How to Sponsor your Conjugal Partner to Canada
Conjugal partnerships are very particular in terms of Canadian Immigration. These types of sponsorships are very difficult to prove but it is essential for the couple that they have a possibility for permanent residency in Canada. In these particular partnerships, the couple is unable to live together because of special circumstances out of their control that do not allow them to do so. Because of this, proving the relationship between the couple is quite difficult but necessary to prove the genuineness of the relationship. Therefore, in this article, I will explain what a conjugal partnership entails and how to sponsor your conjugal partner to Canada.
What is a Conjugal Partnership According to Canadian Immigration
A conjugal partnership, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, consists of two individuals who are in a marriage-like commitment to each other for a minimum of one year. However, the couple was not able to live together in Canada because of special circumstances. The special circumstances often include war, persecution, and other legal barriers that unfortunately prohibit the couple from continued cohabitation. Thus, the conjugal sponsorship category was primarily intended for these exceptional circumstances where the sponsor and the applicant are unable to either get married or qualify as common-law partnership, but still exist in a marriage-like commitment to each other. Additionally and fortunately, Canadian Immigration also recognizes same-sex relationships in the conjugal sponsorship category.
Who can Sponsor a Conjugal Partner to Canada
Before applying for a conjugal sponsorship in Canada, it is very important for the sponsor to determine whether they are eligible and qualified to sponsor their conjugal partner. Therefore, the first step in sponsoring your conjugal partner to Canada is to determine whether you are eligible to sponsor them.
In order to sponsor your conjugal partner to Canada, the sponsor must:
- Be 18 years old or older
- Be a Canadian citizen of Canada, a permanent resident of Canada or a Registered Indian of Canada
- Either reside in Canada permanently or prove that you will intend on residing in Canada should your conjugal partner obtain permanent residency in Canada
- Be financially capable of providing the basic needs for their conjugal partner
- Not be inadmissible to Canada
- Sign an undertaking agreement with your conjugal partner which entails committing to be responsible for and support your conjugal partner with basic needs for their time in Canada
Once both the sponsor and the sponsored conjugal partner sign the undertaking, the sponsor is then responsible for the sponsored conjugal partner for a minimum of three years. The reasoning for this is because the length of the undertaking is three years. Due to the length and the magnitude of the responsibility, it is vital that the sponsor completely understands what they are committing to when signing the undertaking agreement. For instance, when providing the sponsored conjugal partner with basic necessities, this can include health care, such as dental care and eye care, food, shelter, clothing, and any other necessities they might need that would not be given to them by the public health system. For this reason, the sponsor must be able to provide them with health care because they would not have access to the public health care system. Additionally, the sponsor would be financially responsible for the conjugal partner in order for the conjugal partner to not rely on the Canadian government for any social assistance. If they do receive social assistance from the government of Canada, the sponsor would be responsible to pay the government back of all debt. Conclusively, understanding and committing to the undertaking agreement is essential for the conjugal sponsorship to be successful.
How to Qualify as a Conjugal Partnership
A conjugal partnership could be considered differently by couples than how the Canadian government considers conjugal partnerships. Therefore, it is very important to make sure you and your conjugal partner qualify as a conjugal partnership in the eyes of Canadian Immigration before submitting a conjugal sponsorship application. Therefore, the qualifications for a conjugal partnership include:
- The conjugal partner, living abroad, must be in an ongoing, marriage-like commitment for a minimum of one year, with either a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada or a Registered Indian residing in Canada
- The conjugal partners must have combined documentation, of course with the distance taken into consideration
- The conjugal partners must demonstrate that cohabitation was not possible because of special circumstances that were entirely out of their control
Specifically for conjugal partnerships, Immigration Canada will scrutinize the documents that would support the genuineness of the relationship. They will assess whether the couple, in fact, were unable to get married or be qualified as a common-law partnership. As a result, it is very important and significant for the couple to properly submit all of the required documentation as well as plenty of supporting documentation to show the genuineness of their relationship and why they should be permitted to be reunited permanently in Canada.
Contact Akrami & Associates
It is essential that you have taken all the aforementioned information into consideration, especially if you are in a conjugal partnership and would like to apply for conjugal sponsorship. If you would like to apply for a conjugal sponsorship, it is extremely important to note that these are difficult applications to pursue on your own. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you seek out professional and experienced help prior to submitting the conjugal sponsorship application. Here, at Akrami & Associates, we work and have experience with many different immigration matters. We have helped many of our clients reunite permanently in Canada with their conjugal partners. If you believe that you may be eligible to apply for a conjugal sponsorship, please feel free to contact Akrami & Associates at our office at 416-477-2545 for more information or if you would like to book a consultation with an immigration professional for more advice.
At Akrami & Associates, there is always a way!
