How to sponsor your partner for immigration in Canada

By the end of the year, Canada hopes to have processed 18,000 spousal sponsorship applications.

Immigration in Canada, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) made a major statement detailing the creative measures it is taking to reunite families as soon as possible.

In recent years, Canada has set a goal of sponsoring 70,000 new immigrants each year under the spouse, partner, and children family class sponsorship category. This is because family reunion is a key priority for the Canadian government.

Although the coronavirus outbreak has created a delay in the processing of spousal sponsorship applications, IRCC’s additional procedures should help to minimize backlogs.

Here’s what you need to know if you’re thinking about submitting a fresh spousal sponsorship application.

The process:

Permanent residency may be sponsored by a spouse, common-law partner, or amorous partner of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.

For the sponsored person to acquire permanent residence, both the Canadian citizen or permanent resident (the “sponsor”) and the foreign national (the “sponsored person”) must be recognized by IRCC.

Both the sponsor and the sponsored people must demonstrate to IRCC that their relationship fits into one of three categories:

• Common-law partner and spouse
• Partner in marriage
• Same-sex marriages are legal in Canada. Same-sex partners are eligible to apply under one of these three categories if they satisfy all of the IRCC’s eligibility requirements.

Who can you sponsor?

1. Your partner must be at least 18 years old and lawfully married to you.
2. A common-law partner is someone who is not legally married to you, is at least 18 years old, and has lived with you for at least a year.
3. A person who is not legally married to you, is at least 18 years old, has been in a relationship with you for at least one year, resides outside of Canada, and is unable to live with you or marry you owing to severe legal and immigration in Canada issues.

Eligibility Criteria:

• If you and your partner meet the following criteria, you may sponsor them:
• You are a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or a person who is registered in Canada.
• If you are a Canadian citizen living overseas, you must demonstrate that you intend to join the sponsored person in Canada after they become a permanent residence.
• If the permanent resident lives in Canada, the permanent resident may sponsor their partner.
• You may demonstrate that you are not on social assistance for reasons other than your condition.
• You have the financial means to meet the sponsored person’s basic requirements.

Apply Procedure:

IRCC requires you to submit two applications for your partner’s sponsorship at the same time. The sponsorship application and the permanent residency application are the two types of applications.

Step 1: Get the IRCC application packet.

Step 2: Make a payment for your application costs. Processing costs, right of permanent residence fees, and biometrics fees are usually included in these payments, which must all be paid online via the IRCC’s website.

Step 3: Send your application via mail.

When your application is approved:

Following the approval of their application for the immigration in Canada, each couple must continue to fulfil specific obligations:

• For three years, the sponsor is financially responsible for the sponsored people.
• Sponsored people are prohibited from sponsoring another person for five years after being granted permanent residency.