Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor a common-law partner or conjugal partner for permanent residence — marriage is not required.
Two Paths for Unmarried Partners
Canada’s Family Class immigration program recognizes two types of unmarried partnerships for the purposes of sponsorship.
Common-law Partner: You have lived together continuously in a conjugal relationship for at least one year. Your partner may be in Canada or abroad.
Conjugal Partner: You have been in an exclusive, committed relationship for at least one year, but were prevented from marrying or living together by circumstances beyond your control — typically immigration barriers or the laws of your country.
Common-law Partner Sponsorship
What Is a Common-law Relationship?
Under Canadian immigration law, a common-law relationship exists from the day two people have lived together in a conjugal relationship for at least one continuous year. There is no registration or certificate — the relationship is established by the facts of the case. The common-law partner being sponsored must be at least 18 years of age. Both opposite-sex and same-sex relationships are eligible.
Proving a Common-law Relationship:
Because there is no marriage certificate to rely on, you must demonstrate your shared life through documentary evidence. The following types of documents can be used as proof:
- Joint bank accounts or joint credit cards
- Joint ownership of residential property
- Joint residential lease or rental agreement
- Joint rental receipts
- Joint utility accounts (electricity, gas, internet, telephone) in both names
- Joint management of household expenses
- Evidence of joint purchases of major household items
- Important documents for both parties showing the same address (driver’s licences, insurance policies, government correspondence, etc.)
- Evidence of children of one or both partners residing with the couple
Inland vs. Outland for Common-law Partners:
Two ways to sponsor your common-law partner in Canada — pick the best fit for your situation.
Inland sponsorship: Use this route if your partner already lives in Canada, no matter their current immigration status. Even if they’re out of status, they may still apply for permanent residence from inside Canada under the in-Canada spouse/common-law category. Note: “lack of status” doesn’t cover other serious issues like prior deportation, or entry with fraudulent or improperly obtained travel documents, or having used documents for misrepresentation — those can make someone inadmissible. If your case is complex, it’s strongly advised you consult an experienced immigration lawyer or consultant.
You can still opt for outland even when your partner is in Canada in certain cases — for example, if they must travel frequently during processing or you want to preserve the right to appeal a refusal.
Outland sponsorship: Choose this when you and your partner live abroad and will apply for a PR visa through a Canadian visa office overseas. If an outland application is refused, you can appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) within 30 days of the refusal letter — an appeal route not available for inland refusals (those typically need to be challenged in Federal Court within 15 days).
One more important point: regardless of which sponsorship stream you pick, if your common-law partner is in Canada with a valid temporary status (visitor, student, or work permit), they can apply for a Spousal Open Work Permit once IRCC has officially received your sponsorship application. That permit lets them work legally in Canada while the sponsorship is being processed.
Need help deciding? Talk to a qualified immigration professional before you apply.
Conjugal Partner Sponsorship
What Is a Conjugal Partner?
A conjugal partner is a foreign national living outside Canada who has been in a committed, exclusive, marriage-like relationship with a Canadian sponsor for at least one year, but who has been prevented from marrying or living together by immigration barriers, marital status, or sexual orientation combined with the laws or customs of their home country.
Note: This is a category of last resort. If you and your partner could marry or move in together but simply chose not to, you do not qualify as conjugal partners. Geographic distance alone is also not an acceptable reason. You must demonstrate a genuine legal or societal barrier.
Who Qualifies as a Conjugal Partner?
Common qualifying situations include:
- Sexual orientation barriers: Your relationship is same-sex and your home country does not legally recognize or permit same-sex relationships, making it impossible to marry or cohabit openly.
- Marital status barriers: One partner is technically still married to a previous spouse but separation is complete, and divorce is legally forbidden or practically impossible in their country of residence.
- Immigration barriers: Your partner has been unable to leave their country (e.g., government restrictions on travel, inability to obtain a visa to visit Canada despite genuine attempts).
What IRCC Looks For in a Conjugal Application:
- Length of the relationship and how long you have known each other — must have existed for at least one year.
- Time spent together — evidence of visits, including airline tickets, visa stamps, hotel records, and entry and exit records.
- The reason you could not marry or live together — immigration denials, visa refusals, legal restrictions, and comparable evidence of an objective barrier are key.
- How you maintained the relationship at a distance — call logs, message history, emails, letters, financial transfers, and other evidence of ongoing communication and mutual support.
- The exclusive and committed nature of the relationship.
Note: The conjugal partner category does not apply to couples living in Canada. If your partner is already in Canada and you have been together for a year or more, the appropriate category is common-law partnership (if you have lived together) or you should consider marrying. There is no fiancé(e) category in Canadian immigration.
Who Can Be a Sponsor?
You must:
- Be at least 18 years old.
- Be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident living in Canada, or a registered Indian under the Indian Act.
- If you are a Canadian citizen living outside Canada, demonstrate that you intend to live in Canada when your partner becomes a permanent resident.
