Family Sponsorship

You can sponsor a spouse, partner or dependent child if you are at least 18, you are a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident or a person registered under the Indian Act, you live in Canada, and you sign an undertaking. Some past history, such as unpaid support or certain convictions, stops you from sponsoring.

The residence rule is different for citizens and permanent residents. A permanent resident cannot sponsor from outside Canada. A Canadian citizen living abroad can sponsor, but has to show they plan to return to Canada when the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident.

IRCC lists situations that make you ineligible, including when you:

• were sponsored as a spouse or partner yourself and became a permanent resident less than 5 years ago
• are still inside the 3-year period of a previous spouse or partner sponsorship
• receive social assistance for a reason other than a disability
• have an unpaid immigration loan, performance bond or court-ordered family support
• failed to provide the support you promised under an earlier sponsorship
• are an undischarged bankrupt, or have a removal order against you
• were convicted of a violent offence or an offence against a relative

For a spouse or partner with no dependants of their own, IRCC says there is generally no minimum income requirement. Income proof comes into play when a sponsored dependent child has children of their own. If you live in Quebec, you also have to meet Quebec's requirements and sign a separate undertaking with the province.

"Inland" and "outland" are informal names for two legal classes. Inland is the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class: your partner lives with you in Canada and holds temporary resident status. Outland is the family class, used when your partner lives outside Canada or does not fit the inland rules.

Section 124 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations sets out the inland class. Your partner must be your spouse or common-law partner, live with you in Canada, have temporary resident status in Canada, and be the subject of your sponsorship application. Conjugal partners are not part of the inland class, because by definition a conjugal partner lives outside Canada.

In both classes the sponsorship and the permanent residence application go in together through IRCC's online PR Portal, and the person being sponsored is the principal applicant who submits them. You must declare every family member, including those who are not coming and those whose whereabouts you do not know.

You show it with documents and a consistent story. IRCC asks for your marriage certificate or proof of living together, the Relationship Information and Sponsorship Evaluation questionnaire (IMM 5532), and papers that show a shared life, such as a joint lease, shared bills or accounts, and ID with the same address.

The legal test is in section 4 of the Regulations. A partner is not counted as your spouse or partner if the relationship was entered into primarily to get immigration status, or if it is not genuine. IRCC's instructions to officers describe this as a two-part test where failing either part is enough for a refusal.

What counts as proof depends on your relationship type:

• Spouse: legally married to you, at least 18, and in a real relationship that exists for more than getting permanent residence.
• Common-law partner: not married to you but has lived with you for at least 12 consecutive months in a conjugal relationship. You need proof of that year together, plus evidence of shared finances and that other people recognise you as a couple.
• Conjugal partner: lives outside Canada and cannot live with you or marry you in their country because of legal, immigration, social, cultural, religious or other barriers. You have to explain and document those barriers.

If your documents leave doubts, an officer can ask for more information or call you both to an interview. Answers that do not match each other, or that contradict your forms, are hard to fix later. Read your IMM 5532 answers together before you submit.

Often, yes, if they are already in Canada. As of September 2026, IRCC offers an open work permit to a sponsored spouse, common-law or conjugal partner who lives in Canada with the sponsor, is in a genuine relationship, and has an acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) letter for the permanent residence application.

The details on IRCC's page (last updated April 2026) are:

• Your partner applies after the AOR letter arrives, and needs valid temporary status (a visitor record, study permit, work permit or temporary resident permit), maintained status, or a pending restoration.
• Accompanying dependent children of the principal applicant can also qualify.
• Someone who is out of status and applying under the spousal public policy has to wait for an approval in principle letter and then apply on paper.
• The permit can be extended for 2 more years while the permanent residence application is still being processed.
• You cannot apply for this permit at a port of entry.

A partner who lives outside Canada is not covered by this policy. These rules change often, so check the IRCC page on the day your partner applies.

An undertaking is your binding promise to the Government of Canada to support the person you sponsor so they do not need social assistance. Once they become a permanent resident, IRCC says there is no way to cancel or shorten it, even after a separation, job loss or their citizenship.

Support means food, clothing, shelter and other everyday needs, plus dental care, eye care and other health needs that public health services do not cover. If the person you sponsored receives social assistance during the undertaking, you have to repay it. That unpaid debt then blocks you from sponsoring anyone else.

Section 132 of the Regulations sets the length, counted from the day the person becomes a permanent resident:

• spouse, common-law or conjugal partner: 3 years
• dependent child under 22: 10 years, or until the child turns 25, whichever comes first
• dependent child 22 or older: 3 years
• parent or grandparent: 20 years

The person you sponsor also signs an agreement to make every reasonable effort to support themselves. That does not reduce your own liability.

No new applications are being accepted. As of September 2026, IRCC says it has paused the Parents and Grandparents Program, will not accept new interest to sponsor forms or send invitations until further notice, and will keep processing applications already submitted.

The main alternative is the super visa. It lets a parent or grandparent of a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian visit for up to 5 years at a time, with multiple entries over a period of up to 10 years. While in Canada on a super visa, they can apply for 2-year extensions.

The super visa eligibility page sets these conditions:

• a letter of invitation from you, the child or grandchild in Canada
• proof that you meet or exceed the minimum necessary income for your household size
• private health insurance valid for at least 1 year from the date of entry, from a Canadian insurer or a foreign insurer approved by the minister
• an immigration medical exam
• the applicant is outside Canada when they apply

Dependants cannot be included in a super visa application. The officer also applies the normal visitor test, so ties to the home country and the purpose of the visit still matter.

Most refusals come down to three things: the officer is not satisfied the relationship is genuine, the sponsor or applicant does not meet an eligibility rule, or information is missing or inconsistent. The refusal letter names the ground, and the officer's notes explain the reasoning in more detail.

Points that cause problems in practice:

• A relationship that fails either part of the section 4 test, including relationships ended and resumed to gain status.
• A sponsor who turns out to be ineligible, for example because of social assistance, an earlier spousal sponsorship or unpaid support.
• Family members who were never declared. A temporary public policy that allowed some previously undeclared family members to be sponsored ended on September 10, 2026, and applications submitted after that date cannot use it.
• Too little evidence of living together for a common-law relationship.

Before you decide whether to appeal or reapply, get the officer's notes. Our guide to requesting GCMS notes after a refusal explains how, and common refusal reasons explained shows how officers word each ground. For a family class refusal, the Immigration Appeal Division appeal described above may be open to you. You can also browse our visa refusal guides for other application types.

If sponsorship does not fit your situation, your partner may have their own route. See how Express Entry permanent residence works, or book a consultation about your family's options to have your case reviewed before you file.