Under the new measure, valid for applications received on or after March 19, the spouses or common-law partners are only eligible if the international student both holds a valid study permit and is studying in either:
a master’s or doctoral degree program in a university or polytechnic institution, or;
one of the following professional degree programs at a university:
Spouses, Common-Law Partners Must Provide Proof Of Their Relationship To International Students
When applying for the open work permit, the spouse or common-law partner of the international student must provide one of the following documents to prove the student’s enrolment in a degree-granting program of study:
That can be a:
a valid letter of acceptance from the designated learning institution (DLI);
a proof of enrolment letter from that school, or;
transcripts from the student’s current program of study.
The spouse or common-law partner must also provide additional documents to show their proof of their relationship to the international student.
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Prior to the new measure coming into effect, spouses or common-law partners of international students were eligible for an open work permit when the student had a valid study permit, was eligible for a Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP), and was a full-time student at:
a public post-secondary school, such as a college or university, or a CEGEP in Quebec;
a private college-level school in Quebec, or;
a Canadian private school that can legally award degrees under provincial law.
Spouses and common-law partners can apply online for these open work permits but due to a current technical issue for online applications, they must use the following instructions when applying:
applicants outside Canada must answer “yes” when asked, “Are you a spouse, common-law partner or dependent child of a person who has or is applying for a work permit?”, while;
applicants in Canada must answer “Yes” when asked: “Are you a spouse, common-law partner or dependent child of a person who holds a valid work permit or is applying for a work permit?”
Dependent children of international students are not eligible to apply for open work permits under this category.
Francophone immigration outside of Quebec spiking 19.9 per cent last year.
The Francophone Community Immigration Pilot (FCIP) will focus on increasing the number of French-speaking newcomers settling in francophone minority communities outside of Quebec and will help ensure the economic development of francophone minority communities while also helping to restore and increase their demographic weight.
“Francophone immigration plays a crucial role in strengthening our national identity and fueling the economic growth of francophone minority communities outside Quebec,” said Immigration Minister Marc Miller.
“As we continue to face critical labour shortages in key sectors like healthcare, transportation and home building, talented newcomers are critical for our economy because they support local businesses and communities.
“The Express Entry system ensures that Canada has the skilled workers it needs to grow and succeed, while highlighting our commitment to supporting the vitality and restoring the demographic weight of Francophone minority communities.”
The target set for francophone immigration outside Quebec announced last November by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) calls for six per cent of total immigration in 2024 to be francophone, seven per cent in 2025 and eight per cent in 2026.
In January this year, Ottawa announced new measures to boost francophone immigration.
These include a new francophone immigration policy, the renewal and expansion of the Welcoming Francophone Communities initiative, a new program to support francophone immigration, and the implementation of the Action Plan for Official Languages.
The new francophone immigration policy promotes the vitality and economic development of francophone minority communities through promotion and recruitment support efforts, both in Canada and abroad, particularly for specific lines of business, in order to address labour shortages.
Francophone Immigration Has Increased By More Than 500% Since 2015
Through the renewal of the Welcoming Francophone Communities initiative, 14 Canadian communities were assured they will continue to receive funding to foster the integration of French-speaking newcomers. The initiative’s expansion has also enabled the Ottawa to select up to 10 additional communities that will be able to create environments that support the economic and socio-cultural integration of French-speaking newcomers.
The newly-created Francophone Immigration Support Program funds innovative projects to eliminate barriers to francophone immigration and makes it easier for francophone minority communities to participate in international promotion initiatives and support and recruit French-speaking candidates.
“With the modernized Official Languages Act and the Action Plan 2023 – 2028, which has been in effect since this autumn, our government is implementing the necessary mechanisms and investments to achieve targets that are both ambitious and essential,” said Official Languages Minister Randy Boissonnault.
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The latest IRCC data reveals that 19,645 francophones became new permanent residents of Canada outside of Quebec last year, up from 16,380 in 2022.
Since 2015 when francophone immigration outside of Quebec resulted in only 2,995 new permanent residents, francophone immigration has soared by 555.6 per cent.
Ottawa’s target of 4.4 per cent French-speaking resident admissions outside Quebec was surpassed in December 2023, reaching approximately 4.7 per cent from January to December that year.
Statistics Canada has reveal that Canadian-born women are almost twice as likely to divorce their husbands or common-law partners as are immigrant women.
