Can I Sponsor My Spouse? The Sponsor Rules

Four things. You are at least 18. You are a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or registered under the Indian Act. You live in Canada. And you commit to supporting the person by signing an undertaking and a sponsorship agreement.

The living-in-Canada rule has one opening. A citizen living abroad can sponsor if they show they will live in Canada once the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident. A permanent resident living abroad cannot sponsor.

In most cases there is no income requirement to sponsor a spouse, partner or dependent child. It applies only in two situations: you are sponsoring a dependent child who has a dependent child of their own, or your spouse or partner has a dependent child who has a child of their own. Then the Financial Evaluation form IMM 1283 sets the amount. Quebec residents also meet Quebec's own rules and sign a second undertaking with the province, but only after IRCC says to.

You may not be able to sponsor a spouse or partner if you were sponsored as a spouse or partner yourself and became a permanent resident less than 5 years ago. Or if you signed an undertaking for a previous spouse or partner and it has not been 3 years since they became a permanent resident. In IRCC's words, you are still financially responsible for them.

You may not be eligible if you have already applied to sponsor the same person and that application is still undecided. If you are in jail, prison or a penitentiary. If you are behind on an immigration loan, a performance bond, or court-ordered support such as alimony or child support. If you failed to provide the support you promised in an earlier sponsorship. If you declared bankruptcy and are not discharged. If you receive social assistance for a reason other than a disability. If you were convicted of a violent offence, an offence against a relative causing bodily harm, or a sexual offence, inside or outside Canada. Or if you have a removal order and must leave Canada.

Three of those (support arrears, a broken earlier undertaking, undischarged bankruptcy) do not apply when the sponsor lives in Quebec, because Quebec assesses them itself. IRCC adds that other reasons can make a sponsor ineligible and that it explains the reason when it refuses.

The sponsor rules are the same either way. What changes is the class the application goes in, and whether the sponsored person can work while waiting. Our note on inland versus outland sponsorship compares the two, and the open work permit guide covers the work question.

Your own landing date if you were sponsored, any earlier undertaking, tax and support records, and the relationship evidence. Sponsor eligibility is usually the quick part of a spousal sponsorship review. In our experience, the 5-year bar surprises people who were sponsored young and have since separated.