Your partner is your spouse
A marriage outside Canada must be valid there and under Canadian law. It does not count if either person was absent from the ceremony, with one exception for Canadian Forces members.
IRPR s.2, s.117(9)(c.1)
Sponsoring family
How to Sponsor Your Spouse to Canada
A Canadian citizen or permanent resident aged 18 or older can sponsor a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner for permanent residence. The sponsor signs an undertaking to support that person for 3 years. An IRCC officer decides each application. Dependent children, parents and grandparents have their own routes below.
Checked against official sources:
$1,260
IRCC’s fee for a spouse or partner including the right of permanent residence fee
about 18 months
IRCC’s estimate for a partner outside Canada
about 26 months
IRCC’s estimate for a partner inside Canada
3 years
Length of the undertaking for a spouse or partner
IRCC’s fee list was checked on November 11, 2026 and its processing times tool on November 11, 2026. The waits are for sponsors outside Quebec. See every fee and every wait.
Which case is yours?
Each card states one rule and opens the guide for it.
You live together but are not married
A common-law partner has lived with the sponsor in a conjugal relationship for at least one year. Couples kept apart by persecution or penal control can still count.
IRPR s.1(1), s.1(2)
A barrier keeps you apart
A conjugal partner lives outside Canada and has been in a conjugal relationship with the sponsor for at least one year. IRCC applies this category when a barrier keeps the couple from marrying or living together.
IRPR s.2
You are sponsoring a child
A dependent child is a biological or adopted child under 22 with no spouse or common-law partner. An older child counts only if a physical or mental condition has kept the child dependent since before 22.
IRPR s.2
You are sponsoring a parent or grandparent
Parents and grandparents are in the family class, but IRCC has paused its program until further notice. The super visa is a visitor visa that allows stays of five years at a time.
IRPR s.117(1)(c), (d)
You are sponsoring another relative
An orphaned brother, sister, nephew, niece or grandchild can be sponsored if under 18 and single. A sponsor with no closer relative to sponsor, and none who is a citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian, can sponsor one relative of any age.
IRPR s.117(1)(f), (h)
What happens in a spousal sponsorship?
These steps follow a spousal sponsorship outside Quebec.
The sponsor meets the rules
A sponsor is a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident or a person registered under the Indian Act, aged 18 or older. A sponsor in default on an earlier undertaking cannot be approved.
The couple picks a class
A partner outside Canada applies in the family class. A spouse or common-law partner who lives with the sponsor in Canada with temporary resident status can use the in-Canada class.
Outside about 18 months. Inside about 26 months.
Inside or outside CanadaThe couple gathers the documents
The package holds the sponsor’s forms, the applicant’s forms and proof of the relationship. A relationship entered into mainly to gain status does not count.
Form IMM 1344
Build a document listThe applicant applies online
The applicant submits the sponsorship and permanent residence applications together in IRCC’s Permanent Residence Portal. Each dependent child adds $180.
Fee $1,260
See every feeIRCC checks the applicant
The applicant gives fingerprints and a photo, then has a medical exam. The sponsored person must be admissible to Canada.
Biometrics $85
Explore the admissibility rulesAn officer decides
An officer checks the sponsor, the relationship and admissibility. If approved, the applicant becomes a permanent resident and the undertaking starts that day.
Undertaking 3 years
Check current waits
Which tool answers your next question?
- Document ChecklistTypical documents by application type
- Fee CalculatorCurrent government fees, itemized
- Processing TimesIRCC wait times by program
- Admissibility ExplorerThe IRPA admissibility grounds, one question at a time
Free, with no account. What you enter in a tool stays in your browser.
What does a sponsor promise?
Every sponsor signs an undertaking to repay any social assistance the sponsored person receives (IRPR s.132). The Act makes it binding (IRPA s.13.1).
- How long it lasts
- It lasts 3 years for a spouse or partner, from the day that person becomes a permanent resident. It lasts 20 years for a parent or grandparent. Quebec sets different periods.
- What does not end it
- A separation, a divorce or a drop in income leaves the undertaking in force. IRCC states that it cannot be cancelled or shortened once the person is a permanent resident.
- The five-year bar
- A person sponsored as a spouse or partner cannot sponsor a new spouse or partner for five years after becoming a permanent resident (IRPR s.130(3)).
Which guide covers your question?
Who can sponsor whom?, guides: 4
Does the relationship count?, guides: 5
How does the application work?, guides: 5
Can I sponsor a parent or grandparent?, guides: 3
Can I sponsor a child or another relative?, guides: 3
What does the sponsor owe afterward?, guides: 2
What do people ask about sponsoring a spouse?
How long does spousal sponsorship take?
IRCC estimates about 18 months for a partner sponsored from outside Canada and about 26 months for one who applies from inside Canada. Both are for sponsors outside Quebec.
How much does spousal sponsorship cost in Canada?
IRCC charges $1,260 to sponsor a spouse or partner, including the $600 right of permanent residence fee. Each dependent child adds $180. Biometrics cost $85 for one person.
What is on the spousal sponsorship checklist?
IRCC’s application package holds the checklist for the applicant’s country. It includes the application to sponsor (IMM 1344), the relationship questionnaire (IMM 5532), proof of the relationship and police certificates.
Should we apply inland or outland?
The in-Canada class is for a spouse or common-law partner who lives with the sponsor in Canada and holds temporary resident status. The family class is for partners outside Canada. Only a family class refusal can be appealed to the Immigration Appeal Division.
Can my spouse work while the sponsorship is processed?
A spouse or partner who lives in Canada with the sponsor can apply for an open work permit once IRCC acknowledges the permanent residence application. IRCC’s fee is $255. A partner outside Canada cannot get this permit.
Does the sponsor need a job or minimum income?
In most cases, no. The income test applies only when the sponsored spouse or partner has a dependent child who has a child of their own (IRPR s.133(4)). Sponsors of parents and grandparents must meet an income test for three tax years.
Can I sponsor my spouse if I live outside Canada?
A Canadian citizen abroad can sponsor a spouse or partner if the sponsor will live in Canada once that person becomes a permanent resident (IRPR s.130(2)). A permanent resident must live in Canada to sponsor.
What if our relationship breaks down during processing?
A sponsor can ask IRCC to withdraw the application before the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident. After that day the undertaking runs its full term. The two-year conditional permanent residence rule ended in April 2017.
Can I sponsor a same-sex partner?
Yes. IRCC states that a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner can be any gender.
Where is the full explanation?
This page is the short version. The textbook explains family sponsorship in full.
The chapters on this subject
- Family Sponsorship: Who, Whom, and the Inland or Outland Fork
- The Published Numbers: Fees, Funds and Timelines, and the Dates They Carry
- Two Routes, Start to Finish
The textbook on this subject
Volume 2: Immigrating to Canada $79
The economic and family pathways to permanent residence, explained from the published criteria.
Follow on Facebook to hear when the library opens (opens in a new tab)Where do these rules come from?
Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations
Sections 1, 2, 4, 117 and 124 on the family class, and 130 to 133 on sponsors.
laws-lois.justice.gc.ca (opens in a new tab)IRCC: sponsor your spouse, partner or child
Who can sponsor and when an income test applies.
canada.ca (opens in a new tab)IRCC: what it means to be a sponsor
The undertaking and its length.
canada.ca (opens in a new tab)IRCC: open work permit in Canada
Who can apply for the permit.
canada.ca (opens in a new tab)IRCC: sponsor your parents and grandparents
The program’s status and the super visa.
canada.ca (opens in a new tab)IRCC: sponsor your relatives
The two rules for other relatives.
canada.ca (opens in a new tab)