Canada to Speed up Spousal Sponsorship Application Processing

Sean Fraser, Immigration Minister, Canada recently announced that IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) has again gone back to the standard processing period - 12 months for Spousal Sponsorship applications.

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The department also launched an online portal where individuals can easily track their spousal and child sponsorship applicants. It is to be noted that the processing time is the same for both inland and outland applicants.

During this period, the applicants are required to submit biometrics and other personal details. IRCC also makes use of this time to ensure that applicants have met the eligibility parameters and to conduct background checks on the sponsor and the person being sponsored.

Eligibility Criteria For Spousal Sponsorship

Candidates planning to sponsor must meet the following eligibility parameters - 

• They should at least be 18 years of age.
• They should either be a Canadian permanent resident or is a member of the indigenous group registered under the Canadian Indian Act
• Applicants should not be receiving any social assistance unless they have any disability
• Applicants must be able to provide for the financial needs of the sponsored person

Eligibility Criteria for Sponsored Individuals

Individuals who are being sponsored must meet the following criteria - 

• They should be legally married to the sponsor in an in-person ceremony 
• Applicants must have lived with the Sponsor for a minimum of 12 months
• Candidates must have been in a relationship with the sponsor for at least one year, live outside of Canada, and cannot live with the sponsor in their country or marry them due to significant legal or immigration causes.
• Foreign applicants should at least be of 18 years of age.

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Spousal Sponsorship: How to Apply?

There are two types of sponsorship applications - inland and outland. Individuals who apply for sponsorship while living in Canada are known as inland sponsorship. Individuals who apply from outside Canada are known for outland sponsorship. 

Candidates can follow the steps below to apply for spousal sponsorship - 

Step 1: Visit the official webpage of IRCC
Step 2: Enter details asked on the website such as relationship with the person being sponsored, the country of residence of the sponsored and etc
Step 3: After providing such details, an application package containing a checklist, forms and instructions will be mailed to the applicant’s email address
Step 4: Candidates can then fill in the forms and submit the same in one of the ways specified for their application type

Several steps were undertaken to modernize the Canadian Immigration System which helped IRCC to get back to its standard application processing period.

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