What Is the Processing Time for Spousal Sponsorship in Canada in 2026?
Short answer: IRCC's published service standard is 12 months from acknowledgement of receipt (AOR). 2026 reality: inland files run 12-18 months due to backlog; outland varies dramatically by visa office (3-24 months depending on country). Pakistan, India, and Iran visa offices currently sit at 14-22 months.
IRCC's published service standard for spousal sponsorship is 12 months from acknowledgement of receipt (AOR), counting both inland and outland streams.
Actual processing varies by visa office:
- Inland: 10-14 months for most files
- Outland through Ottawa, Manila, New Delhi: 12-16 months
- Outland through high-backlog offices (Beirut, Cairo, Islamabad): 14-22 months
- Outland conjugal cases at any office: longer, often 18-24 months because officers escalate these for additional review
We update our processing times page when IRCC publishes new numbers, usually monthly. You can also check current IRCC processing times directly.
How Do You Prove a Genuine Relationship to IRCC?
Short answer: IRCC's main test is IRPR section 4(1): is the relationship genuine, or primarily for status? Officers look for: joint financial accounts, joint property or lease agreements, joint travel evidence (boarding passes, photos with timestamps), social media history showing the relationship over time, wedding evidence with family members in attendance, and consistent narrative across both parties' forms.
The most common refusal under IRPR section 4(1) is that the relationship was entered primarily to acquire status. Officers read your file looking for the answer to one question: would this couple still be together if Canadian immigration were not on the table?
What helps:
Communication records over time. Not a screenshot from last week. WhatsApp exports, email threads, video call logs spanning the full relationship. We typically submit 30-50 selected pages of chat history covering the courtship, the engagement period, the separation periods (if any), and recent months.
Joint financial documentation. Joint bank accounts, joint credit cards, joint utility bills, joint lease or mortgage, naming each other as beneficiary on life insurance and pension. The earlier these were established, the stronger they are.
Wedding documentation beyond the certificate. Photos with family members present, the program from the ceremony, vendor receipts, guest list, honeymoon documents. For couples who married in private or via courthouse, we submit a written explanation of why, plus contemporaneous photos and statutory declarations.
Travel history together. Passport stamps, boarding passes, hotel reservations in both names, photos from trips. For long-distance relationships, the visit log is often the spine of the file.
Statutory declarations from people who know the relationship. Two to four declarations from family members and close friends in both communities. They should describe how and when they met the couple, specific events they witnessed, and their honest view of the relationship.
Photos across time and contexts. Not just the wedding. Photos at family events, holidays, with each other's parents, in daily life. Date-stamped where possible.
What hurts:
- A wedding album that is the only evidence of the relationship
- Communication evidence that all appears in one short period (suggests it was created for the application)
- Conflicting accounts on the IMM 5532 (Relationship Information and Sponsorship Evaluation)
- Undisclosed prior marriages or children
- A relationship that began very shortly before sponsorship was filed without strong explanation
How Does the Spousal Sponsorship Application Process Work?
Short answer: All filed through the IRCC Permanent Residence portal since 2024 (paper no longer accepted except disability accommodation). Steps: (1) sponsor completes sponsorship forms and proves eligibility, (2) sponsored spouse completes PR application forms, (3) both upload supporting documents, (4) pay fees, (5) submit biometrics within 30 days of request, (6) complete medical exam, (7) wait for decision.
Since 2024 all spousal sponsorship applications must be filed through the IRCC Permanent Residence portal. Paper applications are no longer accepted except in disability accommodation cases.
- Sponsor creates IRCC account and starts the sponsorship application. The IMM 1344 (Application to Sponsor) and the IMM 5532 are completed on the portal.
- Principal applicant (the sponsored spouse) creates their own account and links to the sponsor. They complete their permanent residence application, schedule A background, and additional family information forms.
- Both parties upload documents. Identity documents, marriage certificate or proof of cohabitation, relationship evidence package, police certificates from every country lived in for 6+ months since age 18, and proof of admissibility.
- Payment. Fees paid through the portal.
- AOR. IRCC issues acknowledgement of receipt typically within 30-60 days.
- Biometrics request. Sponsored spouse and dependents over 14 attend biometrics within 30 days of the request.
- Medical exam. Either upfront or after IRCC requests it, the principal applicant and dependents attend a panel physician.
- Two-step approval. IRCC first approves sponsor eligibility, then assesses spouse admissibility. Refusal at either step ends the application.
- Spousal Open Work Permit (inland only). Filed separately, usually shortly after AOR, processed in 4-6 months in 2026.
- Confirmation of permanent residence. For outland files, an interview at a visa office may be required. For inland files, no interview by default; PR is confirmed through the portal.
What Is the Three-Year Financial Undertaking for Sponsors?
Short answer: When you sponsor a spouse, you sign a 3-year financial undertaking committing to support their basic needs (food, shelter, clothing, dental, eye care, health needs not covered by public health). The undertaking survives divorce, separation, and bankruptcy. If your spouse claims social assistance during the 3 years, you must repay the government.
When you sponsor a spouse, you sign a 3-year undertaking. You agree to support your spouse's basic needs (food, shelter, clothing, dental, eye care, other health needs not covered by public health) for 3 years from the date they become a permanent resident.
If your spouse receives social assistance during that 3-year window, you must repay the government. The undertaking survives separation, divorce, and even your bankruptcy. The only way to end it is the death of the sponsored person or their loss of permanent resident status.
Quebec is different. Quebec runs its own sponsorship undertaking through a Sponsorship Agreement, with a longer term of 10 years for spouses.
What Is the 5-Year Sponsor Bar and Who Does It Apply To?
Short answer: If you became a permanent resident through spousal sponsorship, you cannot sponsor a new spouse for 5 years from the date you became a PR. This rule disrupts serial sponsorship for status. The bar is automatic. IRCC enforces it without exception, and applies even if you later divorce and remarry.
If you became a permanent resident through spousal sponsorship, you cannot sponsor a new spouse for 5 years from the date you became a permanent resident. This bar exists to disrupt serial sponsorship fraud where someone uses sponsorship to enter Canada, separates, and immediately sponsors a new partner.
The 5 years runs from your PR confirmation date, not your application date. There are no exceptions, including for genuine new relationships.
If you were sponsored as a spouse in 2024 and want to sponsor a new spouse in 2026, the answer is no. You will wait until 2029.
