Spouse

Family reunification is a core pillar in Canada’s immigration strategy and a new measure by Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) aims to make it possible for more families to be together.

IRCC will increase certain permanent residence (PR) fees on April 30, 2024. The adjustments affect fees for various PR categories from April 2024 to March 2026. Below is a summary table of the new fees:

Spouses, Common-Law, and Conjugal Partners

Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has put into practice new procedures intended to accelerate family reunification, ensuring that dependants and spouses who may not otherwise be eligible to come to Canada, now have a pathway to reunite with their families.

The new measures include:

Any proof of funds letter must:

Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) now has a processing time of 30 days for Temporary Resident Visas (TRVs) for spousal applicants. 

Immigration minister Sean Fraser said that temporarily extending work permits to family members of principal applicants in the temporary foreign worker program (TFWP) and International Mobility Program (IMP). This measure will help Canada combat chronic labour shortages

During the processing of a family class sponsorship application, some sponsored spouses, partners, and their dependent children, will come to Canada as temporary residents to be with their sponsor. Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced at the end of May a temporary public policy allowing these individuals to work in Canada while their application is being processed.

In a significant policy update from May 2023, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) introduced a provision allowing spouses, common-law, and conjugal partners of Canadian citizens or permanent residents to obtain an open work permit while their sponsorship application for permanent residence is being processed. This facilitates the sponsored individuals to work for nearly any employer in Canada, enabling them to be financially self-sufficient during the immigration process.

There are an estimated 1.57 million international students, between Canada and the United States (U.S.), with tens of thousands more set to enter North America annually, in pursuit of higher education.

When you include a spouse or common-law partner in your Canadian immigration application, it can adjust your CRS score in a couple of ways. For personal attributes like age and education, you might get a few less points if you apply with a partner. For instance, solo applicants in their twenties score a bit higher for age than those applying with a partner. However, there's a silver lining: your partner's own education and language abilities can add extra points to your total score.

So while you might lose some points for your individual qualifications when applying with a spouse, you can gain points for your partner's skills and experience. The system is designed to balance out, with or without a spouse, allowing a total of up to 500 points.

If your partner is already a Canadian citizen or resident, though, your application would be assessed as if you're applying alone, potentially giving you a higher score in the personal factors. Overall, the key takeaway is that a partner's credentials can complement yours, which might just be the boost your application needs.

If you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and are married or in a relationship with a foreign national, you may sponsor that person to join you in Canada and become a permanent resident.