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- Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor their immediate family and “other eligible relatives” for permanent residence in Canada.
- There are three types of partner sponsorship:
- spousal sponsorship – for married couples
- common-law sponsorship – for couples currently living together
- conjugal sponsorship – for couples prevented from marrying or living together
- There are two ways of sponsoring your partner:
- Inland sponsorship – your partner is already physical in Canada
- Outland sponsorship – your partner is not yet in Canada
- Sponsoring a child is more straight-forward whereas sponsoring your parents can is more complicated.
I’ve been a permanent resident for 2 years with the condition of living with my wife for 2 years. The 2 years mark was 10 days ago and she happened to leave me tooday because she said she wasn’t happy with me anymore. I wasn’t expecting, she just left while I wasn’t home. What happens on Conditional PR cases. Does it become defenitive automatically after the 2 years? And can something happen to me if I can’t get my wife back?
Sorry to hear that. The law you are referring to has been repealed. Her PR status stopped being conditional on her living with you as of April 2017. There are no official consequences for the spouse who sponsored the other spouse for PR.
I’m a Canadian citizen and my soon to be wife is Japanese. We’ve been together for almost a year now and we’ve visited each other in Japan and in Canada a number of times. We set to get married in August of this year. My question is that she’s only here for a few days after the wedding and then she will have to go back to Japan after. I will have to process the immigration papers while she is there. Will she be able to live with me in Canada later on while we are waiting to get her permanent residency? Or will she have to wait in Japan until the immigration says its okay?
If she is physically present in Canada when you submit the sponsorship application she can stay in Canada until there is a decision on that application. That’s what happens under normal circumstances. Given the current situation (the pandemic) it is possible her visitor status will be automatically extended as part of a general extension. So you may have more time.
Can my girl friends cousins who are Canadian residents sponsor me to become Canadian Citizen? Or stay longer than a 6 month travel visa? We are both British Citizens. I am 32 years old. I’d like to live & work in Canada ideally.
It’s very unlikely. There are a couple provinces which allow family members to sponsor other family members if they have jobs for them, i.e. the cousin must own a business and that business must be located in one of the few provinces which still allows this. (The program has been abused a lot as you can likely imagine, so that’s why it’s no longer widespread.) If you’re British you should just apply to immigrate through Express Entry or look for jobs. You’ll have a much easier time at the latter than most foreigners.
I am from Argentina and my boyfriend is a Canadian citizen, I do have a visitor visa as of right now and I’ve visited him before. We’re planning on getting married next time I visit him in Quebec and then apply for the spousal sponsorship. Is it possible for me to say in Canada legally (the initial 6 months of visiting and maybe apply for an extension if needed) while we apply for inland sponsorship and open work permit? And, when we get married, do I need my birth certificate translated in my country or translated in Quebec?
Yes, you can stay in Canada legally as long as the sponsorship application has been submitted before your visit status expires. You should probably get your birth certificate translated in Argentina because the translator in Quebec will not be able to do anything but translate your birth certificate (i.e. not be able to attest that it is a birth certificate).
I’m a Canadian citizen and originally from Iraq, my bf is in Iraq. we want to get married but we are from different religions and Iraq doesn’t allow civil marriage. our financial status is not very good. what’s the best way for him to come to Canada and get married and stay in Canada?
You have three options once the pandemic restrictions are relaxed:
can you provide a copy of your marriage certificate, not the original?
It depends what application you are talking about. For sponsorships, they need to see the original. And they need to see a certified translation if the original is not in English or French.
I live in the UK (as a British Citizen) and am engaged to a Canadian citizen, also living in UK. We plan to move to Canada soon. I have a valid eTA to visit Canada for up to 6 months at a time. If i arrive on an eTA, can we apply for inland spousal sponsorship? I will have to leave Canada before 6 months (due to eTA limit) & return shortly after to start another 6 months visit, to await the application approval (i believe this can take 12+ months). Is this permitted? Is it also ok to apply for work permit at same time as sponsorship, if i’m on an eTA?
