Basics of Conjugal Sponsorship

Conjugal Sponsorship in Canada

If you would like to reunite with your Conjugal partner in Canada, then it is best to understand what a Conjugal sponsorship entails before attempting to submit your application. If you are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada, you may be eligible to sponsor your Conjugal partner to Canada for permanent residency. Much like any other immigration application, in order to qualify for a conjugal sponsorship, there are specific eligibility requirements that must be met by the sponsor as well as the sponsored Conjugal partner. Therefore, in this article, I will address the most important information you should know about Conjugal sponsorships in Canada.

What is a Conjugal Sponsorship

According to Canadian Immigration, a Conjugal partnership is defined as an individual who has been in a marriage-like commitment with a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada for a minimum of one year but who currently lives outside of Canada. Additionally, they are unable to live with their partner due to special circumstances. These special circumstances often include separation due to war, persecution and/or other legal barriers that prevent these partners from living together. It is important to note that the Canadian government also recognizes opposite-sex relationships as well as same-sex relationships under the conjugal sponsorship category.

The conjugal sponsorship category is an exception category of the family class sponsorship category in Canadian immigration. These conjugal partners often cannot marry each other because of special circumstances, as previously mentioned. These special circumstances are completely out of their control and ultimately make it exceptionally difficult to live together. Additionally, these circumstances are must be ongoing for a minimum of one year in order to qualify as a conjugal partnership.

Who Can Sponsor their Conjugal Partner

This is the most important aspect of the Conjugal sponsorship. You must ensure that the sponsor is eligible to sponsor their Conjugal partner prior to applying for a Conjugal sponsorship. Canadian immigration analyzes whether the Conjugal partner is eligible to sponsor by examining whether the sponsor is financially capable of supporting the sponsored Conjugal partner for the length of the undertaking which is 3 years. The reason why the Canadian government specifically looks for this in Conjugal sponsorships is to ensure that the sponsored Conjugal partner will not receive any social assistance while residing in Canada. In order to sponsor your Conjugal partner to Canada, the sponsor must abide by the following eligibility requirements.

The sponsor:

• Must be at least 18 years old
• Must be either a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada or a Registered Indian
• Must reside in Canada or intend on residing in Canada, should the Conjugal partner obtain permanent residency
• Must provide sufficient evidence that they have not received social assistance from the Canadian government previously (with the exception of disability)
• Must prove that they have sufficient funds to provide basic necessities for their Conjugal partner and any dependent children
• Sign an undertaking with the Conjugal partner

How to Qualify for Conjugal Partnership

Before applying for a Conjugal sponsorship, it is very important to determine whether your Conjugal partnership qualifies as such in the eyes of Canadian Immigration. It is important that all of the eligibility requirements be met in order to successfully qualify as a Conjugal partnership. Therefore, in order to qualify for Conjugal partnership, both partners must:

• Prove the ongoing and genuine relationship between the conjugal partners for a minimum of one year
• Must have as many combined affairs together while considering the distance
• Must show that cohabitation was not possible due to circumstances out of the control of both conjugal partners

If both partners meet the above eligibility requirements then the relationship qualifies as a Conjugal partnership. Additionally, in order to prove that the relationship is real and genuine, there are specific supporting documents that Canadian Immigration requests as well.

How to Prove the Genuineness of the Conjugal Partnership

Compared to spousal sponsorships where the couple is officially married, Conjugal partnerships are a lot harder to prove to Canadian Immigration, especially with regards to their relationship and its genuineness. This is especially the case because of the distance between the partners as well. In order to have a successful application, it is essential that both Conjugal partners provide supporting documentation beyond what is normally expected in order for Canadian Immigration to adequately recognize the relationship. Therefore, there are several supporting evidence that both Conjugal partners can provide in order to validate their partnership, such as:

• Family memberships, insurance, medical plans
• Copies of joint assets

• Photos of any travels taken together from different times and different places
• Correspondence between the conjugal partners, including phone and e-mail records, Facebook chats, Whatsapp chats and phone calls, etc.
• Affidavits attesting to the relationship
• Travel tickets and receipts, including airline tickets and travel itineraries
• Receipts and/or photos of any gifts given to one another, including Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, etc.
• Reference letters from family and friends attesting to the relationship
• A written statement from the conjugal partners explaining the progression of the relationship and the circumstances preventing them from living together

Of course, please note that these are not the only documents that you can provide. As previously mentioned, it is extremely important for Conjugal partnerships to adequately prove their relationship, especially because they are not officially married and have special circumstances preventing them from living together. If you have any additional information that you think would support your conjugal sponsorship application, it is highly suggested to present this to Immigration as it can truly help your application. Additionally, if there are any documents that need further explanation, you can also provide an explanation letter for the Immigration officer to better understand the documents.

Contact Akrami & Associates

It is essential that you have met all of the aforementioned requirements before you attempt to apply for a Conjugal sponsorship. This is especially the case if you do not know whether the sponsor is eligible to sponsor the Conjugal partner or if you are unsure of how to prove your conjugal partnership. Conjugal Sponsorship applications are difficult applications to pursue on your own and it is highly recommended that you seek out professional and experienced help before attempting to submit the application. Here, at Akrami & Associates, we work and have experience with many different immigration issues. We have helped many of our clients obtain permanent residency in Canada through the Conjugal sponsorship. If you believe that you may be eligible to sponsor your Conjugal partner, please feel free to contact Akrami & Associates at our office at 416-477-2545 for more information or if you would like to book a consultation with an immigration professional for more advice.

With Akrami & Associates, there is always a way!