Spousal sponsorship, explained
A Canadian citizen or permanent resident who lives in Canada can sponsor a husband or wife from India for permanent residence through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. A permanent resident living outside Canada cannot sponsor, and a citizen living outside Canada must show they plan to live in Canada when the sponsored spouse becomes a permanent resident. In most cases there is no income requirement to sponsor a spouse, unlike sponsoring parents or grandparents, though IRCC does apply one where the spouse being sponsored has a dependent child who has a dependent child of their own. What the sponsor commits to is an undertaking to provide for the spouse’s basic needs. Outside Quebec that undertaking runs three years from the day the spouse becomes a permanent resident. A sponsor in Quebec also signs an undertaking with the Government of Quebec, and Quebec sets its own length.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible, income requirement; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible, if you live in Quebec; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your parents and grandparents: Check if you’re eligible; Department of Justice Canada, Legislative Services Branch, Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227), section 132; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Length of undertaking. Jurisdiction: Canada and Canada (Quebec). Retrieved 6 September 2026.
The main decision is which class to apply under. The Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class is used when the spouse lives with the sponsor in Canada and holds valid temporary resident status. The Family Class is used when the spouse lives outside Canada, or lives in Canada but does not plan to stay while the application is processed, and those applications are processed outside Canada. Both applications are submitted together online through the Permanent Residence Portal. The choice has consequences for work, travel and appeal rights, which this guide explains. It is general information, not immigration advice, so confirm the current requirements, forms and processing times on the official IRCC pages before you apply.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent child – Complete Guide (IMM 5289); Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Appendix A, key definitions; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Choose the class of application; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: How to apply. Jurisdiction: Canada. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
The two IRCC application classes
Start with the words, because ours were out of date. Older guidance, including an earlier version of this page, called the two options inland and outland. IRCC does not use those words in its current instructions. Its two classes are the Family Class and the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class, and IRCC states that when you sponsor a spouse or common-law partner you must specify the class of application on the checklist you submit. The sponsor and the sponsored person also submit both applications together online using the Permanent Residence Portal, so nobody applies through a visa office. A visa office comes in later, when a permanent resident visa is issued to an applicant who is abroad.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent child – Complete Guide (IMM 5289); Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: How to apply. Jurisdiction: Canada. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
The Family Class is the route when the couple marries in India and the spouse is still there. IRCC states that these applications are processed outside Canada. If the application is refused, IRCC states that you will get an email or letter explaining the reasons and that it will inform you of your right to appeal the decision to the Immigration and Refugee Board. Because the spouse stays abroad for most of the process, plan around a real separation. Check the IRCC processing times page for the estimate that applies on the day you apply, and read IRCC’s own caution alongside it: your application may take longer than the times shown, and those times are not a maximum or a guarantee.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Choose the class of application; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Eligibility review; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Check current IRCC processing times. Jurisdiction: Canada. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
The Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class applies when the sponsored spouse lives with the sponsor in Canada and holds valid temporary resident status. IRCC defines the category in exactly those terms, so living with the sponsor is the test. Being in Canada with valid status is not enough, and that is a stricter test than the one this page used to publish. IRCC also warns that leaving Canada can automatically cancel temporary resident status as a visitor, student or worker, and that there is no guarantee the person will be allowed to re-enter, which bites hardest on a spouse who needs a visitor visa to come back.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Appendix A, key definitions; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Sponsoring your spouse or common-law partner who lives with you in Canada. Jurisdiction: Canada. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
