Moving abroad and leaving your loved ones on opposite coast is not easy. One of the objectives of Canadian government is to see that families are reunited in Canada.  Spousal sponsorship program is the most demanded stream under family class immigration. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) strongly supports family reunification, thus spousal sponsorship application processing is given the highest priority at Canadian Visa Offices. Processing time was recently reduced from 26 to 12 months for 80% of applications for both in-Canada and outside of Canada cases.

The spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner looking to immigrate to Canada under spousal sponsorship category must be sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. If you applied to sponsor spouse outside Canada, once decision is made and sponsorship application is approved, Canadian immigration authorities will issue the applicant Canada Spouse Visa (a confirmation of permanent residence).

Applicant (person being sponsored) will become permanent resident upon landing in Canada, and must enter Canada before the expiry date, which appears on temporary visa.

If you are looking to apply for spousal sponsorship inside Canada, application is being processed first and once approved, applicant’s status will change from temporary to permanent. Spousal sponsorship within Canada gives an opportunity to person being sponsored and living in Canada to apply for an Open-Work Permit.