Sponsorship Applications Frequently Asked Questions

Can my spouse or Common Law Partner work in Canada?

This depends on a number of varying factors and the answer is simply not a yes or no. If your sponsored Common Law Partner wants to work in Canada, they must apply for their own work permit. Normally, they must meet the same requirements that you do.

In most cases, your spouse or Common Law Partner must apply for work permit for a specific job. The employer may have to get a Labour Market Opinion from human resources and skills development Canada and a formal application will need to be made.

However, your sponsored Common Law Partner may be able to apply for what is known as an open work permit, based on your status in Canada and what the type of application submitted, which would allow them to exert any job with any employer in Canada.

If your spouse or common-law partners able to obtain an Open Work Permit based on your status in Canada, it is typically valid for as long as your status is in Canada. Please note, for the inland Spousal Sponsorship applications, if the applicant as qualify for first need approval they are considered eligible to apply for an Open Work Permit as well.

Who can apply for an open work permit?

To be eligible for an open work permits you must be one of the following criteria:

You already working Canada and your application for permanent residence has been approved under various categories
Your spouse as a skilled worker in occupation under the national occupation classification skilled level A, B or 0
You are in Canada under Federal provincial territorial immigration agreement
You are fulltime student enrolled at an eligible publicly funded post-secondary educational institution
You have a Temporary Resident Permit valid for at least six months
You are participating in the Canada world youth program more international experience Canada
You file the claim to refugee protection in Canada and you’re waiting for the refugee protection division to make a decision
Your family member of a foreign worker in Canada
Your PR application has been approved “in principle”
Your professional athlete allowed to enter Canada a need to do other work to support yourself while playing for a Canadian team

Can I speed up my sponsorship application?

Unfortunately no, processing times are completely at the discretion of citizenship and immigration Canada and there’s no real way to speed up your application once is submitted. However, submitting a completed application as well as providing all the relevant documentation can ensure that your application does not face delay and satisfies the officer making a decision on your matter. If you have compiled a completed application and met all the requirements which have been properly demonstrated through the right documentation, your application should fall within the standard processing times. However, is the processing of applications complete the discretion of citizenship and immigration Canada and the immigration officer making a decision on your matter.

Can I cancel my sponsorship application apply for a super visa?

Yes, citizenship and immigration Canada will allow you to withdraw any application you have already submitted. You’ll simply need to formally request the withdrawal if your application and can submit a new application and anytime. If you do decide to withdraw your application, any new application will have to wait the standard processing time. However, you do not need to withdraw your application to start a Parental Sponsorship Application.

When will I be able to sponsor my parent or grandparent?

After some time of the parental and grandparental sponsorship categories being paused, citizenship and immigration Canada has announced that this stream of the family sponsorship program will begin accepting new applications on January 2, 2014. Note, that there’ll be a strict cap of 5000 new applications will be accepted for processing in the parent and grandparental stream in order to ensure that the backlog is reduced.

What is the right of permanent residence fee?

The right of permanent residence fee is a fee that all new permanent residents must pay upon receiving a successful decision on a permanent resident application. The fee is $490 and is payable upon receipt of your permanent residence and is required in order to finalize the processing of your matter.