Yes, your fiance can sponsor you inland provided you successfully enter Canada using your eTA. No, you do not have to leave Canada when your entry expires, provided your partner has submitted the inland sponsorship application befor your visitor status expires. You can apply for a work permit at the same time as you submit the sponsorship application.
If I’m in Canada on visitors visa, get married, extend my visit with a visitors record, and apply for a spouse visa, would I have implied status if my visitors record expires and I’m still waiting on my spouse visa? What would be the best way to go about it?
Canada does not have a “spouse visa”. If your partner sponsors you for PR inland, you have status in Canada until there is a decision on the sponsorship application, even if your visitor status has expired. You do not have to leave Canada when your visitor status expires, provided the sponsorshp application has already been submitted.
Can I apply for a permanent residence through marriage if my study permit has expired and the 90 days grace has gone
You need to have legal status in the country you are residing in if you are to be sponsored. So, if your status is expired, you need to leave Canada in order to be sponsored.
I’m have dual citizenship US/Canadian and got married a year ago in Seoul, Korea. We purchased a farm outside Quebec City & I want to sponsor my wife. What are the steps I need to follow?
What matters is where your wife is:
I am Canadian. I married my Japanese girlfriend a month ago in Canada. I will sponsor her for PR, however her visitor visa status will expire before we can obtain the marriage certificate. Should we apply to extend her visitor visa first (ie while we wait the allotted time for the marriage certificate) and give us the time necessary to obtain all pertinent documentation? If so, what reason should we state on the visitor visa extension form?
Yes, you should apply for a visa extension. If she has no status in Canada when you submit the sponsorship application it will be rejected. Moreover, it’s likely she cannot legally marry you without legal status in Canada. Given the pandemic situation, however, it’s possible her visa will be automatically extended. You should look at IRCC’s website to see if you can find information about general visa extentensions.
I’m Zambian my fiancé is Canadian we were planing to get married in June but due to the pandemic we had to postpone, I have three children from my previous relationship that my fiancée is happy to sponsor . I understand that process it time is 12months for spouse/family visa , we plan to get married in Canada and I’ll then come back to my country to apply for my spousal and the kids dependent visa too . My question is after application for my spousal while waiting for it to be processed , can we also apply for tourist visa and go to Canada while waiting for the family visas to be processed . Will the kids be allowed to get into school with tourist visa if we can provide proof that we are waiting for family visas to be processed. Also will being in Canada in tourist visa while waiting for the family visa affect the process.
You can apply for visitor visas after the sponsorship is submitted but they will likely not be approved. If you and your children were already legally in Canada at the time of the sponsorship application (“inland”) you would be entitled to apply for study permits for your children and a work permit for you. Please note processin times are likely much, much slower rigth now.
I am a Canadian citizen who has been in a relationship with an Indian who works in New Zealand on a work visa. We want to get married and have him immigrate here. I have an idea to get married in India and travel with him there while applying for PR for Canada after the wedding. Is it possible to do that while I’m out of State? The alternative is to have him visit me on a TRV, get married and then apply inland. Which avenue would be faster?
If you, the applicant, are outside of Canada when you apply for sponsorship, you have to prove an additional fact: your intention to live in Canada. If you are inside Canada, you do not have to prove this. Where your spouse is determines whether it’s inland our outland. You can still marry in India and return to Canada to sponsor him outland. If he cannot get a visitor visa to Canada (whether or not you have already married) then Outland will be the only option.
I am a Canadian citizen and my fiance is Malaysian. Will i have difficulties sponsoring him because he’s already having trouble getting a visiting visa? He got accepted once for 6 months but got rejected 3 times after. We have no clue as to why they keep rejecting him when he has fulfill all the requirements
The visa and sponsorship applications are mostly unrelated. If he cannot get a visa for Canada you have to sponsor him “outland” which means he will have to wait until the sponsorship application is approved before he can come here. You are free to visit him in the meaning, of course. (Travel conditions permitting.)
Married to a Canadian and is sponsored by he/she can you file for permanent residency with a enhance U.S ID ?
