Immigration Law: Spousal and Common Law Sponsorships

Canada welcomes thousands of newcomers in the spousal and common-law partner sponsorship category every year, yet this Canadian permanent residence application category garners little public attention – this is probably due to the lack of controversial issues about it. As Victoria, BC immigration lawyer Robbie Sheffman observes:

Generally speaking, spousal and common-law partner sponsorship applications rest on three main pillars:  the eligibility of the sponsor to sponsor; the existence and genuineness of the marriage or common-law relationship; and the admissibility of the foreign national applicant for Canadian permanent residence status (that is, medical and security clearances). Despite the lack of public attention and controversy, there are many important decisions which need to be made and factors to be taken into consideration when planning or making a Canadian permanent residence application in this category, such as:

• Whether to use the “Inside Canada” or “Outside Canada” process
• The timing of the medical examination
• How to prove the existence and genuineness of the relationship
• How to demonstrate the intention to return to Canada by a Canadian citizen sponsor residing outside Canada
• Issues pertaining to children, and
• Importation of personal belongings to Canada.

Robbie also notes that the above list is intended to illustrate only some of the issues and it is by no means exhaustive.

Because family reunification is an important objective of Canadian immigration legislation, in keeping with that objective, Citizenship and Immigration Canada processes these applications on a priority basis.  Robbie Sheffman regularly deals with spousal and common law sponsorships. If you would like more information or think Robbie may be able to help you visit his website (www.immigrationlawbc.com) or call his office at 250.590.2951 to make an appointment.