A Step-by-Step Guide to Canada’s Spousal Sponsorship Canada

Are you a Canadian citizen or permanent resident looking to bring your spouse to Canada? Our Spousal Sponsorship program is designed to reunite families and help you build a life together in one of the world’s most welcoming countries.
Bring your spouse to Canada through Canada Spousal Sponsorship Program. A step-by-step guide to Spouse Visa Canada.

Numerous Canadian citizens and permanent residents sponsor their foreign spouses and partners for Canadian immigration each year via the Spousal Sponsorship program. This special Spouse Visa Canada helps speed up their journey to the country and enables them to reunite with their partner. Canadian citizens and Canadian permanent residents can use the following guide to understand the Spouse PR Canada program and the Spouse Visa requirements.

What is Canada’s Spousal Sponsorship Program?

The Spousal Sponsorship or Spouse Visa Canada enables Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their foreign spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner for Canadian permanent resident status. This program goes by many unofficial names, such as the Canada Marriage Visa, Canada Fiance Visa, or Common-Law Sponsorship Canada. However, the goal is always to help the sponsor’s partner attain permanent residence.

• Spouse vs. Common-Law Partner vs. Conjugal Partner
• Canada Spouse Visa Eligibility Requirements
• Step-By-Step Process for Spousal Sponsorship Canada
• Canada Spousal Sponsorship Processing Time
• Canada Spouse Visa Fees
• FAQs: Spousal Sponsorship Canada

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Difference Between a Spouse, Common-Law Partner, and Conjugal Partner

Before discussing the Canada Spousal Sponsorship Program, it is essential to understand Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) definitions for a spouse, common-law partner, and conjugal partner.

Who can be considered a Spouse in Canada?

IRCC defines a spouse as someone that is:

• 18 years old or older
• Of either sex.
• Legally married to a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
• Note that same-sex marriages performed within Canada are valid for spousal sponsorship.
• If the marriage took place outside of Canada, it must be valid under the law of the country where it took place as well as under Canadian federal law.
• Same-sex marriages that took place outside of Canada are not valid for spousal sponsorship, but an application can be made under either the common-law partner or conjugal partner categories if such a relationship can be proven.

Who is called a Common-Law Partner in Canada?

IRCC classifies a common-law partner as someone that is:

• 18 years old or older
• Of either sex
• Not legally married to the Canadian citizen or permanent resident
• Has been living with the Canadian citizen or permanent resident continuously for a minimum of 12 months.

Who can be considered a Conjugal Partner?

IRCC classifies a conjugal partner as someone that is:

• 18 years old or older
• Of either sex
• Not legally married to the Canadian citizen or permanent resident
• In a relationship Canadian citizen or permanent resident for a minimum of 12 months
• Living outside Canada
• Exceptional circumstances beyond their control have prevented the applicants from qualifying as common-law partners or spouses, such as immigration barriers or legal restrictions limiting divorce or same-sex relationships.
• This can require a demonstration of emotional ties and intimacy, financial closeness, such as joint ownership of assets or mutual financial support, and efforts to spend time together and reunite.
• Conjugal partners can be either opposite-sex or same-sex.

Canada Spouse Visa: Sponsor Requirements

To sponsor your partner through Canada Spousal Sponsorship or Spouse Visa, you must be:

• A Canadian permanent resident or citizen.
• At least 18 years old.
• Presently living in Canada or planning to return after your partner has become a permanent resident.
• Able to support your partner’s financial needs for a minimum of three years.

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Spousal Sponsorship Canada: Step-By-Step Process

Here is a step-by-step process for Canada Spousal Sponsorship Visa Program.

STEP 1: Determine your eligibility

Prospective sponsors should understand the relevant requirements if they sponsor a partner inside or outside Canada.

• Inland Spousal Sponsorship Canada is for partners that are living inside Canada. Such partners must possess valid temporary resident status in the country and must be living with their sponsor throughout the application process.
• Outland Spousal Sponsorship Canada is for partners that are living outside of Canada. Such partners can enter or exit Canada during the application process if they come from a visa-free country.

STEP 2: Obtain the Application Package for Spousal Sponsorship

The first step in the Spousal Sponsorship Process is downloading the Spouse Visa Application Package. You can use the checklist provided in the package to identify the documents required for Spousal Sponsorship Canada.

STEP 3: Complete Online Application

Gather all the required documents mentioned in the previous step and complete your online application as mentioned on the IRCC’s website. The principal applicant must fill out all the digital forms online. Additional supplementary information about your travels and other documents are required to prove the genuineness of the relationship in Canada Spouse Visa.

STEP 4: Pay Application Fees for Spousal Sponsorship

After completing the online application for Canada Spouse Visa, you must pay application processing fees totalling 1,080 CAD. Out of which 75 CAD is the Spousal Sponsorship Fee, and 490 CAD is the principal applicant fee. The remaining 515 CAD is for the right of permanent residence fee.

STEP 5: Submit Spouse Visa Application

After carefully checking your Canada Spousal Sponsorship application, you can submit it. After that, IRCC will send the application for permanent residence.

STEP 6: Apply for Permanent Residency

Once your Canada Spouse Visa application is approved, your partner can apply for permanent residency.