Now the open work permit, where this page was wrong twice over. IRCC opens it to a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner living in Canada who is being sponsored for permanent residence, under the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class or under the Family Class, once IRCC has confirmed the permanent residence application is complete. So it is not tied to one class, as we used to say. We also used to say IRCC processes that permit in about 30 days. That figure is published by IRCC nowhere, and we have deleted it. IRCC’s own guide says the work permit will normally be processed within four months. Its data file for the in-Canada work permit extension stream read 113 days when we checked. Read the IRCC open work permit page and the IRCC processing times page for the value that applies to you rather than planning on a number from a guide.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Optional, open work permit in Canada; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Open work permits for spouses or common-law partners in Canada; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IRCC non-country processing times data (data-ptime-non-country-en.json); Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Check current IRCC processing times. Jurisdiction: Canada. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
One more correction, and it runs against what this page used to imply. IRCC publishes a separate estimate for each spousal stream in the data file behind its processing times tool. On the file dated 3 September 2026, the estimate for a spousal application from abroad outside Quebec was About 18 months, and the estimate from inside Canada outside Quebec was About 26 months. Quebec was longer again on both counts, About 33 months from abroad and About 32 months from inside Canada. So on the day we read it, the in-Canada route carried the longer wait, which reverses the ordering our old copy suggested. We are not printing the opposite ranking as a permanent claim either. IRCC republishes these figures regularly and they move, so read the current one on the IRCC processing times page, and hold IRCC’s caution in mind: the times shown are not a maximum or a guarantee.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IRCC forward-looking permanent residence processing times data (flpt-en.json); Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Check current IRCC processing times. Jurisdiction: Canada. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
Where we stop is refusals. IRCC tells a sponsor about the right to appeal a refusal to the Immigration and Refugee Board when it explains the eligibility review, and families reasonably ask whether that same route exists for a refusal under the in-Canada class, and what can be done instead if it does not.
Pending qualified review. Whether a particular refusal carries an appeal to the Immigration and Refugee Board, and what remedy applies to a refusal under the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class, is a legal conclusion about your own file. An immigration lawyer or a licensed Canadian immigration consultant should confirm it before you rely on it.
The undertaking and who can sponsor
The heart of spousal sponsorship is the undertaking, a formal promise by the sponsor to provide for the sponsored person’s basic needs. IRCC defines those as food, clothing, shelter and other needs for everyday living, plus dental care, eye care and other health needs that are not covered by public health services. That second half is a real cost and our old copy left it out. Outside Quebec the undertaking runs three years from the day the spouse becomes a permanent resident, which is where the regulations fix the end of it, and Quebec sets its own length. Once the spouse is a permanent resident, IRCC states there is no way to cancel or shorten the undertaking. In most cases there is no income test to sponsor a spouse, but IRCC applies one where the spouse being sponsored has a dependent child who has a dependent child of their own. IRCC also sets a long list of conditions on the sponsor, covering age, status in Canada, living in Canada, social assistance other than for a disability, undischarged bankruptcy, unpaid immigration loans, performance bonds and court-ordered support, certain criminal convictions, removal orders and bars arising from a previous sponsorship. IRCC states there may be other reasons as well, so read its list in full rather than a summary of it.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: What it means to be a sponsor; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: What it means to be a sponsor, the sponsorship agreement; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: What it means to be a sponsor, how long you have to support someone; Department of Justice Canada, Legislative Services Branch, Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227), section 132; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Length of undertaking; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible, income requirement; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible, who can’t sponsor. Jurisdiction: Canada and Canada (Quebec). Retrieved 6 September 2026.
