How to Get Spouse Visa for Canada. The Canadian government has made it possible for Canadian citizens or those who have been granted permanent residency to sponsor their spouse or common-law partner to legally enter the country. If you are eligible and want to bring your wife, husband or partner to live in the country with you, you will need to know how to get a spouse visa for Canada. In this article we look at how to go about making the application, meeting the eligibility criteria and all of the other essential details that you will require before submitting your application.
Eligibility Criteria
In order to be eligible to apply for a spouse visa for your partner, you need to be a permanent resident in the country or already be a Canadian citizen. You must also be aged over 18 years. If you live in Quebec province, there are also other criteria that must be met. You must also be able to demonstrate that you can meet your partner’s basic needs such as providing a place to live and enough resources to feed and clothe them as well as yourself. You must be able to support your relative financially so that they do not have to rely on the government for financial help. Your spouse or partner must also meet all of the essential requirements for entry into the country in order for the application to be successful.
Who Cannot Sponsor A Partner?
Even if you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you may not be able to sponsor a partner if you fall within any of the following categories:
You have previously failed to meet the terms of a prior sponsorship agreement.
You have failed to pay child support despite a court order demanding that you do so.
You are in receipt of social assistance for any reason other than disability.
You have been convicted of a sexual offence, a violent crime, bodily harm against a relative, or threatening violence to a relative.
You have been sponsored yourself as a spouse or partner to become a permanent Canadian resident within the last 5 years.
You have failed to repay an immigration loan or have missed payments or failed to make them in a timely manner.
You are in prison.
You have declared bankruptcy and have not yet been discharged.
What Is The Definition Of A Spouse Or Partner?
A spouse refers to anyone that you have a legal marriage to, whether that marriage took place inside Canada or in another country as long as it is legally valid under that country’s law. A same-sex partner can also be considered to be a spouse as long as you are a permanent resident or citizen of Canada and were married in the country or legally married in any other country as determined by their law. You must be able to provide evidence of your legally married status to the CIC. A common law partner is someone of either sex that you have lived with as if married for at least a year. In this instance, evidence must be supplied regarding your joint household and financial affairs in the form of joint bank accounts, joint ownership of a property, joint utility bills, joint purchases, or mail sent to both partners at the same address. There is also another category which is a conjugal partner. This refers to a couple who are unable to live together due to a situation beyond their control. This may be as a result of an immigration situation, a situation in which one partner is unable to legally obtain a divorce from another partner or a situation in which the couple cannot legally live together in their home country – for example in the case of a same sex relationship.
Who Cannot Be Sponsored?
You cannot apply for a spouse visa for your partner if you are younger than 18 years, if you were already married to another person at the time you married your partner, or if you have previously sponsored another spouse within the last 3 years.
Canada Spouse Visa Requirements
How to Get Spouse Visa for Canada. In order to apply, you must first obtain an application pack, complete the necessary paperwork and supply all of the relevant paperwork to support your application. Your partner must also undergo a medical examination and submit this also as evidence. You must then pay the processing fee which can be done online and the receipt should then be submitted along with the evidence and paperwork. Completed forms are sent by post to the Case Processing Center which is in Ontario. Once your application has been received you will be assessed as an eligible sponsor and your partner will also be assessed for suitability.
source: https://www.jobsandvisaguide.com/2016/09/how-to-get-spouse-visa-for-canada.html