In lieu of a passport? That is a really good question. We’d recommend having a passport but it’s possible they will accept this. You will find out if they ask you for your passport/
Sorry to hear that. The law you are referring to has been repealed. Her PR status stopped being conditional on her living with you as of April 2017.
I’m a Canadian citizen and my soon to be wife is Japanese. We’ve been together for almost a year now and we’ve visited each other in Japan and in Canada a number of times. We set to get married in August of this year. My question is that she’s only here for a few days after the wedding and then she will have to go back to Japan after. I will have to process the immigration papers while she is there. Will she be able to live with me in Canada later on while we are waiting to get her permanent residency? Or will she have to wait in Japan until the immigration says its okay?
If she is physically present in Canada when you submit the sponsorship application she can stay in Canada until there is a decision on that application. That’s what happens under normal circumstances. Given the current situation (the pandemic) it is possible her visitor status will be automatically extended as part of a general extension. So you may have more time.
Can my girl friends cousins who are Canadian residents sponsor me to become Canadian Citizen? Or stay longer than a 6 month travel visa? We are both British Citizens. I am 32 years old. I’d like to live & work in Canada ideally.
It’s very unlikely. There are a couple provinces which allow family members to sponsor other family members if they have jobs for them, i.e. the cousin must own a business and that business must be located in one of the few provinces which still allows this. (The program has been abused a lot as you can likely imagine, so that’s why it’s no longer widespread.) If you’re British you should just apply to immigrate through Express Entry or look for jobs. You’ll have a much easier time at the latter than most foreigners.
I am from Argentina and my boyfriend is a Canadian citizen, I do have a visitor visa as of right now and I’ve visited him before. We’re planning on getting married next time I visit him in Quebec and then apply for the spousal sponsorship. Is it possible for me to say in Canada legally (the initial 6 months of visiting and maybe apply for an extension if needed) while we apply for inland sponsorship and open work permit? And, when we get married, do I need my birth certificate translated in my country or translated in Quebec?
Yes, you can stay in Canada legally as long as the sponsorship application has been submitted before your visit status expires. You should probably get your birth certificate translated in Argentina because the translator in Quebec will not be able to do anything but translate your birth certificate (i.e. not be able to attest that it is a birth certificate).
I’m a Canadian citizen and originally from Iraq, my bf is in Iraq. we want to get married but we are from different religions and Iraq doesn’t allow civil marriage. our financial status is not very good. what’s the best way for him to come to Canada and get married and stay in Canada?
You have three options once the pandemic restrictions are relaxed:
- He can apply for a visitor visa – it’s approved he can come to Canada, marry you and you can sponsor him for permanent resident.
- If he cannot get a visitor visa, you can both travel to some third country which will allow you to marry and then you can sponsor him outland.
- The third option is the hardest from an application standpoint: you can apply for “conjugal” sponsorship, by attempting to prove that Iraq’s laws keep you from being able to marry in Iraq. (You should only try this after he has been rejected for a visitor visa to Canada.)
can you provide a copy of your marriage certificate, not the original?
It depends what application you are talking about. For sponsorships, they need to see the original. And they need to see a certified translation if the original is not in English or French.
I live in the UK (as a British Citizen) and am engaged to a Canadian citizen, also living in UK. We plan to move to Canada soon. I have a valid eTA to visit Canada for up to 6 months at a time. If i arrive on an eTA, can we apply for inland spousal sponsorship? I will have to leave Canada before 6 months (due to eTA limit) & return shortly after to start another 6 months visit, to await the application approval (i believe this can take 12+ months). Is this permitted? Is it also ok to apply for work permit at same time as sponsorship, if i’m on an eTA?
Yes, your fiance can sponsor you inland provided you successfully enter Canada using your eTA. No, you do not have to leave Canada when your entry expires, provided your partner has submitted the inland sponsorship application befor your visitor status expires. You can apply for a work permit at the same time as you submit the sponsorship application.