The comparison with sponsoring parents or grandparents still holds, and it is worth stating precisely. For parents and grandparents IRCC requires the sponsor to show they have enough money to support the people they want to sponsor, which is the income test a spousal sponsor usually does not face. Note as well that IRCC has said it will not accept new interest to sponsor forms for parents and grandparents, or invite potential sponsors to apply, until further notice. So that programme is not a second option running in parallel with this one, and a family planning around it should check its status first.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your parents and grandparents: Check if you’re eligible; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your parents and grandparents. Jurisdiction: Canada. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
A few after-the-wedding points are worth planning for. Register the marriage in India, because IRCC asks a spousal sponsorship to include a valid marriage certificate or proof of registration, and states that the documents you submit must show the marriage was legally registered with the government where it took place. IRCC also states that a record of solemnization obtained in Canada, or a marriage licence, will not be accepted as proof that the sponsor and the applicant are married. For any document that is not in English or French, IRCC asks for a certified copy of the original, a translation, and an affidavit from the person who completed the translation unless that person is a Canadian certified translator.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Marriage certificates; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Marriage certificates, what will not be accepted; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Translation of documents. Jurisdiction: Canada. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
Two claims about registration are usually run together, and they should not be. In Seema versus Ashwani Kumar, decided on 14 February 2006, the Supreme Court of India held that marriages of Indian citizens of all religions should be made compulsorily registrable in the State where the marriage is solemnized. That is what the judgment decides, and it is why registration is the normal course in India. The same judgment then says that registration itself cannot be a proof of valid marriage per se and would not be the determinative factor regarding validity of a marriage, although it has great evidentiary value. This page used to cite that judgment for the claim that a registered certificate is the standard proof of a marriage for a Canadian sponsorship. The judgment does not say that, and it says close to the opposite, so we have taken it off that claim. What Canada accepts as proof is a separate question with a Canadian answer, and it is the IRCC requirement set out just above.
Source: Supreme Court of India, Smt. Seema v. Ashwani Kumar, Transfer Petition (civil) 291 of 2005, judgment of 14 February 2006; Supreme Court of India, Smt. Seema v. Ashwani Kumar, on the evidentiary value of registration. Jurisdiction: India. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
Families ask about apostilles, so here is the whole position rather than a hedge. India and Canada are both parties to the 1961 Hague Convention that abolishes the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents. The depositary records the Convention entering into force for India on 14 July 2005, and for Canada on 11 January 2024. The window for objecting to India’s accession closed on 15 May 2005, and Canada is not among the states that objected, so the Convention is in force between the two countries and an Indian apostille is recognised in Canada. Available and required are different claims, and we were publishing the second while sourcing the first. We searched the four IRCC documents that would have to impose such a step and none of them asks for an apostille, a legalisation or an attestation for a spousal sponsorship. So do not buy one on our word. Follow the IRCC checklist and any country-specific instructions for India, and get an apostille only if a body actually asks you for one.
Source: Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), the depositary, Status table, Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents; Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), the depositary, Status table, Convention of 5 October 1961, the Canada row; Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), depositary notification record, Notifications for India’s accession, Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. Jurisdiction: International treaty status. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
Separately, a spouse of foreign origin of an Indian citizen, or of an OCI cardholder registered under section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, may apply for an OCI card once the marriage has been registered and has subsisted for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the application. The Ministry of Home Affairs adds three things our pages used to leave out, and each of them adds time. Such a spouse is subject to prior security clearance by a competent authority in India. There is a mandatory personal interview for every application made on a spouse basis. And the first card issued on that basis is valid for five years rather than for life. If travel to India matters to you, plan the clearance and the interview into the calendar rather than treating the card as a formality.
Source: Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Online OCI Services, Online OCI Services: Eligibility; Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Online OCI Services, Online OCI Services: Frequently Asked Questions. Jurisdiction: India. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
Because immigration rules and timelines change, we treat this guide as an orientation rather than an answer. In our own matchmaking work we raise a partner’s immigration position early, in the first conversations rather than after a match, because it shapes a family’s calendar. We keep no fee and no processing figure of our own on this page, we name the authority behind each claim and the date we read it, and we point families to IRCC and to a licensed adviser for the parts that turn on their own file.
Evara describing its own practice. This is not a statement of law.
Practicalities worth planning for
The points NRI families to Canada ask about most, each with the authority it rests on. Open the linked page for the current position before you act.
In most cases there is no income requirement to sponsor a spouse or partner, unlike sponsoring parents or grandparents. IRCC applies one if the spouse being sponsored has a dependent child who has a dependent child of their own, and a sponsor in Quebec must meet Quebec conditions as well.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible, income requirement; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible, if you live in Quebec; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your parents and grandparents: Check if you’re eligible. Jurisdiction: Canada and Canada (Quebec). Retrieved 6 September 2026.
