Spouse/Common-Law Partner

Spouse/Common-Law Partner

1. Onshore Spousal/ Common law Partner Sponsorship 

The Spousal Sponsorship program is a subclass of the Family sponsorship program category, under which a permanent resident of Canada may sponsor his or her spouse/common-law partner for Canadian permanent residence. Both the Canadian citizen or permanent resident (also called the ‘sponsor’) and the foreign national (the ‘sponsored person’) must be approved by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC, formerly CIC) in order for the sponsored person to receive a visa.

The Onshore Spousal/Common-Law Partner Sponsorship program allows permanent resident of Canada to sponsor his or her spouse/common-law partner for permanent resident status if both of them are already living together in Canada.

There are two parts to the spousal sponsorship application:

• The Canadian or permanent resident applies to sponsor his or her spouse or common-law partner; and
• The spouse or common-law partner applies for permanent residence.

Under the Inland sponsorship category, the foreign national spouse/common-law partner must have valid permission to stay in Canada, either as a worker, student, or visitor.

2. Offshore Spousal/Common-Law Sponsorship

This sponsorship program allows permanent resident of Canada or Canadian citizen to sponsor his/her spouse or common law partner for permanent resident status in Canada, irrelevant of where the spouse or common law partner is currently staying.

There are two parts to the spousal sponsorship application:

• The Canadian or permanent resident applies to sponsor his or her spouse or common-law partner; and
• The spouse or common-law partner applies for permanent residence.

The Offshore sponsorship  is generally chosen when the sponsored individual is living outside Canada. This may permit the sponsored person to travel in and out of Canada throughout the application process.