In their report, The Duration Of First Unions: A Comparative Analysis Between Landed Immigrants And Canadian-Born Individuals, researchers Clémence Zossou and Solène Lardoux report using data from 2017 that landed immigrant women split up with their first husbands or common-law partners 24 per cent of the time.
Canadian-born women, by comparison, split up with their first husbands or common-law partners 43 per cent of the time.
The relatively greater commitment of immigrants to their marriages and common-law relationships also appears to be growing, with younger generations of immigrants having a lower rate of divorce.
“Among younger generations (those born from 1965 to 1997), union dissolution was more than twice as common among Canadian-born individuals, at 40 per cent, than among landed immigrants at 18 per cent,” reports Statistics Canada.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, immigrants in Canada are therefore also less likely to remarry or enter into a second common-law relationship.
“According to data from the General Social Survey (GSS) – Family, in 2017, Canadian-born individuals, at 31 per cent, were more likely than those born outside the country, at 13 per cent, to enter a second or subsequent union,” notes the report from the statistical and demographic services agency.
In Canada, 36 per cent of first-time marriages and common-law relationships ended with the spouses splitting up in 2017.
“For the population as a whole, union dissolution was more common among those in the Baby Boom generation, born from 1945 to 1964, at 40 per cent, compared with those in previous cohorts (1917 to 1944) at 31 per cent and those in younger cohorts (1965 to 1997) at 34 per cent,” reports Statistics Canada.
First-time, common-law relationships are just under three times as likely, at 65 per cent, to result with the two partners splitting up as are first-time marriages, which had a divorce rate of 24 per cent in 2017.
As might be expected, having children tends to lower the likelihood of the couple splitting up.
Children Can Be Glue Holding Families Together
“Union dissolution was less common among individuals who became parents during their first union, at 26 per cent, than among those who did not, at 59 per cent,” notes Statistics Canada. “This difference was more pronounced among landed immigrants than among Canadian-born individuals.”
Higher education also seems to be strongly correlated with people sticking out their marriages or common-law relationships.
“Data from the 2017 GSS also show that individuals with an educational attainment below a bachelor’s degree, at 40 per cent, were more likely to have experienced the dissolution of their first union than those with a bachelor’s degree or higher, at 28 per cent.,” note the researchers.
“This pattern by level of educational attainment were similar between Canadian-born individuals and landed immigrants.”
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Immigrants who had married prior to settling in Canada – and those whose parents had never divorced – were also much more likely to remain married or in their common-law relationships once they immigrated.
“Union dissolution was 1.5 times more common among individuals whose parents had separated or divorced, at 49 per cent, compared with those whose parents were still together, at 32 per cent,” reports Statistics Canada.
“Finally, among landed immigrants, first union dissolution was less common for individuals whose union was ongoing at the time of immigration, at 13 per cent, than for those whose first union began after they arrived in Canada, at 26 per cent.
Canadian Residents Or Permanent Residents Can Sponsor Spouses For Immigration
“Furthermore, the prevalence of union dissolution increases with the number of years since immigrants arrived in the country.”
Through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) spousal sponsorship program, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident can sponsor a spouse or common-law partner to immigrate to Canada.
The sponsor must, however, sign an undertaking, promising to give financial support for the sponsored person’s basic needs, including:
food, clothing, shelter and their needs for everyday living, and;
dental care, eye care and other health needs not covered by public health services.
This agreement cannot be cancelled, even if:
the person sponsored becomes a Canadian citizen;
the couple divorces, separates or the relationship breaks down;
either the sponsor or the sponsored spouse or common-law partner moves to another province or country, or;
the sponsor experiences financial problems.
EI payments considered income for sponsor of spouse
Maternity, parental and sickness benefits paid under the Employment Insurance Act in Canada are all considered income and contribute to allowing a person to sponsor a spouse or common-law partner but other payments from the government, such as employment insurance and federal training allowances, are not considered income.
According to that website, the current processing time for sponsorship applications for spouses or common-law partners currently outside the country and planning to live outside of Quebec is now down to 12 months, a considerable improvement over the 20-month processing time in 2022.
Fewer new international students will come to Canada this school year than previously expected after Immigration Minster Marc Miller’s cap on study permit applications.
After Miller announced the cap of only 606,250 study permit applications in the coming year for new international students, The Globe and Mail reported this would likely mean a drop of 35 per cent study permits compared to last year.