Outside Quebec the sponsor promises to provide for the spouse’s basic needs for three years from the day the spouse becomes a permanent resident. Once the spouse is a permanent resident, IRCC states there is no way to cancel or shorten it. Quebec sets its own length.
Source: Department of Justice Canada, Legislative Services Branch, Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227), section 132; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: What it means to be a sponsor; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: What it means to be a sponsor, how long you have to support someone; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Length of undertaking. Jurisdiction: Canada and Canada (Quebec). Retrieved 6 September 2026.
A spouse living in Canada with their sponsor can apply for an open work permit once IRCC confirms the permanent residence application is complete, under either class, which allows work while permanent residence is decided. IRCC states the permit will normally be processed within four months, and its own data file read 113 days for the relevant stream. Check the IRCC open work permit page for the current position.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Optional, open work permit in Canada; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Open work permits for spouses or common-law partners in Canada; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IRCC non-country processing times data (data-ptime-non-country-en.json). Jurisdiction: Canada. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
A Family Class application is processed outside Canada, and IRCC states that on a refusal it will inform the sponsor of the right to appeal to the Immigration and Refugee Board. IRCC republishes its processing estimate for this stream regularly, so check the IRCC processing times page.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Choose the class of application; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Eligibility review; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Check current IRCC processing times. Jurisdiction: Canada. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
IRCC sets a long list of conditions on the sponsor, covering age, status in Canada, living in Canada, social assistance other than for a disability, undischarged bankruptcy, unpaid loans and support orders, certain criminal convictions, removal orders and previous sponsorships. IRCC states there may be other reasons as well, so check the IRCC list rather than a summary.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible, who can’t sponsor. Jurisdiction: Canada. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
Register the marriage in India. IRCC requires a valid marriage certificate or proof of registration showing the marriage was legally registered where it took place. A spouse of foreign origin may apply for an OCI card once the marriage has been registered and subsisted for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the application, subject to prior security clearance in India and a personal interview.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Marriage certificates; Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Online OCI Services, Online OCI Services: Eligibility; Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Online OCI Services, Online OCI Services: Frequently Asked Questions. Jurisdiction: Canada and India. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
IRCC has the sponsor and the sponsored person submit both applications together online using the Permanent Residence Portal, and the sponsor names the class of application on the checklist. Nobody applies through a visa office, and IRCC no longer uses the words inland and outland.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: How to apply; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent child – Complete Guide (IMM 5289). Jurisdiction: Canada. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
IRCC publishes a current estimate for each spousal stream and updates it regularly, and it states that an application may take longer than the times shown and that those times are not a maximum or a guarantee. On the file dated 3 September 2026 the in-Canada estimate was the longer of the two. Read the live figure on the IRCC page instead of any number a guide quotes.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Check current IRCC processing times; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IRCC forward-looking permanent residence processing times data (flpt-en.json). Jurisdiction: Canada. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
Related pages
Matchmaking for NRI families and companion guides:
India to Canada FAQs
Is there a minimum income to sponsor a spouse to Canada?+
In most cases, no. IRCC states there is no income requirement to sponsor a spouse, partner or dependent child in most cases, unlike sponsoring parents or grandparents, where the sponsor must show they have enough money to support the people they want to sponsor. IRCC does apply an income requirement if the spouse or partner being sponsored has a dependent child who has one or more dependent children of their own. A sponsor in Quebec must also meet Quebec conditions and sign an undertaking with the Government of Quebec. What the sponsor commits to instead is the undertaking, which runs three years from the day the spouse becomes a permanent resident everywhere outside Quebec, plus a set of eligibility conditions that IRCC lists in full on its own page and states is not exhaustive.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible, income requirement; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible, if you live in Quebec; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your parents and grandparents: Check if you’re eligible; Department of Justice Canada, Legislative Services Branch, Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227), section 132; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Length of undertaking; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible, who can’t sponsor. Jurisdiction: Canada and Canada (Quebec). Retrieved 6 September 2026.
