3 Common Mistakes We've Seen People Make with Spousal Sponsorship

3 minute read

Are you looking to sponsor your spouse to Canada? We’ve worked on numerous spousal sponsorship cases, helping applicants achieve the results they want and getting spousal sponsorship applications approved.

Written by My Visa Source Team
Published on: May 22, 2023

Today, we’ll review some of the most common mistakes we’ve seen on spousal sponsorship applications so you know what to avoid when completing and submitting your application.

1. Mixing Up The Sponsor and the Applicant

This mistake is very easy to make, but it can also be a quick fix! Many couples will see that their spousal sponsorship application is denied because they filled out their information in the wrong part of the application.

The sponsor is the Canadian citizen or permanent resident.

The applicant is the spouse or common-law partner of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.

Take the time to make sure you’ve filled the application correctly with this information before applying for spousal sponsorship.

2. Insufficient Evidence of Your Relationship

Spousal sponsorship applications get approved when you successfully convince the reviewing immigration officer that your relationship is genuine, and you simply want to live together in Canada.

To do so, you’ll need to provide supporting documents along with your sponsorship application.

Some of the documents you should prepare to include are the following:

Your marriage certificate and proof of marriage registration
Your wedding invitations and photos
The birth certificates or adoption papers of any children you have

You can make your application stronger by providing further evidence. Think about any supporting documents you have that can show that your relationship is real. For example, consider collecting and including photographs from your time together. You could also include a copy of communications between you and your partner. These could be text messages, cards, emails, or letters. Think about the evidence that will compile the story of your relationship and easily demonstrate to any reviewing immigration officer that you and your partner are together.

3. Including False or Incorrect Information

Falsifying information on any part of an immigration application is considered fraud. Therefore, you should always be truthful in your application to ensure the smoothest process. If any information you provide is found to be incorrect or any of your documents are fraudulent, you risk denial of your application and potentially further trouble with immigration.

Sometimes applicants feel compelled to include false information because they think it will strengthen their application. However, that is not the case. If your relationship is truly genuine and you meet all the application requirements, you should be able to push through the spousal sponsorship process until you get approval.

If you would like some guidance, want to address any of your spousal sponsorship concerns, or require assistance continuing your spousal sponsorship journey, consult a reliable immigration lawyer to receive the best advice and clear next steps.

We understand that spousal sponsorship is about reuniting or keeping you and your partner together so that you can confidently make plans for the future and move forward with your life. With relatively long processing times and numerous applicants, spousal sponsorship can be frustrating. Taking care to submit the best application you can is so important to ensure that you can reach your immigration goals as quickly as possible.