How to Sponsor My Common Law Partner

Canada offers one of the most comprehensive immigration systems in the world and offers a variety of ways that you can come to Canada to visit, work, remain or be reunited with your loved ones.

One such category of Canadian Immigration is the Sponsorship Category. With this program, eligible Canadians or Permanent Residents who wish to be reunited with their spouse, common law or conjugal partners may sponsor them to obtain Permanent Resident Status in Canada.

Sponsorship is one of the cornerstones of the Canadian Immigration system with facilitates you, as the “sponsor”, sponsor your loved one, the “applicant”. Though spousal, common law and conjugal sponsorship applications all have overlapping criteria when it comes to qualifying as a sponsor and demonstrating the genuineness of a relationship; there are also other unique criteria that exist apart from each of the three types.

When it comes to Common Law Sponsorship or sponsoring your Common Law Partner in Canada or abroad, you must first meet the following criteria.

In order to qualify as a sponsor, you must:

• Be a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Agree in writing to give financial support to your relatives for a duration of time, three years for a Common Law Partner

You may not be eligible if you:

• – did not meet the terms of a sponsorship agreement in the past,
• – did not pay alimony or child support even though a court ordered it,
• – get government financial help for reasons other than being disabled,
• – Where convicted of an offense and depending on those details
• – Were sponsored by a spouse or common law partner in the past and obtained your status based on this application in the last five years

Should you qualify as a sponsor and meet the criteria above, when sponsoring your common law partner, you will also need to demonstrate that your relationship is a genuine common law relationship as per the definition of one according to Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

A common Law relationship refers to a person who is living in a conjugal relationship with another person (opposite or same sex), and has done so continuously for a period of at least one year. Further, you will also have to sign and have notarized a Declaration of Common Law Union.