How do I sponsor my spouse or partner if they’re living in Canada?

You may be able to sponsor your spouse or common-law partner who is living in Canada for permanent resident status. To do this, you and your spouse or partner must fill out the correct forms, gather the proper supporting documents, and submit your application online.

You make your sponsorship application to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). IRCC decides if:

• you qualify to be a sponsor
• your spouse or partner is eligible to be sponsored from inside Canada
• your spouse or partner meets the requirements to become a permanent resident, for example, they're not inadmissible to Canada because of a criminal record
• your marriage or relationship is genuine and not mainly for immigration reasons

You may be able to include your spouse or partner's children in the same application. You can learn more about sponsoring a dependent child in Can I sponsor my child or my spouse or partner’s child to become a permanent resident?

List all family members

In any application for permanent residence, the person applying must list their spouse, common-law partner, and any dependent children and their dependent children.

This means your spouse or partner must list any dependent children they have. And they must list any dependent children that those dependent children have.  They must list them even if those children are not in Canada and will not be coming.

All dependent children will have to do medical exams and background checks for IRCC to decide if they're inadmissible to Canada. IRCC does this even if the children are not here or not planning to come to Canada.

If the children are not listed on your application or they do not go through the examination process with IRCC, your spouse or partner will not have the right to sponsor them in the future.  

And your spouse or partner: 

• could be refused permanent resident status
• could lose their permanent resident status in the future

Get help if you need it

The rules and the process for sponsoring someone are complicated.

Mistakes in an application are difficult to correct and can lead to the application being refused or problems with status. If you're not sure about something, ask for information from a community agency or get legal help.

If you do not qualify to sponsor, or your spouse or partner does not qualify to be sponsored, you might be able to ask IRCC to approve the sponsorship application based on humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) grounds or reasons. You should get legal advice about your options and legal help with making any H&C requests.