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Spousal sponsorship — document checklist
Prepared by CHK Immigration Services Inc. · government fee $1,260 incl. RPRF
Spousal sponsorship — document checklist
Every document an officer will look for, grouped in the order they are read. The ones marked refusal risk are where these applications actually fail — a complete file is not the same as a persuasive one.
11 documents 6 where refusals happen Government fee $1,260 incl. RPRF
Identity
Who is this person, and is the story consistent?Where files fail here: Names, dates or passport details that disagree across documents.
Marriage certificate or proof of common-law
The certificate must show the marriage was legally registered where it took place. For common-law, twelve consecutive months of cohabitation must be documented.
Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union
Signed by both partners before an authorised official, and by the official. Common-law couples only — married couples do not file it.
Funds
Is the money real, available, and theirs?Where files fail here: A large deposit landing days before filing, with no explanation.
Sponsor’s eligibility documents
There is no minimum income requirement to sponsor a spouse or partner — LICO applies to parents and grandparents, not here. The sponsor must not be in default of a previous undertaking or on social assistance other than for disability. The undertaking runs three years.
Intent
Does the purpose hold together, and will they comply?Where files fail here: A plan that doesn't match the applicant's history or finances.
Relationship Information and Sponsorship Evaluation
Completed and signed by the sponsor and the principal applicant. This is the form the officer reads the relationship from.
Relationship history and photographs
Genuineness is the whole test. Volume matters less than a consistent timeline.
Communication records over time
Continuity is what persuades. Long unexplained silences invite questions.
Proof of cohabitation — leases, bills, IDs
Both names, same address, spanning the period you claim.
Financial interdependence evidence
Joint accounts, shared expenses and beneficiary designations carry weight.
Letters from people who know you both
Third-party evidence is worth far more than your own assertions. There is no IRCC form for it — signed letters, or separately notarised declarations, are what you file.
Admissibility
Is there anything that disqualifies them?Where files fail here: An old charge left undisclosed because it “didn’t count”.
Police certificates and medical exam
Standard for the person being sponsored.
Proof of status in Canada, for inland files
An open work permit needs valid temporary resident status and, normally, the acknowledgement of receipt confirming the PR application is complete.
General information, not legal advice. This checklist is prepared by CHK Immigration Services Inc. and was checked against the Government of Canada’s published requirements on the date shown. Requirements change and vary by case, and IRCC generates a personalised document list for many applications — where that list or canada.ca differs from this document, they govern.
Lead times are planning estimates, not guarantees. Police certificates and credential assessments in particular vary widely by country and provider. IRCC makes all final decisions.
CHK Immigration Services Inc. is an immigration consultancy with offices in Brampton and London, Ontario. Our consultants are regulated by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC). Nothing in this document creates a client–consultant relationship.
Current version: https://chkimmigration.ca/checklists/spousal
Checked against the official IRCC page for this application in September 2026. Where that page disagrees with anything here, it wins. General information, not legal advice. Lead times are planning estimates, not guarantees — police certificates and credential assessments in particular vary widely by country and provider. IRCC also generates a personalised checklist for many applications, and that list governs. IRCC makes all final decisions.
Having the documents is not the same as having a persuasive file.
Every item above can be present and correct and the application can still be refused — on intent, on a date that does not reconcile, or on a lead time that ran out. A licensed consultant reads it the way an officer will.
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CHK Immigration Services — Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (CICC). Offices in Brampton and London, Ontario. Submitting this form does not create a client–consultant relationship; IRCC makes all final decisions.