What is the difference between the two spousal sponsorship classes?+
IRCC uses two classes, and it no longer uses the words inland and outland. The Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class applies when the spouse lives with the sponsor in Canada and holds valid temporary resident status. The Family Class applies when the spouse lives outside Canada, or lives in Canada but does not plan to stay while the application is processed, and those applications are processed outside Canada. Both are submitted together online through the Permanent Residence Portal, so nobody applies through a visa office. Two differences matter in practice. IRCC states that on a refusal it will inform the sponsor of the right to appeal the decision to the Immigration and Refugee Board. And IRCC warns that a spouse who leaves Canada during an in-Canada application can have their temporary resident status cancelled, with no guarantee of re-entry. A spouse living in Canada with their sponsor can apply for an open work permit under either class once IRCC confirms the permanent residence application is complete.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent child – Complete Guide (IMM 5289); Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Appendix A, key definitions; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Choose the class of application; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Eligibility review; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Sponsoring your spouse or common-law partner who lives with you in Canada; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: How to apply; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Optional, open work permit in Canada. Jurisdiction: Canada. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
How long does Canada spousal sponsorship take?+
IRCC publishes a separate current estimate for each spousal sponsorship stream, split by whether the spouse is in Canada or abroad and by whether the sponsor is in Quebec, and it updates those estimates regularly. We deliberately do not print a number of our own here, because any number we print will be out of date before you read it. This page used to say about twelve months for an application from abroad and about thirty days for the open work permit. Neither was IRCC’s published figure and both have been deleted. Check the IRCC processing times page for the figure that applies on the day you apply. IRCC also states that an application may take longer than the times shown and that those times are not a maximum or a guarantee.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Check current IRCC processing times; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IRCC forward-looking permanent residence processing times data (flpt-en.json); Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Open work permits for spouses or common-law partners in Canada; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IRCC non-country processing times data (data-ptime-non-country-en.json). Jurisdiction: Canada. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
Which class is decided sooner, from inside Canada or from abroad?+
It changes, so read the current figure rather than a rule of thumb. On the IRCC data file dated 3 September 2026, the published estimate for a spousal application from abroad outside Quebec was About 18 months, and from inside Canada outside Quebec it was About 26 months, with Quebec longer again on both counts. On that day the in-Canada wait was the longer one, which is the reverse of what this page used to imply. We are not stating the new ordering as a permanent fact either, because IRCC republishes these estimates regularly. IRCC also states that an application may take longer than the times shown and that those times are not a maximum or a guarantee, and it publishes no country-specific estimate for spousal sponsorship at all.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IRCC forward-looking permanent residence processing times data (flpt-en.json); Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Check current IRCC processing times. Jurisdiction: Canada. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
What is the undertaking, and how long does it last?+
It is a formal promise by the sponsor to provide for the sponsored person’s basic needs. IRCC defines those as food, clothing, shelter and other needs for everyday living, plus dental care, eye care and other health needs that are not covered by public health services. Outside Quebec it runs three years from the day the spouse becomes a permanent resident, which is also where the regulations fix the end of it, and Quebec sets its own length. Once the spouse is a permanent resident, IRCC states there is no way to cancel or shorten the undertaking, and it stays in force even if the relationship ends, the spouse becomes a Canadian citizen, either of you moves, or the sponsor runs into financial trouble.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: What it means to be a sponsor; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: What it means to be a sponsor, the sponsorship agreement; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: What it means to be a sponsor, how long you have to support someone; Department of Justice Canada, Legislative Services Branch, Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227), section 132; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Length of undertaking. Jurisdiction: Canada and Canada (Quebec). Retrieved 6 September 2026.
