Sponsoring Your Spouse or Family for Canadian PR: A Guide

Family reunification is one of the main pillars of Canada's immigration system. Through family sponsorship, a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or person registered under the Indian Act can help a close family member become a permanent resident. If you are researching spousal sponsorship canada rules, this guide explains who can sponsor, who can be sponsored, the difference between inland and outland processing, and the legal commitment known as the undertaking. It is a plain-language overview of the process and is not legal advice for your specific case.

Who can be a sponsor

To sponsor a family member, you must generally be at least 18 years old and be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident living in Canada, or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act. You also have to sign an undertaking and a sponsorship agreement, and meet the other requirements under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and its Regulations.

Some situations can make you ineligible. For example, you may not be able to sponsor a spouse or partner if you yourself were sponsored as a spouse or partner and became a permanent resident less than 5 years ago, or if you previously sponsored a spouse or partner and the 3-year undertaking has not yet ended. Always confirm your status on the official IRCC eligibility page before you apply.

Who you can sponsor

The family sponsorship program covers several close relationships, each with its own definition and rules. Sponsoring a spouse or partner is the most common path, but the program is also the route many newcomers use to reunite with their children and, later, their parents and grandparents. The main categories are:

• Spouse or partner. You can sponsor your spouse, your common-law partner, or your conjugal partner.
• Dependent children. A child usually qualifies as a dependant if they are under 22 and not married or in a common-law relationship. Children 22 or older may still qualify if they have depended on a parent for financial support since before age 22 because of a mental or physical condition.
• Parents and grandparents. These relatives are sponsored through a separate stream, the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP), which has its own intake process and rules.

A Canadian citizen cannot be sponsored as a dependant. If your goal is economic immigration instead of family sponsorship, you may want to read our guides on Express Entry and the PNP.

Inland vs. outland spousal sponsorship

When you sponsor a spouse or partner, there are two processing situations. Inland applies when the sponsored person already lives with you in Canada, usually on a valid temporary status. A key feature of the inland route is that the sponsored spouse or partner may be eligible to apply for an open work permit while the application is being processed.

The outland situation generally applies when your spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner lives outside Canada. Despite the name, your partner can sometimes still be in Canada while an outland application is processed. The right choice depends on where the person lives, their status, and whether they may need to travel. Review the IRCC apply page to confirm which process fits your circumstances.

The undertaking and your obligations

Being a sponsor is a serious legal commitment. You must sign an undertaking in which you promise to provide for the basic needs of the people you sponsor, including food, clothing, shelter, and other everyday needs, as well as health needs such as dental and eye care not covered by public health services.

The undertaking has a fixed length that depends on the relationship. For a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner, the undertaking lasts 3 years from the day the person becomes a permanent resident. For parents and grandparents, the undertaking lasts 20 years (or 10 years in Quebec). If the person you sponsor receives social assistance during the undertaking period, you will have to repay that amount, and you will not be able to sponsor anyone else until it is repaid. The undertaking is binding and cannot be cancelled even if circumstances change.

Income requirements

In most cases, there is no minimum income requirement to sponsor a spouse, partner or dependent child. There are exceptions, such as when the dependent child you sponsor has a dependent child of their own. The Parents and Grandparents Program is different: PGP sponsors must show that they meet the required income for each of the 3 tax years before they apply, and a spouse or common-law partner can co-sign to combine incomes. Always check the official income tables, because the figures change each year.

Basic steps and processing

A family sponsorship application has two connected parts: you apply to be a sponsor, and the person you are sponsoring applies for permanent residence. For spouse, partner and child applications, these are submitted together, and most applications are now filed online through the Permanent Residence (PR) Portal. A typical flow looks like this:

• Confirm you are eligible to be a sponsor and that your family member is eligible to be sponsored.
• Gather the required documents, sign the undertaking and sponsorship agreement, and complete the forms.
• Pay the fees and submit the sponsor and permanent residence applications together.
• Respond to any requests from IRCC and track the application until a decision is made.

Processing times vary by program and by where the application is processed, so use the official IRCC processing-time tool for a current estimate rather than relying on older figures. Fees also change from time to time, so check the current fee list on the IRCC website before you pay. Because immigration rules change and each family's situation is unique, confirm every detail on canada.ca before you apply, and consider professional advice if your case is complex.