Bring your Spouse to Canada to complete your Family

Canadian spousal sponsorship allows a permanent resident of Canada or Canadian citizen to fund their spouse so they can come and stay in Canada permanently. Also, the Canadian government gives a top priority to spousal sponsorship as they claim to understand that it is important that the families should live together.

What is the time period of the procedure of Sponsorship?

 The application for the Spousal sponsorship could take processing time as long as 12 months from the beginning to the completion. The procedure could take longer than 12 months as well, varies according to the case type. Also, typically it cannot be processed before 12 months. If the case in your situation is complicated or the visa office is seeking extra proof to prove your relationship, then that could stretch the procedure longer as well.

 To ensure that your Spousal sponsorship is processed as soon as possible, the best practice would be to submit your application correctly and carefully at the very first time. The legal professionals and lawyers from Immigration Canada also support with the Spousal sponsorship, and Canada Immigration also has a free online assessment regarding the sponsorship.

What all is needed in Canada to avail this spousal sponsorship?

The essential prerequisite to financing your common-law partner or better-half in Canada is, you should be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada. Furthermore, below-mentioned criteria should be met as well:

• Should be 18 years old
• Should stay in Canada or return to Canada when the spouse arrives or achieves the permanent residency
• Should be able or willing to cover the basic financial requirements of your common-law partner for three years

In case, where you are married and want to fund your better-half, then below evidence will be asked to present by the immigration officers:

• Relationship Information and Sponsorship Evaluation questionnaire
• Adoption documents or birth certificates if you have any children
• Marriage Certificate (different procedure for common-law)
• A government authorised marriage registration proof
• Marriage portraits and the invitation 

At least two from the below documents:

• You and your partner possess any property and its proof
• Utility bills (both of your names should be there),
• Shared bank accounts,
• Government-issued IDs (Photocopy),
• Car insurance,
• Tax forms or pay stubs to show that you and your partner live at the same residence

What is the cost of this spousal sponsorship?

 Below-mentioned is the government processing charges to sponsor your spouse:

• Sponsorship fee: $75
• Right of Permanent residence fee: $500
• Principal applicant processing charges: $475
• Biometrics: $85
• Total: $1135

Note:

1.     If your spouse have dependent children and you wish to sponsor your spouse, so you will have to pay an additional $150 for each child included in the application.
2.     If you/sponsor lives in Quebec or planning to live in Quebec after the issuance of permanent citizenship, there will be an extra CAD 289 payment required in addition to the charges mentioned above.

How much money is required to finance your spouse?

You do not have to show a minimum income amount in the spousal sponsorship, unlike the other Canadian sponsorship methods. But there is an undertaking which states that you commit to providing financial support to the family member who is being sponsored to Canada.

The undertaking duration lasts depending on the sponsorship category. For this spousal sponsorship, the undertaking duration is of three years from the issuance of sponsored individual’s lawful permanent resident status by the Canadian government.

Common-law partner sponsorship

Common-law bonds are deemed equivalent to traditional marriages by the Canadian Immigration. From the eligibility perspective of the common-law sponsoring, you will have to prove that you have lived together in a marriage-like relationship for a year or more.

To avail the common-law sponsorship, you will have to present below-mentioned documents:

• Relationship Information and Sponsorship Evaluation questionnaire
• Pictures that show that you have a conjugal relationship with your partner
• Adoption records/birth certificates in case you both have a child together
• Some proof to show that you both have stayed together for a year

At least two from the below documents:

• Shared expenses’ evidence or of financial support between both of you
• Some valid proof/document to show that you both are recognised as common-law partners of each other (can be employment or insurance benefits)
• Letters/emails/social media from your friends and families to show that they recognise your relationship

In case you do not have the above-mentioned documents or proof, so it is not limited to these only. You can find ways and be creative to show that you are common-law partners. For example, you can provide sworn declarations by friends and families or letters of explanation to attest your common-law partnership. The final decision on your documents will be at the on-role visa officer’s discretion, and he/she will be the only one who can help you to avail common-law sponsorship. The more, the merrier, you can submit as much as proofs as you can to show your common-law status to increase the possibility of your approval.

