Are you eligible to sponsor your spouse or partner for Canadian immigration?

Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor their spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner for permanent residence (PR).

Although the concept of spousal sponsorship may appear straightforward, sponsoring your spouse or partner in practice can be confusing and complicated. Sponsors and their loved ones may face unexpected delays or even refusals.

The first step in sponsoring your spouse or partner is to determine your eligibility to be a sponsor, and your loved one’s eligibility to be sponsored.

Below CIC News has compiled essential information for couples, to better understand their ability to sponsor and be sponsored for Canadian immigration.

This article is the first of three which will break down the sponsorship process.

Sponsor your loved one for Canadian immigration

Determining eligibility

Sponsors

You can sponsor your spouse, common-law, or conjugal partner for Canadian immigration if you meet all the following requirements:

• Are at least 18 years of age;
• Are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or registered Indian;
• Are either:
  • living in Canada; OR
  • a Canadian citizen living outside Canada who can provide proof that you will move to Canada once your sponsored spouse becomes a permanent resident;
• Are willing and able to sign an undertaking for three years from the day your spouse or partner receives PR status, promising to give financial support for their basic needs*.
• Are not ineligible (see the ineligibility situations below).

*Note that residents of Quebec looking to sponsor their spouse or partner will need to meet Quebec’s immigration sponsorship requirements after they are approved to be a sponsor. They must also sign an undertaking with the province of Quebec, and have their income assessed by the Quebec ministry of immigration.

Who is not eligible to sponsor their spouse or partner?

In addition to meeting the eligibility requirements above, you must not fall into any of the situations that render you ineligible.

You are not eligible to sponsor your spouse, common-law, or conjugal partner if you:

• Were sponsored by a spouse or common-law partner and gained PR status less than five years ago;
• Have signed an undertaking for a previous spouse or partner who has not been a permanent resident for more than three years;
• Are still financially responsible for a previous spouse or partner, and therefore still bound by the three-year undertaking to care for this person;
• Are in default on an immigration loan, performance bond, or on court-ordered family support payments.
• Failed to provide the financial support that you initially agreed to when applying to sponsor someone in the past*;
• Declared bankruptcy and have not yet been discharged*;
• Are receiving social assistance for any reason other than a disability;
• Were convicted of, or threatened or attempted to commit, a violent crime, a sexual offence, or an offence causing bodily harm to a relative;
• Are in a penitentiary, jail, reformatory, or prison;
• Have already applied to sponsor your current spouse and haven’t received a decision; or
• Can’t legally stay in Canada due to being subject to a removal order.

*These criteria do not apply to sponsors who are residents of Quebec.

The sponsored

Canadian permanent residents and citizens can sponsor their spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner.

The person sponsored must be at least 18 years old, and the qualifying relationship must be established with specific criteria:

For spouses, the marriage must be legally recognized in the country in which it took place and must be legally recognized in Canada. Both spouses must have been physically present at the marriage ceremony.

For a common-law relationship, the partners must demonstrate a significant commitment to one another, including

• Sharing the same home;
• Supporting one another financially and emotionally; and
• Presenting themselves in public as a couple.

Having children together would also help to demonstrate a common-law relationship.

For a conjugal partner, the partners must demonstrate:

• A significant degree of attachment and mutual interdependence; and
• Obstacles or restrictions that prevent the couple from marrying or living together.

Some examples of obstacles or restrictions include immigration barriers, religious restrictions, and legal or cultural restrictions relating to sexual orientation. In most cases, the foreign conjugal partner is not able to legally marry the sponsor.

In most cases, the person being sponsored must be admissible to Canada.

If the spouse or common-law partner lives in Canada, they must have valid temporary resident status (work permit, study permit, or visitor status) or must be exempt from requiring that status on account of a public policy set out in 2005 under A25 (1) of the Immigration and Refugees Protection Act.

This public policy allows spouses or common law partners without valid temporary resident status to be sponsored even if they are inadmissible to Canada on account of:

• Having overstayed a visa, visitor record, work permit, or study permit;
• Having worked or studied in Canada without legal status;
• Having entered Canada without the required visa or other document; or
• Having entered Canada without a valid travel document.

The sponsored partner must have valid documents by the time they are granted permanent residence.

What privileges are afforded by permanent residence?

A permanent resident is an individual who has been granted the legal right to live in Canada on a permanent basis through immigration, while remaining a citizen of another country. Though permanent residents are not Canadian citizens, they share many of the same rights and privileges as citizens.

What can permanent residents do in Canada?

Permanent residents enjoy numerous rights and freedoms in Canada, which include:

• Accessing most social benefits available to Canadian citizens, such as health care coverage and education;
• The ability to live, work, and study anywhere in Canada;
• The option to apply for Canadian citizenship; and
• The protection and guarantees provided by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

What are permanent residents not permitted to do?

There are specific restrictions on what permanent residents can do in Canada. These include:

• The inability to vote in political elections at the provincial or federal level; and
• Being ineligible for certain jobs that require high-level security clearance.

If a permanent resident acquires Canadian citizenship through immigration through naturalization, they will be granted all the same rights and privileges of natural-born Canadian citizens in Canada.

To transition from permanent residence to citizenship, newcomers must:

• Have lived in Canada for three of the last five years;
• Have filed their tax returns for applicable years;
• Pass a test on their rights and responsibilities in the country, and knowledge of Canada’s culture and history;
• Prove their language skills by taking an approved language test; and
• Take the Oath of citizenship.

Sponsor your loved one for Canadian immigration