Sponsoring Your Spouse or Common-Law Partner
Bringing your spouse or common-law partner to Canada as a permanent resident is one of the most important immigration applications you will ever make. The MyVisa Team has guided hundreds of couples through this process and knows how to get it right.
Who Can Be Sponsored
Spouse
A person you are legally married to. The marriage must be legally valid both in the country where it took place and under Canadian law.
Common-law Partner
A person you have lived with in a conjugal relationship for at least 12 continuous months. The 12-month cohabitation requirement must be clearly established and documented.
Conjugal Partner
A person outside Canada with whom you have been in a conjugal relationship for at least one year but who cannot live with you or marry you due to circumstances beyond your control.
Who Can Sponsor: Eligibility Requirements
To sponsor your spouse or common-law partner to become a permanent resident of Canada, you must meet the following eligibility requirements:
1. Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is 18 years of age or older.
2. Not be under a removal order (for permanent residents).
3. Not be subject to a sponsorship bar. You cannot sponsor if you were sponsored yourself as a spouse or partner within the last 5 years, or if you sponsored a spouse or partner who became a permanent resident within the last three years.
4. Not be receiving social assistance (with the exception of disability-related social assistance).
5. Not be convicted of certain offences. A criminal record does not automatically disqualify you, but it must be assessed carefully.
No Minimum Income Requirement
No income requirement for spousal sponsorship. Unlike most other family sponsorship categories, there is no minimum income requirement. However, you must sign an undertaking to financially support your sponsored partner for a period of three years.
The First Decision: Inside or Outside Canada Application
Spousal sponsorship applications can be processed through two distinct streams. Choosing the right stream affects your partner's ability to work in Canada while the application is being processed, the overall processing timeline, and how complications are handled. This is the first strategic decision the MyVisa Team helps every sponsorship client make before anything else.
INLAND SPONSORSHIP: INSIDE CANADA
Available when your spouse or common-law partner is already in Canada with valid temporary status. Both applications submitted together to IRCC and processed in Canada.
Key advantage: partner can apply for an open work permit at the same time, allowing them to work in Canada legally while the permanent residence application is being processed.
Key consideration: Your partner must remain in Canada throughout the entire processing period and you have to continue to reside together.
Processing times for inland applications vary and can be lengthy.
There are no automatic appeal rights for refusals of inside of Canada sponsorship applications.
OUTLAND SPONSORSHIP: OUTSIDE CANADA
Available when your spouse or common-law partner is outside Canada OR when you prefer the application to be processed through the visa office in your partner's country of residence.
A new open work permit option is available through this stream while application is pending if the applicant comes to Canada with a visitor visa while the application is being proces.
Key advantage: more flexible in terms of your partner's ability to travel in and out of Canada during the process.
Key consideration: Processing times vary by visa office and country of application.
Warning: Choosing The Right Strategy
Choosing the wrong stream can cause serious delays. The decision between inland and outland sponsorship has real and lasting consequences for your application timeline, your partner's work authorization, and how complications are managed if they arise. It is not a decision to make based on a quick internet search and should be considered carefully before you submit an applciation as you cannot switch between streams after submitting your application.
Proving a Genuine Relationship
Every spousal sponsorship application requires IRCC to be satisfied that the relationship is genuine and was not entered into primarily for immigration purposes. Officers look for a coherent and convincing picture of a genuine shared life, supported by documentation that is consistent, credible, and tells a clear story.For couples in long-distance relationships, relationships that developed online before meeting in person, or relationships with significant age gaps or cultural differences, the documentation strategy requires particular care.
| Types of Evidence: |
Evidence of shared life: joint finances, shared accommodation, co-signed documents, records of daily shared life.
Communication records: calls, messages, correspondence over time.
Travel and visits: documentation of visits, travel together, time spent in the same location.
Family and social recognition: photos, invitations, letters of support.
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Use of AI in Assessing Sponsorship Applications
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada uses digital tools and artificial intelligence (AI) to support parts of the application review process. In spousal and common law partner sponsorship cases, these tools affect how applications are sorted, reviewed, and processed. This can impact processing times, especially where an application is flagged for closer review or requires additional officer assessment.
The MyVisa Team are experts in understanding use of AI in visa and immigration applications. To learn more about how AI may affect immigration applications and decision making, visit our AI in immigration resource page.
Common Refusal Reasons For Spousal Sponsorship Applications
MOST COMMON: RELATIONSHIP NOT FOUND TO BE GENUINE
Officers assess both the genuineness of the relationship and whether it was entered into primarily for immigration purposes.
How we help: We work with every client to build a documentation strategy that tells the story of the relationship clearly and convincingly.
COMMON: SPONSOR INELIGIBILITY
Sponsorship bars, prior criminal history, failure to meet undertaking obligations from a previous sponsorship.
How we help: We conduct a thorough eligibility assessment of the sponsor before any application is filed.
COMMON: INADMISSIBILITY OF THE SPONSORED PERSON
Criminal history, medical inadmissibility, misrepresentation, or other inadmissibility grounds.
How we help: We assess the sponsored person's immigration and personal history before filing.
SITUATION SPECIFIC: PREVIOUSLY REFUSED APPLICATIONS
A prior refusal adds a layer of complexity.
How we help: We analyze the prior refusal, identify what went wrong, and build a new application that addresses those issues directly.
Ready to bring your spouse or partner to Canada? Start here.
Start with a free assessment. We will review your situation, advise on the right pathway, identify any issues that need to be addressed, and give you a clear picture of what your application looks like from start to finish.
5000 Yonge St., Suite 1901 Toronto, Ontario, Canada M2N 7E9
Info@myvisa.law