Do we register the marriage in India, and can my spouse get OCI?+
Yes, register it. IRCC requires a valid marriage certificate or proof of registration showing the marriage was legally registered with the government where it took place, and it will not accept a record of solemnization obtained in Canada or a marriage licence instead. For a document that is not in English or French, IRCC asks for a certified copy of the original, an English or French translation, and an affidavit from the translator unless the translator is certified in Canada. Separately, a spouse of foreign origin of an Indian citizen or of an OCI cardholder may apply for an OCI card once the marriage has been registered and has subsisted for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the application. The Ministry of Home Affairs requires prior security clearance by a competent authority in India and a personal interview for a spouse-basis application, and the first card issued on that basis is valid for five years.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Marriage certificates; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Marriage certificates, what will not be accepted; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Translation of documents; Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Online OCI Services, Online OCI Services: Eligibility; Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Online OCI Services, Online OCI Services: Frequently Asked Questions. Jurisdiction: Canada and India. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
Does our marriage certificate need an apostille for IRCC?+
Not on our word, and we used to imply otherwise by telling families to keep any required authentication ready. India and Canada are both parties to the 1961 Hague Convention on legalisation of foreign public documents, which entered into force for India on 14 July 2005 and for Canada on 11 January 2024, and Canada did not object to India’s accession, so an Indian apostille is recognised in Canada. That an apostille is available is a different claim from IRCC requiring one. We searched the four IRCC documents that would carry such a requirement and none of them asks for an apostille, a legalisation or an attestation. What IRCC asks for is a certified copy of the original, a translation, and a translator affidavit unless the translator is certified in Canada. Get an apostille only if a particular body asks you for one.
Source: Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), the depositary, Status table, Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents; Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), the depositary, Status table, Convention of 5 October 1961, the Canada row; Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), depositary notification record, Notifications for India’s accession, Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Translation of documents. Jurisdiction: International treaty status and Canada. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
Does the Supreme Court judgment on marriage registration prove our marriage to IRCC?+
No, and this page used to suggest it did. In Seema versus Ashwani Kumar, decided on 14 February 2006, the Supreme Court of India held that marriages of Indian citizens of all religions should be made compulsorily registrable in the State where the marriage is solemnized. The same judgment states that registration itself cannot be a proof of valid marriage per se and would not be the determinative factor regarding validity of a marriage, although it has great evidentiary value. So the judgment supports compulsory registration in India and not a claim about Canadian sponsorship evidence. What IRCC accepts is set by IRCC: a valid marriage certificate or proof of registration showing the marriage was legally registered with the government where it took place.
Source: Supreme Court of India, Smt. Seema v. Ashwani Kumar, Transfer Petition (civil) 291 of 2005, judgment of 14 February 2006; Supreme Court of India, Smt. Seema v. Ashwani Kumar, on the evidentiary value of registration; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Marriage certificates. Jurisdiction: India and Canada. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
Sources, with the date we read them
Every claim above points to one of these. Each entry names the authority, the country whose rule it is, the date we last read it, and the sentence we actually read. Two entries are the IRCC JSON data files that populate its processing times tool, because canada.ca injects those figures with client-side JavaScript and a plain fetch of the tool shows an error in their place.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child
What it says: This is a program to sponsor your spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent child to become a permanent resident of Canada.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible
What it says: In most cases, there isn’t an income requirement to sponsor your spouse, partner or dependent child.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible, income requirement
What it says: you’re sponsoring a spouse or partner that has a dependent child, and their dependent child has 1 or more dependent children of their own
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible, if you live in Quebec
What it says: You must also sign an undertaking with the Government of Quebec.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible, who can’t sponsor
What it says: There may be other reasons that make you ineligible to sponsor your spouse, partner or child.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: What it means to be a sponsor
What it says: The undertaking period begins once the people you’re sponsoring become permanent residents. Its length depends on who you’re sponsoring.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: What it means to be a sponsor, the sponsorship agreement
What it says: dental care, eye care and other health needs that aren’t covered by public health services
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: What it means to be a sponsor, how long you have to support someone
What it says: there is no way to cancel or shorten the undertaking period
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Department of Justice Canada, Legislative Services Branch, Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227), section 132
