Sponsor Spouse to Canada
If you are Canadian citizens or permanent resident, age 18 or over, you are eligible to sponsor your wife, husband or same-sex partner to Canada through the Family Class program. Once you become a permanent resident you are able to live, work and study in Canada. When sponsoring a loved one to Canada you are responsible for them financially when he or she arrives. Spousal application are not straight forward applications, so don’t risk your future with your loved by attempting this application on your own. Our team of immigration experts at Akrami & Associates has submitted many successful sponsorship applications and we can help you too. Read further on spousal sponsorship documents and reasons your application can get refused when sponsoring spouse to Canada.
Who is Considered a Spouse?
You are a spouse if you are married to your sponsor and your marriage is legally valid. Also, you marriage has to be recognized in the country it took place and under Canadian law. For example, if you got married in Pakistan with your same-sex partner then your marriage will not be recognized in Canada because same-sex marriages is not recognized in Pakistan. Another example would be getting married to your second spouse without separation from your first spouse. Some countries except multiple spouses but in Canada the exception is not made so you have to divorce one spouse before being eligible to sponsor another spouse. So your marriage has to be recognized in the country it took place and in Canada.
Who can be a Sponsor?
To be able to sponsor your spouse to Canada you have to be 18 years of age or older. Also, as the sponsor and sponsored person you must sign sponsorship agreement form in which you the sponsor agrees to provide financial support for your spouse and dependent children. The sponsored person also agrees that he/she will make every effort to support her or himself once they arrive in Canada. When signing the sponsorship agreement form as the sponsor you agree that you will be responsible for your spouse for a period of three years from the date they become permanent residents. Also, you agree to provide financial support for the dependent child for 10 years or until the child turns 25, whichever comes first. Once the sponsorship application is approved you cannot get out of your agreement even if you got divorced, separated, facing financial difficulties or whatever the reasons may be. Unfortunately, you are responsible for your spouse until the undertaking term is completed.
Spousal Identity Documents
One of the important documents you need to include with your application is your identity documents which include passport data page or travel documents. The passport data page is the page that has your first and last name, date of birth, country of citizenship, expiration of passport and photo of you. If you have travelled to other countries you must include all the entry and exit stamps.
Civil Status Documents:
- marriage certificates/registration
- record of solemnization or
- civil union certificate/document
- documents of previous relationships such as divorce certificate/registration
- if you are separated documents that proof you are separated for example income tax forms and legal documents
- if you were married and that marriage was annulled you need to provide the copy of the annulment
- if you were previously married or in a common-law relationship, and your former spouse or common-law partner passed away, you must provide your former spouse or partner’s death certificate
Other Spousal Documents include:
- police clearances (every country you have lived 6 months are more)
- medical clearances (only from list of panel of physician)
- relationship documents to prove your relationship is genuine
- certified translation documents (all documents must be in English or French only)
- photos of spouse and dependent children meet photo specifications
Proof of Relationship Documents for Sponsoring Spouse
- pictures of you and your spouse (trips you have taken together, family events)
- pictures of wedding and ceremonies
- phone logs, email chats, Skype chats etc
- letters exchanged
- gifts exchanged
- property you own together
- bank accounts you share together
- reference letter from friends and family
There are many other relationship documents you can include but those are just a few mentioned.
Reasons Spousal Applications get Returned or Refused
- incomplete forms (not signed or dated)
- using an out-dated form
- not sufficient relationship documents
- don’t meet photo specification
- medical clearances have expired
- police clearances have expired
- submitted to wrong visa office
- officer was not satisfied when interview was done
- documents are not translated in English or French (every piece of document must be translated by a certified translator)
- did not pay government fees
- having a criminal record (apply for criminal rehabilitation)
- got sponsored before and have not passed the 5 year sponsorship ban
- lying on application (misrepresentation)
- not declaring family members ( this will prevent you from ever being able to sponsor them in the future)
Importance of declaring all Family Members
When sponsoring a spouse to Canada, you must declare all the family members even if they do not want to come to Canada. Should you fail to mention all your family members you will never be able to sponsor them in the future no matter what the excuse is. For example, if you came to Canada and got your permanent residency and did not mention your wife or kids on the application you will never be able to sponsor them in the future. We get a lot of calls in which individuals failed to mention their loved ones and now they can never be together. If English or French is not you first language or facing language barriers do no attempt these applications on your own because you possibly harm yourself in the future for either being ignorant or careless when filling out the forms.
Importance of Translation of Documents
Any documents that are not in English or French you find a certified translator to translate each document for you. We had clients that submitted their own application with translation that caused delays and sometimes even refusals as some immigration officers do no bother with informing you what is needed if you don’t follow the instructions within the document checklist. So include copies of your documents with certified translation but also make sure if the government ask for original documents to include original. You cannot have translations done by family members that are not certified translators.
Contact Akrami & Associates
Sponsoring your spouse to Canada is a long and complicated procedure, therefore having legal representation is highly recommended. Last thing you want to do is risk the application for permanent residency and get refusal. Akrami and Associates are certified Canadian Immigration Consultations and Immigration Lawyers that are in good standing with law and society. Our immigration experts can help you compile a strong application to avoid refusals in your application. Contact Akrami & Associates at 416-477-2545 for further details.
With Akrami & Associates there is always a way!!