Conjugal Relationships

 In case you are looking to sponsor your partner with whom you have a conjugal relationship, then you will have to submit the below-mentioned documents to the immigration officers:

• Shared residence
• Financial support (joint financial arrangements, shared bank accounts)
• Some proof to demonstrate that your family and friends recognise your conjugal relationship

For common-law and conjugal relationships, you will not be able to show any legal documents which can solidify your commitment to each other. So the officers at the immigration services demand evidence which demonstrates interpersonal and emotional ties that can make it evident that you will be in a committed and long-term relationship.

Outland Spousal Relationships

It will be useful for you to try under the Family Class (Outland) sponsorship stream if:

• The applicant/immigrant resides someplace other than Canada
• At present, you are staying with the sponsor but do not want to stay in Canada during the application process of the sponsorship

But when you avail this option, you might not be able to live with your spouse during the application process. The only option will be to apply for a temporary or visitor visa application for Canada and stay here when the application is in process for the outland sponsorship (this is for your spouse).

Inland Spousal sponsorship

Suppose you (applicant/immigrant) reside with the financier in Canada or hold a valid immigration status of the country or you wish to appeal for an open work permit in Canada during the sponsorship procedure, in that case, you should apply under Inland spousal sponsorship. That is applicable in the case of a spouse or common-law partner.

In case your common-law partner or spouse is out of status in Canada, they might be able to apply for Inland spousal sponsorship too. That could be done when he/she is being protected under the public policy, which lets people reside in Canada during the application process.

The drawback to this stream is that the applicant might not be able to travel outside of Canada during the sponsorship application period.

Reasons for Sponsorship Application rejections

The biggest and basic requirement for the spousal sponsorship is, your relationship should be legitimate, and you should be able to prove that. Depending on the relationship type, officers at the immigration office take various factors into account for the spousal sponsorship application.

Also, visa officers account a range of proofs/evidence to make sure that your relationship is undisputed. They may consider the traditional items such as your wedding album, where you can show the presence of you and your family member with your spouse/partner. Further items could be more unique and specific, depending on your cultural background. If you are likely to fall into unconventional relationships, then it is suggested to submit extra proofs/evidence that demonstrate the genuineness of your relationship. Explanation letter could be useful to explain your complicated relationship according to your cultural background to the visa officer.

Note: Marriage ceremonies done over the internet are not considered by the Canadian Immigration office.

Can I get the permanent resident card of Canada by marrying a local with Canadian Nationality?

No. Canadian immigration does not allow permanent residence to a person who just marries a Canadian. When you marry someone or are in a common-law relationship that will make you eligible to apply for the spousal sponsorship, once the application is processed and you get the approval from the Canadian Immigration, then you will get the permanent residence of Canada.

Can the applicant (spouse) pay a visit to me in Canada during the sponsorship procedure?

Yes, they can visit, but there is no special arrangement for such cases. There is no specific visa available for the person who is awaiting a judgment on their spousal sponsorship application. Some applicants might face challenges with the temporary visa when their application is in process.

While applying for the temp visa, the spousal sponsorship applicant must convince the visa officer that they will leave as soon as the temporary visa finishes. Having an ongoing sponsorship application could worry the officer that is why your spouse can try to apply for the temp visa first. When you both are together, then apply for the sponsorship under the inland category. Then the applicant (spouse being funded) can convert their status to open work permit. That can help the applicant earn and work for any employer during the application process.

Do they take interview during the sponsoring process?

It is not a rule to take interview during the spousal sponsorship process, but in rare scenarios, they might take it. Those scenarios could be when you lack supporting documents to show the relationship with your spouse, contradicting details on the application vs the documents you have submitted. If you met your spouse a short period ago and there is too less gap between the times you met and your marriage.

It depends on the visa officers if they want to take the interview or not. If they do, so a qualified immigration attorney may guide you and prepare your application and reduce the questions asked to prove your relationship.

Can we withdraw the Spousal sponsorship application?

At any point in time, before the nonimmigrant or applicants become a permanent resident, you can cancel your application for the sponsorship.

Your relationship is unique, and so will be your application. An experienced team of citizenship and immigration services will be able to help you put together your strongest application for the sponsorship.

Contact us to know the available options for you in the spousal sponsorship stream.