Canadian Immigration Xperts

Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada

There are two venues under the Family Class Category by which Canadian citizens or permanent residents can bring their spouses to Canada:

1. By bringing a spousal family class sponsorship application to the Mississauga CIC (Canadian Immigration Centre) which will later be finalized by an overseas Canadian Visa Mission or Canadian Embassy, or,  
2.  By bringing an in-Canada spousal family class sponsorship application to the CIC of Vegreville, Alberta. This allows the spouses or common-law partners of Canadian citizens or permanent residents to apply for permanent residence without leaving the country, regardless of whether they are in Canada legally or not. This type of application allows the families to stay united in Canada throughout the duration of the processing of the in-Canada sponsorship application.

A Canadian sponsor willing to bring his or her foreign spouse to Canada is exempt from financial requirements and undertakes the responsibility to provide for the sponsored family member for the period of 3 years commencing from the date of sponsored family member`s arrival to Canada. This type of a Canadian sponsor enters a Sponsorship Agreement with sponsored family member, which is like the former, a binding contract remaining in force for 3 years. 

The children of Canadian sponsor’s spouse or common-law partner may be included in the in-Canada application for permanent residence. If their case is approved, it will be finalized by the Canadian Visa Mission responsible for the country of the dependent children’s citizenship or legal permanent residence.

Please note that the children of such applicants, who reside in Canada during their sponsorship process, are allowed to join the Canadian public education system and study in Canada even before the application is processed and receives an approval. The average processing time for this type of application is 10-12 months. After the application is processed, the applicant receives the so-called “approval in principal” and is eligible to apply for a Canadian Work Permit, study permit, and, in the province of Ontario, OHIP (medical insurance coverage) even prior to the factual receipt of the status of a Canadian Permanent Resident.