Find out if you meet the requirements to sponsor your spouse or partner to live with you permanently in Canada.
In order to sponsor a spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner to Canada, you must be a citizen, permanent resident, or a registered Indian under the Canadian Indian Act. You must be 18 years of age or older, and meet any further requirements, such as financial stability, to prove you have the capacity to act as a sponsor.
If you do meet these requirements, you may be eligible to sponsor a spouse, common- law partner, or conjugal partner who must also be qualified. The Canadian citizen or permanent resident applying to become a sponsor is the first step to the sponsorship process. Next, the spouse, conjugal partner, or common law partner will apply for permanent residence.
The spouse or partner applying for permanent residence must be at least 18 years old, and both the sponsor and the beneficiary must prove their relationship is genuine. Immigration officials have been faced with spousal sponsorship cases in which the individual is just applying for permanent residence and not to be with their partner. In such cases, the individual may be denied. Therefore, it is important to only enter under this class if the intent is sincere. A common-law partner applying under this class must live with their sponsor in Canada for a minimum of 1 year. This is not necessarily the case for a spouse. In cases where the sponsor and applicant are married but live apart overseas, the sponsor will sponsor the applicant so they can live together in Canada. This does not apply for conjugal partners.