- Permanent residents living abroad cannot sponsor a partner.
- Agree to financially support your partner for three years from the date they become a permanent resident.
Circumstances That Bar You from Sponsoring:
- You are receiving social assistance for reasons other than a disability.
- You have declared bankruptcy and have not been discharged.
- You are currently in prison.
- You have been convicted of a sexual offence, violent crime, assault against a family member, or any offence punishable by a maximum sentence of 10 or more years.
- You have failed to pay court-ordered alimony or child support.
- You failed to fulfil a previous sponsorship undertaking.
- You were sponsored as a spouse, common-law, or conjugal partner yourself, and became a permanent resident of Canada less than five years ago.
- You already have a sponsorship application in progress that has not been finalized.
- You have outstanding immigration loans or a history of missed payments on one.
How to Apply
- Determine whether your situation is inland or outland, and obtain the appropriate document checklist from IRCC’s website (guide IMM 5525).
- Complete all required forms. Validate all forms online that require it before printing and signing.
- Assemble your relationship evidence — build the strongest, most varied evidence package you can.
- Have all documents not in English or French translated by a certified translator accompanied by a sworn affidavit.
- Pay the required fees.
- Submit the application. Optionally link your application to an online IRCC account to track its progress.
- Your partner may be required to complete a medical examination and/or attend a visa interview.
- Once approved, your partner arrives at a Canadian port of entry and is landed as a permanent resident.
Required Forms
Sponsor completes and signs:
- Application to Sponsor, Sponsorship Agreement and Undertaking [IMM 1344]
- Sponsorship Evaluation and Relationship Questionnaire [IMM 5532]
- Use of a Representative [IMM 5476] — only if using a representative
Partner being sponsored completes and signs:
- Application to Sponsor, Sponsorship Agreement and Undertaking [IMM 1344] — must be validated online
- Generic Application Form for Canada [IMM 0008] — must be validated online
- Additional Dependants/Declaration [IMM 0008DEP] — only if more than five children
- Schedule A – Background/Declaration [IMM 5669] — must be validated online; each dependent child must complete their own copy
- Additional Family Information [IMM 5406]
- Sponsorship Evaluation and Relationship Questionnaire [IMM 5532]
- Use of a Representative [IMM 5476] — if the sponsored partner wants all correspondence directed to the sponsor in Canada
Required Documents
Sponsored Partner Must Provide (photocopies):
- Valid passport
- Proof of legal immigration status in Canada (inland applications only)
- Birth certificate
- Additional national identity documents
- Proof of common-law status or conjugal relationship
- Divorce decree or annulment certificate for any previous marriages of either party
- Police certificate for country of current residence and any country where the partner spent six or more months since age 18
- Proof of military service, if applicable
- Two passport-sized photos meeting IRCC specifications
Additional Relationship Evidence:
- Photos of time spent together, travel, and significant events
- Airline tickets, hotel receipts, visa stamps documenting visits
- Letters, emails, messaging records, and call logs showing ongoing communication
- Evidence of financial support or transfers between partners
- For conjugal cases: visa refusals, government restrictions, or legal documents demonstrating the barrier to marriage or cohabitation
- Testimonial letters from family, friends, or community members who know the couple
- A joint relationship letter written by both partners
Application Fees
Sponsorship fee: $90 Principal applicant processing fee: $570 Right of Permanent Residence fee: $600 Total for spouse: $1,260 Each dependent child (processing fee): $180 Dependent child over 22 (overage processing): $570. Biometrics fee per individual: $85. Biometrics fee per family of 2 or more people: $170.
Fees are set by IRCC and may change. Confirm current amounts at canada.ca before submitting.
Your Obligations as a Sponsor
By signing the sponsorship undertaking, you commit to providing for your partner’s basic needs — food, clothing, shelter, and necessities — for three years from the date they become a permanent resident. This obligation continues even if your relationship ends during that period.
Undertaking lengths:
- Spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner: 3 years from the date they become a permanent resident
- Dependent child over 22 years old: 3 years from the date they become a permanent resident
- Dependent child under 22 years old: 10 years, or until the child turns 25 — whichever comes first
Your own spouse or common-law partner may co-sign the undertaking to help meet income thresholds. Other family members cannot act as co-signers.
Processing Time
IRCC targets a processing time of approximately 12 months for partner sponsorship applications. Actual times vary based on the visa office, country of origin, and the complexity of the case.
What If the Application Is Refused?
Common reasons for delay or refusal include:
- Insufficient evidence of a genuine relationship
- Inability to demonstrate the required one year of cohabitation (common-law) or the qualifying barrier (conjugal)
- Criminal, medical, or security inadmissibility
- Misrepresentation or inconsistencies in the application
- Incomplete documentation
Appeal Options:
- Outland application refused: You may appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) within 30 days of receiving the refusal letter.
- Inland application refused: You may apply for leave and judicial review at the Federal Court within 15 days of receiving the refusal letter.
