Sponsoring Your Spouse or Partner for Immigration to Canada

The Canadian immigration system prioritizes family unions and allows you to sponsor your spouse or partner to move to Canada. 

The Spousal, Partner and Children immigration sponsorship category is the ideal option for candidates who want to offer sponsorship to their partner or spouse for Canadian immigration. Canada invites around 80,000 immigrants via this category annually.

Permanent residents and Canadian citizens can apply to sponsor their common-law partner, spouse or conjugal partner to get permanent residence in Canada. It is important to note that the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) acknowledges same-sex relationships.

Eligibility and process

If you want to offer sponsorship to your loved ones, you have to meet the following eligibility requirements:

• You have to be an adult over, i.e., at least 18 years old.
• You have to be a permanent resident or a Canadian citizen.
• You can also be registered as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act. 
• You should not be getting social assistance. The only exception is disability assistance.
• You should have the financial means to fund your loved one in Canada.

As a Canadian citizen living abroad, you have to prove to IRCC that you want to live in Canada with your partner once they gain permanent residence. Permanent residents who want to apply for sponsorship have to be in Canada when they submit their application.

There are two applications you have to submit to IRCC during the process. You have to fill in the sponsorship application and the permanent residence application and mail them to IRCC together. You can pay the required fees on the IRCC website.