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Spouse and partner sponsorship is the route that lets a Canadian citizen or permanent resident bring the person they are married to, or live with as a couple, to Canada as a permanent resident. A permanent resident is someone who can live, work and study anywhere in Canada without a time limit, and who can later apply for citizenship. "Sponsoring" means the Canadian side of the couple takes formal responsibility for the other, and the two of you apply together. It is a family route, not a points route: no job offer, no language test score and no Express Entry profile is involved.
This post is for a couple where one person already holds Canadian citizenship or permanent residence and the other does not, and who want to live together in Canada permanently. If you are the one moving to Canada on a skilled-worker route and want your partner and children to come with you at the same time, that is a different mechanism, explained in bringing your spouse and children with you. Sponsoring parents or grandparents is different again; see the Parents and Grandparents Program versus the Super Visa.
The government department that runs immigration is Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Its eligibility page says a sponsor must:
Some situations bar a person from sponsoring. The same page lists them, and the main ones are: being in prison; having been sponsored as a spouse or partner yourself and having become a permanent resident less than five years ago; having signed an undertaking for a previous spouse or partner that is still within its period; receiving social assistance for a reason other than a disability; being behind on an immigration loan, a bond or court-ordered family support payments; not having met the terms of a previous sponsorship; being an undischarged bankrupt; a conviction for a violent crime, a crime against a relative that caused bodily harm, or a sexual offence; and being under a removal order. Each has details and exceptions on the official page, so read it in full.
IRCC's who you can sponsor page recognises three kinds of partner. Whichever one applies to you, the person must be at least 18, can be any gender, and must be in a genuine relationship with you that was not entered into only to obtain permanent residence. They must also not be "inadmissible" to Canada, which means barred for reasons such as a serious criminal record or a health condition (see police certificates and medical exams for Canada).
A spouse is someone you are legally married to. The marriage has to be legally valid.
A common-law partner is someone you are not married to but have lived with, as a couple, for at least 12 consecutive months. "Consecutive" means continuously: any time spent apart during those 12 months should have been short and temporary. Under these rules, a couple that has lived together for less than 12 months is not yet common-law.
A conjugal partner is someone you are neither married to nor living with, but with whom you have been in an exclusive, mutually dependent relationship for at least one year, and who lives outside Canada. It exists for couples who genuinely cannot marry or live together because of a significant barrier, such as laws on marital status or sexual orientation where they live, or the risk of persecution. It is not an alternative for couples who simply have not lived together yet.
In most cases, no. IRCC states on its eligibility page that there is usually no minimum income to sponsor a spouse or partner. The one exception it names is when a sponsored dependent child has dependent children of their own. You must still not be receiving social assistance, other than for a disability.
The undertaking is a legally binding promise you sign as the sponsor. IRCC's page on what it means to be a sponsor describes it as agreeing to support the person financially for a period of time, and to make sure they will not need social assistance. If they do receive social assistance during that period, you have to repay it.
For a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner, the undertaking lasts 3 years from the day they become a permanent resident. Once they are a permanent resident, there is no way to cancel or shorten it, even if the relationship ends. Sponsors living in Quebec sign a separate undertaking with the Quebec government, with its own rules.
There are two ways to apply, and which one you use depends on where the sponsored person is living.
If the person you are sponsoring is already in Canada and living with you, the application can be made under what IRCC calls the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class. If they live outside Canada, the application is made under the family class. A conjugal partner, by definition, lives outside Canada and applies that way. The requirements are the same either way; the difference is where the sponsored person is while the application is processed.
In both cases the two of you apply together. IRCC's how to apply page says the person being sponsored submits both the sponsorship application and the permanent residence application online through the Permanent Residence Portal.
One practical advantage of applying from inside Canada is the open work permit. An open work permit lets the holder work for almost any employer in Canada, rather than being tied to one job. IRCC's open work permit page says a spouse or common-law partner who is living in Canada with their sponsor, who has valid temporary status (or maintained status while waiting on an extension), and whose permanent residence application has been received, can apply for one. "Received" is shown by an acknowledgement of receipt letter, which IRCC sends once it has your complete application. Check the page for the exact conditions.
The application is a set of forms plus supporting documents, and IRCC gives you a personalised document checklist when you start. Broadly, expect to provide proof of the sponsor's status in Canada, proof of the relationship (a marriage certificate for a spouse; for a common-law or conjugal partner, evidence that you have lived together or maintained the relationship), identity and travel documents, photos, and the receipt for the processing fee. Depending on your situation, the person being sponsored may also need a medical exam and a police certificate, each paid for separately. Biometrics (fingerprints and a photo) are usually paid for when you submit. Fees change, so check IRCC's fee list for the current amounts, and see our post on Canadian immigration fees and costs for what else to budget.
Processing times change with demand and with where you apply from, so we print no number here. IRCC publishes its current estimates on its check processing times page; choose the spouse or partner sponsorship option and your situation to see the figure that applies today.
Our report assesses the spouse and partner sponsorship route as one of its Canada pathways. The questionnaire asks your relationship status (married, common-law, conjugal partner, or single), and if you have a partner, it asks about their citizenship, their Canadian immigration history and the country they live in. From those answers the report checks the route's core requirement: that your spouse or partner is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Canada. It then shows that requirement beside your answers, so you can see how the route lines up with your situation.
The report does not check the sponsorship bars, the undertaking or whether IRCC will judge the relationship genuine; only IRCC decides those, on your full application. Everything else the Canada report covers is listed on the Canada page.
If your spouse or partner is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you can see how this route compares with the other Canada pathways in one place. Start the free questionnaire: it takes a few minutes, shows a free results summary, and you decide afterwards whether to unlock the full report.
Answer our free questionnaire and see your eligibility summary instantly. You only pay to unlock your full personalized immigration report.