Family unification is one of the founding principles of the Canadian Immigration System. Through Canada’s extensive and one of a kind immigration system, Canadian Permanent Residents and Citizens have the ability to sponsor their partners from abroad in one of three ways:
Inland vs Overseas Sponsorship application
- Spousal Sponsorship
- Common-Law Sponsorship
- Conjugal Sponsorship
Spousal Sponsorship exists for those who have made both a religious and legal commitment to each other in the form of matrimony. Common-Law Sponsorship is, for those who exist in a marriage like commitment and cohabitate but are not married. Conjugal Sponsorship seeks to encapsulate those who also exist in a marriage like commitment but for reasons beyond their control, they are unable to neither marry nor reside together.
Inland Sponsorship
Now that you have an understanding under what category you may be able to sponsor your loved one, you will also need to determine how you wish to do so. You can sponsor your Spouse or Common Law partner from inside or outside of Canada. Sponsoring your Spouse or Common Law partner from inside Canada is known as an Application for Permanent Residence in Canada – Spouse or Common Law Partner, while overseas applications are known as Sponsoring a Member of the Family Class. When it comes to sponsoring a Conjugal partner, implicitly, you can only do so from outside of Canada.
Sponsoring from inside or outside of Canada has pros and cons that should be considered as per your unique situation and ultimate goals. If you sponsor from inside Canada:
- Your Spouse or Common Law partner can remain in Canada until a decision is made on their matter, regardless if they fall out of status or not, this is called implied status
- Your sponsored Spouse or Common Law partner may qualify for an open work permit while in Canada, awaiting a decision on their matter
On the downside however:
- Processing times for an in Canada Sponsorship are extensive and are significantly longer than that of an overseas Sponsorship, meaning you will have to
wait longer for a decision on the matter - It is not recommended for your sponsored Spouse or Common Law partner not to exit Canada prior to a decision being made on the application, otherwise,
their application may be considered abandoned and you will need to start from the beginning again - Inland Sponsorship applications do not have the right of appeal, this means that if your Sponsorship application is unsuccessful, your sponsored Spouse
or Common Law partner will need to exit Canada
Overseas Sponsorship
Sponsoring a Member of the Family class means that your sponsored Spouse or Common Law and Conjugal partner intends on waiting in their country of residence until a decision is made on their matter. In situations as this:
- Processing times are significantly less and therefore a decision on your matter will be reached much sooner than that of the in Canada application
- The applicant, your significant other, has the ability to enter and exit Canada provided they acquire and maintain status as applicable
- The right of appeal exists should you wish to argue a negative decision
Downsides:
- Sponsoring a Member of the Family class does not allow for an open work permit as it does with inland Sponsorship
