What is Family? How Family if defined?
As per Britannica, "Family, a group of persons united by the ties of marriage, blood, or adoption, constituting a single household and interacting with each other in their respective social positions, usually those of spouses, parents, children, and siblings. The family group should be distinguished from a household, which may include boarders and roomers sharing a common residence".
Living away from your family can be emotionally tough, especially for young couples. If you’re struggling through a spousal sponsorship application, you’re not alone in your frustration. Although Canadian immigration is easier than in most countries, the country still sees more than 400,000 applicants every year.
Spousal sponsorship applicants, in particular, are quite high in number. However, the application process isn’t as overwhelming as it may seem. You may file a successful application if you follow the process correctly.
To do this, the first thing you need to do is understand how the application works, especially if your case isn’t straightforward (elaborated on below).
However, the nature of your case becomes irrelevant if you don’t know the application process. Here is a complete guide on the spousal sponsorship applications in Canada:
How Do You Qualify for Canadian Immigration?
Before you can get to the application process, you need to know: do you even qualify for a spousal sponsorship? As mentioned, your case may not be straightforward. Mostly, it’s easier if you’re sponsoring your legal spouse whom you’ve been married to for over two years.
If you’re not legally married to your spouse, your partnership counts as a common-law partnership. Although Canadian immigration accepts common-law applications, many countries don’t. As such, you must ensure whether common-law or conjugal partnerships are legal in your homeland.
Similarly, you and your spouse may be separated or divorced. You might have dependent children, which require you to sponsor your children from previous marriage.
A newly wed couple may also face some extra steps in their case. This is largely due to fraudulent applications. The Canadian immigration system has become stricter in ensuring the authenticity or genuineness of new marriages.
What Documents Do You Need to Prepare?
Usually, the Canadian spousal sponsorship application can take months to process. Most of this time is dedicated to preparing adequate documents. On average, a spousal sponsorship application is between 120 and 150 pages.
These pages mostly include the documents and evidence you’ll need to gather. In the past decade, the process has become more stern and extensive to counter rising fraudulent immigration tactics. As such, it’s essential to verify the authenticity of each document.
If you hire an immigration professional, such as Immigration Consultant, this step is much easier as a professional knows the ins and outs of the immigration process. They won’t miss out on any details or steps. However, you can do it yourself as well and sometimes end up incomplete application returned to you after 3-4 months.
