Canada Accepts Out-Of-Status Foreign Nationals’ Spousal Sponsorship Applications

1.5 minute read

"Travel restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic have brought a lot of challenges to people who are not able to travel to Canada and are consequently stuck where they are. This has been increasingly challenging for spouses or common-law partners of Canadian citizens and permanent residents who applied for permanent residence through Spousal Sponsorship."

Written by My Visa Source Team
Published on: May 12, 2021

Travel restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic have brought a lot of challenges to people who are not able to travel to Canada and are consequently stuck where they are. This has been increasingly challenging for spouses or common-law partners of Canadian citizens and permanent residents who applied for permanent residence through Spousal Sponsorship.

It has been especially difficult for people who arrived on a temporary resident status to apply for permanent residence as they have fallen out of status and require additional documentation to extend their stay in Canada. This would normally mean that they are overextending their stay out-of-status in Canada, which is illegal and could lead to a removal order being issued.

Luckily, the government body of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has introduced a policy to help out-of-status spouses and common-law partners of Canadian citizens and permanent residents. This has been done since these individuals have strong ties to Canada and have a likely chance to transition to permanent residence in the future.

What Is the New Policy for Out-of-Status Spouses or Common-Law?

The new policy states that out-of-status spouses or common-law partners of Canadian citizens and permanent residents will not be required to leave Canada out of lack of status to reapply and reenter to be sponsored. The spouse that is a resident of Canada will be required to sign an undertaking of support to sponsor their foreign half through Inland Spousal Sponsorship.

This exemption only applies to out-of-status spouses or common-law partners. This does not apply to individuals who lose their status to factors such as inadmissibility such as grounds like security risks or serious criminality, etc. The Canadian partner must meet the eligibility requirements for Inland Spousal Sponsorship.

This new policy will allow out-of-status spouses to apply for sponsorship without having to leave the country and reenter again, as was required before the pandemic.