Sponsor your partner to live with you in Canada as a permanent resident.
A pathway under Family Class for Canadian citizens and permanent residents to bring their spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner to Canada permanently. Two streams available depending on where your partner lives.
Family reunification for spouses, partners, and conjugal relationships.
Spousal sponsorship is Canada’s most used Family Class pathway. It allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor a spouse, common law partner, or conjugal partner for permanent residence. Unlike the parents and grandparents program, this stream is open year round with no lottery and no minimum income requirement in most cases. The sections below walk through how to choose between Inland and Outland processing, what relationship qualifies, and the obligations the sponsor commits to.
Which pathway applies to you?
Two different programs let you bring your partner to Canada, and they are often mistaken for one another. Spousal Sponsorship is a permanent residence application: your partner becomes a Canadian permanent resident and can live, work, and study in Canada indefinitely. The Spousal Open Work Permit (SOWP) is a temporary work permit that lets your partner live and work in Canada while you study or work here, but does not grant permanent residence. Which pathway applies depends on your own immigration status, not on the strength of your relationship.
The key distinction
SOWP grants your partner the right to work in Canada temporarily. Spousal Sponsorship grants your partner permanent residence. A foreign worker or international student cannot use Spousal Sponsorship to give their partner PR : they must first obtain their own permanent residence.
Three categories of partner you can sponsor
IRCC recognizes three legal categories of partner under Spousal Sponsorship: spouse, common-law partner, and conjugal partner. Each has distinct requirements that determine which application stream applies and what evidence you must provide. The category depends on the legal nature of your relationship, not on your preference.
01
Spouse
A legally married couple
02
Common-law partner
12 consecutive months together
03
Conjugal partner
Cannot marry or live together
Common to all three categories
At least 18 years old, any gender (Canada recognizes same-sex relationships), in a genuine relationship not entered into primarily for permanent residence, and admissible to Canada (passes medical, criminal, and security checks).
Inland or Outland? the strategic decision
Spousal Sponsorship can be filed under two streams. This single choice affects processing time, travel freedom, and your right to appeal. Most couples are eligible for both, even when the partner already lives in Canada.
If your partner is in Canada during processing and needs to work, the Spousal Open Work Permit may apply regardless of which stream you choose. See Spousal Open Work Permit
2026 strategic note
Outland is currently faster and preserves full appeal rights, even when the partner is already in Canada (dual intent applies). Inland remains essential when the partner relies on the public policy. Quebec destined applications take 35 to 36 months due to MIFI provincial processing.
The sponsor’s obligations
Once approved, sponsoring a partner is a long-term financial commitment with specific exclusions. The terms are different from Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship: there is no income test, but the obligation lasts three years.
01
Three year undertaking
You sign a binding agreement to financially support your partner’s basic needs for three years from the day they become a permanent resident. The undertaking continues even if the relationship ends or your finances change.
02
No income requirement
Unlike Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship, there is no Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) test. You only need to show income if you are sponsoring a partner whose dependent child has dependent children of their own (rare).
03
You may be excluded from sponsoring
Common reasons include: you were sponsored as a partner less than five years ago, you signed a previous undertaking still active, bankruptcy not discharged, social assistance for reasons other than disability, removal order, or specific criminal convictions.
See Sponsorship EligibilityCurrent processing times
IRCC publishes these figures monthly. They reflect the time to process 80% of complete applications. Your timeline may be shorter or longer depending on case complexity and country of origin.
Outland
~15
months
Outside Quebec
Inland
~21
months
Outside Quebec
Quebec destined
35-36
months
Includes MIFI processing
Acknowledgement of Receipt
4-8
weeks
Confirms your application is in process
Why hire an RCIC?
Spousal Sponsorship refusals most often stem from insufficient relationship evidence, missed eligibility conditions, or incomplete submissions. Once refused, Inland applicants have no appeal rights, and Outland appeals to the IAD are litigation-style proceedings with strict 30-day deadlines. Mistakes are expensive: lost fees, family separation, and limited remedies.
Under Canadian law, paid representation before IRCC is restricted to Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs), lawyers, and Quebec notaries. RCICs are licensed and regulated by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC), with mandatory continuing education and a binding code of ethics.
Megrez Immigration Consultants is a CICC licensed firm and has operated in Vancouver since 1996.
Sponsoring your partner starts with a conversation.
Book a free assessment with a licensed RCIC. We’ll review your relationship evidence, recommend the right stream, and prepare a complete application.
Free Assessment