An individual’s family is the pillar of strength for the individual, but if one immigrates one has to let go of this support albeit for a few days until you get the family visa and your family comes over to stay with you. The Canadian government has made it very convenient for individuals who want to sponsor their families to live in Canada.
The Canadian spouse visa is the most important visa among the family visas available for Canada, other important family visas are:
- Common – Law Partner
- Same sex spouse visa
- Conjugal Partner Visa
- Dependent Visa
- Canada Parent and Grandparent Visa
Among these visas the spouse and partner visas are very popular and we shall discuss them in this blog.
If you are married to a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident legally then your spouse can sponsor you under the spouse visa category in Canada. If you got married outside Canada then your marriage must be recognized under the law of that county and under Canadian laws, in case you got married in an embassy than the law of the country where the embassy is located will be considered and not the country of the embassy.
In case, you were married in Canada than you have to produce the marriage certificate from the province or the territory where the marriage has taken place. The sponsored spouse must live then you must live together in a legitimate relation with the sponsor for a period of two years from the day you receive your permanent residency.
The processing time for this visa varies depending upon the region you come from, the processing time depending upon the region are follows:
- Africa and Middle East – 8 Months to 22 Months
- Asia and Pacific – 8 Months to 28 Months
- Europe – 8 Months to 15 Months
- Americas – 10 Months to 25 Months
Same Sex Spouse Visa
If you want to sponsor your same sex spouse then you must fulfill certain criteria:
1) If the marriage has taken place outside Canada than it will be considered valid only if the marriage considered legal under the laws of the country.
2) If the marriage took place in Canada, than a marriage certificate from the province or territory where the marriage took place must be produced.
Common Law Partner
To be eligible under this category you must be living together in a conjugal relationship for at least a period of twelve months and prove that you share a common household. To prove this you would need the following documents, residential lease agreement, joint bank accounts, mails etc.
Conjugal Partner Visa
This category is applicable to those couple who cannot qualify for either common law partners or spouse by living together.
