A Canadian citizen, permanent resident or person registered in Canada under the Indian Act may be able to sponsor an eligible spouse or partner for permanent residence if they are at least 18 and meet the other sponsorship requirements. However, being married to or in a relationship with someone does not by itself make either person eligible for sponsorship.
Both sides of the application matter: the person acting as the sponsor must qualify, and the spouse or partner must fit an eligible relationship category and meet the requirements for permanent residence.
To sponsor a spouse or partner, you must generally be at least 18 and be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or person registered in Canada under the Indian Act. You must also sign an undertaking and sponsorship agreement committing to support the person you sponsor.
Where you live can also affect eligibility. A Canadian citizen living outside Canada may be able to sponsor if they can show that they plan to live in Canada when the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident. A permanent resident living outside Canada cannot sponsor a spouse or partner from abroad.
These requirements are one reason family sponsorship should be considered from both perspectives. The relationship itself matters, but so does the sponsor's individual eligibility.
An eligible sponsor may be able to sponsor a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner, but these are separate immigration categories with different requirements. In each case, the person being sponsored must be at least 18, the relationship must be genuine rather than entered into primarily to obtain permanent resident status, and the applicant must not be inadmissible to Canada.
The main differences are:
A spouse is someone you are legally married to. For immigration purposes, a marriage performed outside Canada generally needs to be legally recognized both where it took place and in Canada.
A common-law partner is someone who is not legally married to you and with whom you have lived continuously in a conjugal relationship for at least 12 consecutive months. Short, temporary absences can occur during that period, but the requirement is based on genuine continuous cohabitation.
A conjugal partner is different. This category applies to a partner living outside Canada who has been in a genuine, mutually interdependent conjugal relationship with the sponsor for at least one year but has been unable to marry or live with the sponsor as a couple because of circumstances beyond their control. It is not simply an alternative for couples who have not yet lived together for 12 months.
No, you do not have to be married to sponsor a partner because Canada's family sponsorship system also recognizes eligible common-law and conjugal relationships.
However, being in a relationship without being married does not automatically place someone in one of those categories. For common-law sponsorship, the couple generally needs to have lived together continuously for at least 12 months. Conjugal sponsorship has a different and more specific purpose, including circumstances where marriage or cohabitation has not been possible.
This distinction is important when determining which relationship category actually reflects the couple's circumstances.
A Canadian citizen living outside Canada may be able to sponsor a spouse or partner, but a permanent resident living abroad cannot do so.
For a Canadian citizen abroad, sponsorship requires showing an intention to live in Canada when the sponsored spouse or partner becomes a permanent resident. Permanent residents, by contrast, must live in Canada to sponsor.
That difference can be particularly important for couples who are already living together outside Canada and are considering permanent residence as part of a future move.
In most cases, there is no minimum income requirement to sponsor a spouse or partner, but the sponsor still takes on a financial responsibility for the person they sponsor.
An income requirement can apply in specific family situations, including when the spouse or partner being sponsored has a dependent child who also has one or more dependent children.
Even when no minimum income threshold applies, sponsorship includes an undertaking. For spouses, common-law partners and conjugal partners outside Quebec, the undertaking period is three years from the date the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident. Quebec has its own undertaking requirements.
During the applicable undertaking period, the sponsor is responsible for providing financial support and ensuring the sponsored person does not need social assistance. If social assistance is paid during that period, the sponsor may have to repay it.
No, separation or divorce does not end an undertaking once the sponsored spouse or partner has become a permanent resident.
The financial responsibility continues for the full undertaking period even if the relationship changes, the sponsored person becomes a Canadian citizen, either person moves elsewhere or the sponsor's own financial circumstances worsen.
This is one of the most important differences between qualifying to submit a sponsorship application and understanding the obligations that come with being a sponsor.
Several circumstances can make someone ineligible to sponsor a spouse or partner even if they otherwise meet the basic age and status requirements.
For example, a person may be unable to sponsor if they:
The exact restriction depends on the person's circumstances, and additional grounds of ineligibility can apply. Some of these federal restrictions are treated differently for sponsors in Quebec.
Someone who has sponsored or been sponsored before should therefore check the specific rules rather than assuming that Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status alone makes them eligible.
No, having an eligible sponsor does not automatically give a spouse or partner permanent residence.
The person being sponsored must also qualify under the relevant relationship category, demonstrate that the relationship is genuine and meet the applicable requirements for permanent residence. IRCC also requires the sponsored spouse or partner not to be inadmissible to Canada.
Family sponsorship in Canada is therefore not simply a declaration that two people are in a relationship. It is an immigration process in which both the sponsor and the person being sponsored must meet their respective requirements.
Before starting, both people should identify the correct relationship category and check whether there is anything in either person's circumstances that could affect eligibility.
In particular, it is useful to establish:
For common-law and conjugal applications in particular, understanding the category before applying matters because simply describing someone as a "partner" does not establish which immigration definition applies.
If you are considering sponsoring a spouse or partner, these resources can help you understand family sponsorship and permanent residence in more detail:
Sponsoring a spouse or partner involves more than showing that a genuine relationship exists. The sponsor must meet Canada's sponsorship requirements, while the person being sponsored must qualify as a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner and meet the requirements for permanent residence.
Understanding which relationship category applies, whether the sponsor is eligible and what financial commitment sponsorship creates can help a couple assess the process before beginning an application.
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