What it says: if the foreign national is the sponsor’s spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner, on the last day of the period of three years following the day on which the foreign national becomes a permanent resident
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent child – Complete Guide (IMM 5289)
What it says: When you sponsor a spouse or common-law partner, you must specify the “Class of Application” on the checklist you’ll submit.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Choose the class of application
What it says: These applications are processed outside Canada.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Appendix A, key definitions
What it says: This immigration category allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their spouses or common-law partners who live with them in Canada and have temporary resident status.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Open work permits for spouses or common-law partners in Canada
What it says: If you’re applying under the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada class and you’ve submitted an application for an open work permit, your work permit will normally be processed within four months.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Eligibility review
What it says: you’ll get an email or letter explaining the reasons for the refusal and we’ll inform you of your right to appeal the decision to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB)
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Sponsoring your spouse or common-law partner who lives with you in Canada
What it says: Leaving Canada can automatically cancel temporary resident status as a visitor, student or worker.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Marriage certificates
What it says: The document(s) you submit must show that the marriage was legally registered with the government where it took place.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Marriage certificates, what will not be accepted
What it says: A record of solemnization (obtained in Canada) or marriage license will not be accepted as proof that the sponsor and applicant are married.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Translation of documents
What it says: If the translation isn’t done by a Canadian certified translator, the person who completed the translation must provide an affidavit swearing to their language proficiency and the accuracy of the translation.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IMM 5289 Complete Guide: Length of undertaking
What it says: The length of undertaking for residents of Quebec is different from the length of undertaking for the rest of Canada.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: How to apply
What it says: will submit both applications together online using the Permanent Residence (PR) Portal.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Optional, open work permit in Canada
What it says: a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner living in Canada who’s being sponsored for permanent residence
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Check current IRCC processing times
What it says: Your application may take longer than the times shown here. They’re not a maximum or a guarantee.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IRCC forward-looking permanent residence processing times data (flpt-en.json)
What it says: About 18 months
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IRCC non-country processing times data (data-ptime-non-country-en.json)
What it says: 113 days
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your parents and grandparents: Check if you’re eligible
What it says: you have enough money to support the people you want to sponsor
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Sponsor your parents and grandparents
What it says: We will not accept new interest to sponsor forms or invite potential sponsors to apply until further notice.
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Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Online OCI Services, Online OCI Services: Eligibility
What it says: spouse of foreign origin of a citizen of India or spouse of foreign origin of an Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder registered under section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and whose marriage has been registered and subsisted for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of the application. Such spouse shall be subjected to prior security clearance by a competent authority in India.
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Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Online OCI Services, Online OCI Services: Frequently Asked Questions
What it says: There will be a mandatory verification step of personal interview of all OCI applicants who apply for registration as an OCI Cardholder under section 7A(1)(d) of The Citizenship Act, 1955 (i.e. spouse basis).
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Supreme Court of India, Smt. Seema v. Ashwani Kumar, Transfer Petition (civil) 291 of 2005, judgment of 14 February 2006
What it says: Accordingly, we are of the view that marriages of all persons who are citizens of India belonging to various religions should be made compulsorily registrable in their respective States, where the marriage is solemnized.
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Supreme Court of India, Smt. Seema v. Ashwani Kumar, on the evidentiary value of registration
What it says: Though, the registration itself cannot be a proof of valid marriage per se, and would not be the determinative factor regarding validity of a marriage, yet it has a great evidentiary value
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Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), the depositary, Status table, Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents
What it says: India row, EIF column: 14-VII-2005
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Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), the depositary, Status table, Convention of 5 October 1961, the Canada row
What it says: Canada row, EIF column: 11-I-2024
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Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), depositary notification record, Notifications for India’s accession, Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents
What it says: raised an objection to the accession within the period of six months specified in Article 12, paragraph 2, and expiring on 15 May 2005.
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