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Family Class Sponsorship

Spousal

Your spouse may be eligible to immigrate to Canada as permanent residents.If you are a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, you may be able to sponsor your spouse to become a permanent resident under the Family Class. If you sponsor your spouse to come to Canada as a permanent resident, you must make every reasonable effort to provide for your own essential needs and those of your spouse. You are responsible for supporting your spouse financially when he or she arrives. 

There must be a sponsor for any relative immigrating to Canada within the Family Class. Both the person sponsoring a relative and the person wishing to immigrate to Canada must meet certain requirements.

Spousal Sponsorship Requirements:

 Sponsorship is a big commitment, so you must take this obligation seriously

You may be eligible to be a sponsor if you

  • You are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada.

  • You are 18 or older.

  • You can sponsor a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or child who lives outside Canada under the Family Class.

  • You can sponsor a spouse or common-law partner who lives in Canada under the Spouse and Common-Law Partner in Canada Class.

  • All individuals being sponsored must meet the eligibility requirements.

  • Your family member must have medical, criminal and background checks. If they have a criminal record or are a risk to Canada's security, they may not be allowed to enter Canada.

  • They may have to get a police certificate in their home country. The instruction guides explain medical, criminal and backgroundchecks.

You may not be eligible to be a sponsor if you:

  • Did not meet the terms of a sponsorship agreement in the past,

  • Did not pay alimony or child support even though a court ordered it,

  • Get social assistance for reasons other than being disabled,

  • Were convicted of certain offence or crime.

  • Were sponsored as a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner in the past and became a permanent resident of Canada less than five years ago.

  • Did not pay back an immigration loan, made late payments or missed payments

  • Are in prison or

  • Have declared bankruptcy which has yet to be discharged.

Sponsoring your same-sex partner as a spouse

You can apply to sponsor your same-sex partner as a spouse if you:

  • are a citizen or permanent resident of Canada and

  • were married in Canada and issued a marriage certificate by a Canadian province or territory

If you were married outside Canada, you may apply to sponsor your same-sex partner as a spouse as long as the marriage is legally recognized according to both the law of the place where the marriage occurred and under Canadian law.It is your responsibility to provide information to CIC confirming that your same-sex-marriage was legally recognized when and where it occurred.

Common-law partner

You are a common-law partner either of the opposite sex or the same sex if you have been living together in a conjugal relationship for at least one year in an ongoing 12-month period (you are allowed short absences for business travel or family reasons).You will need proof that you and your common-law partner have combined your affairs and set up a household together.

Conjugal partner

This category is for partner either of the opposite sex or same sex in situations beyond their control that keep them from living together so they would count as common-law partners or spouses. A conjugal relationship is more than a physical relationship. It means you depend on each other, there is some permanence to the relationship, and there is the same level of commitment as a marriage or a common-law partnership

For further details about requirements of spousal sponsorship, Processing Fees and Processing Times, Please submit the Assessment Form or Contact Us !

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