa, the IRCC must approve the Canadian citizen, permanent resident and foreign national.
The Canadian government recognizes same-sex marriages and relationships; this means that your spouse or partner may be eligible to apply in one of the three categories mentioned above. This is, however, considering that the person meets the criteria provided. If your marriage took place outside Canada, it must be recognized in the country where it took place.
To prove the duration and nature of your relationship/marriage, here are some documents you will be required to submit:
Proof of the connection (letters, emails, social media)
Documents showing that you are identified as common-law partners of each other, i.e., employment or insurance benefits
Birth certificates, marriage certificates, or adoption records of any children you and your partner have together
Relationship information and sponsorship evaluation questionnaire
Proof of shared expenses between you and your partner
You must be aware that the application will not be accepted if there is any indication that your relationship is not valid.
You must go through the criteria and ensure you and your partner meet all the eligibility criteria. You will also be required to submit the following application at the same time:
To sponsor a spouse will only take a few processes; follow the steps below:
Get the application package, which you can find on the government website; this contains a guide with instructions and forms that will aid you in completing the process correctly.
Pay the online application fee; this includes the following:
Complete the application and submit it; ensure you follow through with the submission instructions provided in the website guide.
Finally, submit the supporting documents when asked
In this category, you should submit the applications to sponsor a foreign partner or spouse when the sponsored person lives abroad and the Canadian sponsor resides in Canada. The spouse or partner may get a chance to enter and leave Canada through the process of application, however, this is as long as they obtain the proper Canadian visa or they are from a visa-free country. The visa office from the person’s country of origin, or where the applicant has legally resided for over one year, will be in charge of the applications outside Canada.
If you apply for this category, both spouses must live together in Canada. The foreign partner or spouse must have temporary status in Canada as a student, visitor, or worker. It is a requirement that the spouse and the applicant live together in Canada for the entire time of application. Foreign spouses residing in Canada and holding temporary legal status may apply for any Canadian organization. This is allowed to take away potential financial hardship caused by potentially lengthy application processing times.
To sponsor a partner or spouse, the application can be submitted either outside Canada at a visa office abroad or in Canada at a local immigration office. They can only offer an application for sponsorships for conjugal partners outside the Canada application process.
The processing time for the spousal application usually takes 12 months.
Interviews are required only when the information provided is considered non-credible. However, the discussions are at the discretion of the visa officers assessing your application.
The following reasons are why your application may not be accepted:
Although the country will give no visa or special status to spouses whose applications are in process, the foreign national spouse can still join their partner or spouse while the application is in operation.
However, a pending application for permanent residence can pose a problem while obtaining a temporary or visitor visa; this is because it may seem like you intend to stay in Canada longer than your visit states before completing your immigration process. It is, however, considered wise to first apply for a visitor’s visa, and afterwards, you submit an inland spousal sponsorship application once the spouse is in Canada. This way, you can be sure you will be moving from your temporary status to an open work permit, allowing you to take jobs while your application is in process.
In Canada, there are programs given by the government which provide rights to spouses and common-law partners of permanent residents or citizens to get an open work permit while their application is ongoing. To obtain an available work permit, this is what you must do ;
You can leave the country while the IRCC is processing your application. Nevertheless, there might be rules and documents you might be required to provide, and they are;
Yes, your spouse can stay with you during the application process; however, it is with the condition that their legal position is maintained. Temporary resident status is only allowed for a certain amount of time, and you must ensure that it remains active while in Canada. If you intend to stay in Canada for a more extended period, you’ll need to apply for a Visitor Record, which is a document that grants you visitor status and allows you to stay longer. Before your present status expires, you must apply for a Visitor Record.
