Being able to reunite with your loved one is something that matters. If you are a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident 18 years or older you are allowed to sponsor your spouse, common-law or conjugal partner.

In the case of a Permanent Resident, you must reside in Canada to do so. If you are a Canadian Citizen you do not have to reside in Canada at the moment of your application, but you must be able to  prove that you will reside in  Canada once your family member becomes a Permanent Resident.

Under this Category, there are two types of applications. Your application can be inland or outland. Depending on each case it can represent benefits or disadvantages to your application. Both Sponsor and applicant will need to meet the eligibility requirements in order to apply for this category. 

In order to meet the criteria you must understand the following definitions to choose which one suits you best:

Spouse: this means that the couple is legally married.

If your marriage took place within Canada, a Certificate of Marriage from the province or territory where the marriage will show that the marriage is valid.

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. If the legalities of your country do not consider a same-sex marriage valid an application can still be made under either the common-law partner or conjugal partner categories as long as the relationship can be proven.

Common-law partner: In order to establish a common-law relationship, the Sponsor and the Sponsored Person must cohabit continuously for at least one year, excluding brief absences for business or family reasons.

Conjugal partner: Conjugal partners can be of either opposite-sex or same-sex. A sponsored person is defined as a conjugal partner if:

• 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; and

• The applicants have had a mutually dependent relationship for at least one year with the same level of commitment as a marriage or a common-law union. 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.

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR APPLICANTS UNDER THIS CATEGORY:

• 5 YEAR BAR TO SPONSOR: A sponsor who became a permanent resident or a Canadian Citizen after being sponsored as a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner may not sponsor a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner, unless the sponsor has been a permanent resident, or a Canadian Citizen, or a combination of the two, for a period of at least five years immediately preceding the day on which a sponsorship application is filed by the sponsor in respect of the foreign national.

• 2 YEAR CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENCE:  Effective April 28, 2017 the conditional Permanent Residence was eliminated. Read more on our Immigration News Section: ELIMINATION OF CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENCE

Overall this application may vary depending on the nationality of your spouse, common-law or conjugal partner. The documents needed to complete the application as well as the processing times may vary depending on where the application is being processed. This can be a lengthy process and for that matter, we suggest you have the proper assessment for your particular case.

Stories and backgrounds are different for each couple and you should treat your application as one unique case. Contact us for further assistance, we want you to have a deeper understanding of this process in order to provide better solutions to your case.