Spouse, Common Law or Conjugal Sponsorships

There are two ways to sponsor your spouse or common law partner: from within Canada (inland) or through a visa office (outland).

Inland applications necessarily involve the couple living in Canada and there is a requirement that they cohabit throughout the sponsorship process. To maintain status and obtain authorization to work, an open work permit application may be submitted along with the permanent residence application. There is no right of appeal to a tribunal which may hear new evidence on your case, but there is the possibility of appealing to a court which only considers procedural errors.
Outland applications typically involve sponsorships where a marriage has taken place abroad. If the sponsor is a Permanent Resident, that person must live in Canada during processing. However, if the sponsor is a Canadian citizen, the citizen may live abroad during processing (though must demonstrate the intention to return to Canada). Outland sponsorships have a right of appeal to a tribunal which may hear new evidence at the time of the hearing.

Note that those who were sponsored as spouses and then divorced have a 5 year bar from in turn sponsoring a new spouse. Moreover, every sponsor or a spouse or common law partner signs an ‘undertaking’ that the sponsoring spouse will be financially responsible for the applicant for 3 years as of when the applicant becomes a permanent resident.