If I’m in Canada on visitors visa, get married, extend my visit with a visitors record, and apply for a spouse visa, would I have implied status if my visitors record expires and I’m still waiting on my spouse visa? What would be the best way to go about it?
Canada does not have a “spouse visa”. If your partner sponsors you for PR inland, you have status in Canada until there is a decision on the sponsorship application, even if your visitor status has expired. You do not have to leave Canada when your visitor status expires, provided the sponsorshp application has already been submitted.
Can I apply for a permanent residence through marriage if my study permit has expired and the 90 days grace has gone
You need to have legal status in the country you are residing in if you are to be sponsored. So, if your status is expired, you need to leave Canada in order to be sponsored.
I’m have dual citizenship US/Canadian and got married a year ago in Seoul, Korea. We purchased a farm outside Quebec City & I want to sponsor my wife. What are the steps I need to follow?
What matters is where your wife is:
- If she’s in South Korea or the US or another country, that process is known as “outland” and decisions may be appealed
- If she’s already in Canada that process is called “inland” and decisions cannot be appealed.
I am Canadian. I married my Japanese girlfriend a month ago in Canada. I will sponsor her for PR, however her visitor visa status will expire before we can obtain the marriage certificate. Should we apply to extend her visitor visa first (ie while we wait the allotted time for the marriage certificate) and give us the time necessary to obtain all pertinent documentation? If so, what reason should we state on the visitor visa extension form?
Yes, you should apply for a visa extension. If she has no status in Canada when you submit the sponsorship application it will be rejected. Moreover, it’s likely she cannot legally marry you without legal status in Canada. Given the pandemic situation, however, it’s possible her visa will be automatically extended. You should look at IRCC’s website to see if you can find information about general visa extentensions.
I’m Zambian my fiancé is Canadian we were planing to get married in June but due to the pandemic we had to postpone, I have three children from my previous relationship that my fiancée is happy to sponsor . I understand that process it time is 12months for spouse/family visa , we plan to get married in Canada and I’ll then come back to my country to apply for my spousal and the kids dependent visa too . My question is after application for my spousal while waiting for it to be processed , can we also apply for tourist visa and go to Canada while waiting for the family visas to be processed . Will the kids be allowed to get into school with tourist visa if we can provide proof that we are waiting for family visas to be processed. Also will being in Canada in tourist visa while waiting for the family visa affect the process.
You can apply for visitor visas after the sponsorship is submitted but they will likely not be approved. If you and your children were already legally in Canada at the time of the sponsorship application (“inland”) you would be entitled to apply for study permits for your children and a work permit for you. Please note processin times are likely much, much slower rigth now.
I am a Canadian citizen who has been in a relationship with an Indian who works in New Zealand on a work visa. We want to get married and have him immigrate here. I have an idea to get married in India and travel with him there while applying for PR for Canada after the wedding. Is it possible to do that while I’m out of State? The alternative is to have him visit me on a TRV, get married and then apply inland. Which avenue would be faster?
If you, the applicant, are outside of Canada when you apply for sponsorship, you have to prove an additional fact: your intention to live in Canada. If you are inside Canada, you do not have to prove this. Where your spouse is determines whether it’s inland our outland. You can still marry in India and return to Canada to sponsor him outland. If he cannot get a visitor visa to Canada (whether or not you have already married) then Outland will be the only option.
I am a Canadian citizen and my fiance is Malaysian. Will i have difficulties sponsoring him because he’s already having trouble getting a visiting visa? He got accepted once for 6 months but got rejected 3 times after. We have no clue as to why they keep rejecting him when he has fulfill all the requirements
The visa and sponsorship applications are mostly unrelated. If he cannot get a visa for Canada you have to sponsor him “outland” which means he will have to wait until the sponsorship application is approved before he can come here. You are free to visit him in the meaning, of course. (Travel conditions permitting.)
Married to a Canadian and is sponsored by he/she can you file for permanent residency with a enhance U.S ID ?
In lieu of a passport? That is a really good question. We’d recommend having a passport but it’s possible they will accept this. You will find out if they ask you for your passport/
