4. Get a response

You can check processing times here.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will return your application if it's not complete or if you haven't paid your processing fees.

If your application is being processed, IRCC will:

• send you an application number and acknowledgment of receipt
• decide if you're eligible to be a sponsor
• decide if your spouse or partner is eligible for permanent residence

IRCC will decide if you qualify to be a sponsor. This includes rules about financial responsibilities and your status, for example, you cannot be a sponsor if you've been convicted of certain crimes.

The sponsorship application form asks you to decide what you'll do if IRCC decides that you don't qualify. You must choose whether you'll:

• withdraw your application, or
• continue with the application.

If IRCC says you don’t qualify to be a sponsor

If you say you'll withdraw the application, this means that IRCC will send you a refund of the money you paid to apply, minus $75. But you won't have the right to appeal their decision.

If you say you want to proceed with your application, this means that IRCC will continue processing it. At the end of the process, they'll refuse your application. But you may be able to appeal that decision to the Immigration Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board.

If you appeal a sponsorship decision

The Immigration Appeal Division can consider humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) grounds or reasons why an application for permanent residence should proceed.

H&C grounds include information about the hardship that you and others would face if you were permanently separated. This includes your spouse, any children, and anyone else who is affected by the sponsorship.

The Immigration Appeal Division can decide to allow the application to proceed. They can do this even if they agree with IRCC that based on the rules you don't qualify to be a sponsor.

Getting help to decide

The choice that's best for you depends on your situation. If you don't qualify for a reason that won't change, you might want to proceed with your application and then appeal when it's refused.

So if you don't expect your situation to change, you may want to get legal advice. An immigration lawyer or a community legal clinic may be able to tell you if you might succeed if you appeal a decision refusing your sponsorship application.