Canada toughens up on foreign spouse sponsorship

Canadian citizens applying to sponsor their foreign spouses will be hit hard by the government’s doubling of processing times due to a backlog of applications.

At present, any foreign national spouse of a Canadian citizen can be sponsored as long as temporary residence has been permitted and the couple are already legally resident in the country. There’s also a provision that application can be made from the spouse’s home country, although this option may be toughened up still further in the near future.

The majority of couples apply from within the country as they are able to stay together whilst the application is being processed. However, the government has now announced an 11 month processing period, almost double the previous six-month wait, and those applying from outside the country will need to wait some two years or so.

Once a sponsorship application has been processed, the spouse will enjoy rights such as being able to work legally and receive government healthcare, but a high number of couples are experiencing financial and emotional misery due to the increasing backlog of applications. Critics are blaming the previous Canadian government policies of reducing immigration for the present-day chaos and demanding immediate action on behalf of those affected.