Spousal Sponsorhsip

Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor their relatives to come to Canada in order to be granted permanent residence. There are detailed eligibility requirements for sponsor and we are pleased to assist our clients by assessing the individual circumstances of each potential sponsor. An eligible sponsor is permitted to sponsor members of the family class.

If you are a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, you can sponsor your;

Spouse, Common-law or conjugal partner, or Dependent children

to immigrate to Canada.

If you sponsor a family member to immigrate to Canada, you must provide proof that you can:

-meet basic needs -such as food, clothing and shelter -for yourself and your family,

-support your relative financially and

-make sure your spouse or relative does not need to ask for financial help from government.

Canadian immigration legislations accept three kinds of relationships as spousal, namely:

• Legal marriage - If two people get lawfully married in any region of the world, they are spouses. The marriage must be valid where it takes place. It can be between opposite or same-sex couples.
• Common-law relationship - Such relationship is between two people who have a conjugal (marriage-like) relationship for at least 12 consecutive months while living together.
• Conjugal partners - Sometimes people cannot live together for valid reasons, but they have been in a conjugal relationship for at least 12 months.

Conjugal relationship refers to a combination of sexual, financial, and cohabitation activities that spouses generally experience together.

Spousal relationship is not valid if:

• It is primarily for the purpose of immigration to Canada
• It is not genuine
• The foreign national was under the age of 18 years when the marriage was registered
• Any of the spouses had another spouse at the time of marriage
• On the date of application for immigration, the spouses have been separated from each other for at least 12 months
• One of the spouses was not present at the marriage ceremony (some exceptions apply)

If the sponsor (i.e. the Canadian citizen or permanent resident) was sponsored by their previous spouse to Canada in the past five years before the current application, they cannot sponsor their new spouse to Canada.

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act allows for sponsorship of foreign nationals who are in a same-sex relationship with a permanent resident or citizen of Canada. Spouses and common-law partners of permanent residents and Canadian citizens may be sponsored from within Canada under the Spouse in Canada Class. However, in many cases it is more advisable to file the sponsorship application from outside of Canada. We provide a detailed assessment of each individual case and advice on which application is most beneficial in your situation.