No wonder, Canada is a great country to live. Access to quality healthcare and world class education makes it very appealing to call Canada home.

Spousal sponsorship is a pathway to permanent residency and means to unite families.

Like any other sponsorship process, this one can be exhausting and stressful in the lack of procedural clarity.

The eligibility to sponsor has to be tested and approved before the applicant’s background check is performed. Therefore, there are several important points you need to know in this process.

Firstly, are you yourself a PR or a Citizen of Canada? If yes, you qualify as a sponsor. If not, you may want to consider some temporary pathways for your spouse.

Secondly, are you above the age eighteen? If you are under eighteen, you certainly disqualify as a sponsorship.

Do you live exclusively in Canada? and are you present in Canada during the sponsorship is filed? Regarding this question, if you are a Canadian Citizen, you may still sponsor while you are out of Canada.
- But, your intention has to be to settle in Canada permanently. Whilst, if you are a PR, you have to be physically present in Canada while filing.

Inland Vs Outland Canada Spousal Sponsorship Applications!

Are you in receipt of any social assistance? This will be a certain pitfall as a sponsor because the sponsor is expected to support their sponsored spouse.
- In case of disability support, there are considerations and you may still move forward with caution. This is an area to be assessed on a case by case basis by the deciding officer.

Are you subject to any criminal charges? Your criminal records including imprisonment, assaults, causing bodily harm can be a definite hindrance in sponsoring your spouse.
- Hence, you may seek an experts’ advice to discuss this sensitive matter before submitting an application.

Has your previously sponsored spouse or family members taken social assistance during the validity period of undertaking?
- This is a definite red flag in your sponsorship case. Again an expert’s advice is helpful in this matter.

Are you in default order from court to support your former spouse or children? Have you missed payments?
- This is something that can haunt you back in your new sponsorship application. You may seek experts’ advice on this matter as well.

To summarize, just a quick consideration of the above mentioned factors in your application can safeguard you from the setbacks during your sponsorship journey.

Kamal Deep Singh, RCIC

Kamal Deep Singh, RCIC (Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant) licensed by CICC (formerly known as ICCRC) with member number R708618. He brings extensive knowledge of immigration law and new changes to rapidly evolving IRCC.