There are two streams, Inland sponsorship and Outland Sponsorship, falling under the Spousal Sponsorship Program, which allow applicants to apply, based on their eligibility requirements.

Before submitting an application for the sponsorship, the sponsor needs to demonstrate of meeting all the mandatory eligibility criteria for the application to be considered.

The eligibility requirements for the Inland and Outland applicants are mentioned below in detail:

Inland Spousal Sponsorship:

This program is specifically designed for the Canadian Citizens or permanent residents of Canada whose spouses or common law partners are staying in Canada but have not attained the permanent resident status yet. The sponsored individuals also need to ensure that either the visitor visa, study visa or the work permit they are currently having, stays intact and in case of any expiration, needs to get extended until their permanent resident application gets processed. By doing this, they can determine their legal stay in Canada.

At the time of application, it is not mandatory that applicant has a valid status in Canada but should have entered Canada on a valid visa.

Eligibility Requirements Sponsor:

• Must be at least 18 years of age
• Must be either a Canadian Citizen or a Permanent resident in Canada
• Must be free of debt, bankruptcy or any kind of financial liability from government
• Must not possess any criminal background, imprisonment or conviction charges
• Must not have any kind of removal orders from the government
• Must not have received spousal Sponsorship to Canada in the previous five years
• Sponsored individual not required to maintain the legal status in Canada till application gets approved
• Are under no obligation to meet the Minimum Necessary income (MNI) in case of sponsoring Spouses or common law partners or their children.

Spousal Open Work Permit: This program is a big relief for sponsored spouses or common law partners falling under in Canada spousal applicants to work while waiting for the decision of the application.

Spousal open work permit is a special category which provides financial relief to sponsored spouses staying in Canada on temporary status. The processing of permanent resident application may take up to 12 months so in the meantime, applicants can apply for the open work permit which allows them to work in Canada under any employer and earn also, so they may carry their own expenses. To apply for the open work permit, the sponsored applicant must hold a temporary status, reside in the same house with the sponsor and meet all the above-mentioned eligibility requirements.

Quebec Spousal sponsorship:

In case the sponsor resides in the province of Quebec, he has to commit to financial undertaking and must give in writing that he will bare all the financial expenses of the sponsored spouse, common law partner or conjugal partner for three years.

The relationship between the sponsor and the sponsored person must be recognized by IRCC as legal marriage, common law or conjugal partnership and the applicant must have enough evidence to prove their relationship.

Outland sponsorship:

This program is designated to unite couples who are staying apart because their spouses or common law partners cannot stay in Canada otherwise, so this special program allows the sponsor to submit a permanent resident application for their legal partners who, once approved are entitled to have the status of a permanent resident in Canada. Like Inland Sponsorship, the processing time of outland sponsorship application may also take up to a year for final decision

Eligibility Requirements Sponsor: The eligibility requirements for the Outland Sponsorship program for both the Sponsor and the Sponsored person are the same as the Inland Sponsorship application:

• Must be at least 18 years of age
• Must be either a Canadian Citizen or a Permanent resident in Canada
• Must be free of debt, bankruptcy or any kind of financial liability from government
• Must not possess any criminal background, imprisonment or conviction charges
• Must not have any kind of removal orders from the government
• Must not have received spousal Sponsorship to Canada in the previous five Years
• Are under no obligation to meet the Minimum Necessary income (MNI) in case of sponsoring Spouses or common law partners or their childrenThe sponsor is not eligible to apply for spousal sponsorship if:
  • Still financially responsible for the previously sponsored spouse
  • Have been permanent resident of Canada for less than 5 years
  • Have criminal background
  • Under government debt including social or financial assistance.

Before submitting an application for sponsoring a spouse, it has to be mandatory that the Sponsor is a permanent resident of Canada or Canadian citizen which clearly means that the sponsor cannot apply while on visitor, study or work permit status and also in case of being charged with “removal orders.” The legal spouse may be of the same gender but must be an adult and legally married to the sponsor. Common law partner may not be actually married but has to be in relation with the sponsor for consecutive twelve months. Conjugal partners can also be sponsored if they live outside Canada but need to be in relation with the sponsor for at least a year and cannot get married to the sponsor because of certain restrictions in their home country.