The actual drop is now expected to be much higher, closer to 40 per cent.
The original estimated drop in study permits was based on the number of applications which are to be accepted and the historical approval rate of 60 per cent for those applications.
But Ottawa has since clarified that the figure for the study permit applications included students who are exempt from the cap and so the actual number of new study permits for those international students subject to the cap is expected to be only 292,000, or 18.9 per cent less than the 360,000 previously expected.
Among the provinces which have already been told how many study permit applications will be allotted for international students in their provinces, some are decidedly unhappy.
Alberta, which has about 11.5 per cent of the country’s population, is only getting 6.8 per cent of study permit applications.
“This is significantly lower than the allocation Alberta anticipated,” Mackenzie Blyth, press secretary to Alberta Advanced Education Minister Rajan Sawhney, reportedly told The Globe and Mail.
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British Columbia has been allotted 83,000 study permit applications although its population is only about 15 per cent more than Alberta’s.
And Nova Scotia has seen a reduction to the number of its study permit applications.
In early February, the Canada Gazette reported that certain categories of international students would be exempt from the cap on study permit applications.
Seven Categories Of International Students Exempt From Cap On Applications
“As stipulated in these Instructions, certain categories of study permit applications are excluded from the conditions set out in these Instructions and the associated application cap established by these Instructions.”
Exempt from this new cap on international study permits are those international students who already have study permits and are seeking to renew them and the family member of a temporary resident who already has either a work or study permit.
Also exempt from the cap on study permits are:
members of the armed forces of a country under the Visiting Forces Act, including a person who has been designated as a civilian component of those armed forces;
officers of a foreign governments sent, under exchange agreements between Canada and one or more countries, to take up duties with a federal or provincial agency;
participants in sports activities or events, in Canada, either as an individual participant or as a member of a foreign-based team or Canadian amateur team;
employees of foreign news companies reporting on events in Canada;
people responsible for assisting congregations or groups in the achievement of their spiritual goals and whose main duties are to preach doctrine, perform functions related to gatherings of their congregations or groups or provide spiritual counselling.
Throughout Canada, colleges and universities have expressed concern over the cap on study permit applications, saying it sends the wrong signal to international students.
President and CEO of the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) Larissa Bezo said in a webinar organised by The PIE and Student VIP that the cap on study permits is not the way her organizations would have chosen to proceed to address the housing issue.
The CBIE issued a statement in January expressing concern the cap on the number of international students might have serious unintended consequences.
“This hasty one-size-fits-all solution may jeopardize the benefits of international education that many communities across the country experience and rapidly unravel a strong global Canadian education brand that has taken years to build,” notes the CBIE on its website.
Canada immigration officials will process more H-1B open work permit applications submitted under a temporary measure announced in July last year than was previously allowed, says Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The IRCC is not accepting new applications under this temporary measure, only allowing extra applications that were received as the cap was being reached to be processed.
Under the new public policy, the IRCC will process:
a small number of applications received in excess of the cap because they were submitted simultaneously to the cap being reached on July 17 last year;
applications that were submitted on behalf of applicants and their family members by their immigration representatives through the Authorized Paid Representatives Portal before the cap was reached on July 17 last year, and;
work permit applications for accompanying family members, including those who have already applied for a work permit, or who will apply for one in the next 12 months.
The new temporary public policy announced on March 18 also waives study permit processing fees for minor children of H-1B holders who applied for a work permit under the initial H-1B open work permit measure and now wish to apply for a study permit from within Canada after arrival.
“This will help resolve issues experienced in the application process by some H-1B applicants who were unable to submit a study permit application for their minor children,” states the IRCC.
Instructions for family members of principal applicants on how to apply to have study permit fees waived are on the IRCC website.
Last year, Canada launching an immigration initiative dubbed the Tech Talent Strategy to lure temporary workers in the tech sector in the United States north of the border to fill jobs going begging for a want of qualified employees
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“We’re enthusiastic about the ambitious goals we have set in immigration, because they aren’t just about numbers. They are strategic,” said then-Immigration Minister Sean Fraser.
“With Canada’s first-ever immigration Tech Talent Strategy, we’re targeting newcomers that can help enshrine Canada as a world leader in a variety of emerging technologies.”
Tech Talent Strategy Was Developed To Bring In Tech Workers From The U.S.
Developed in collaboration with Canada’s tech, start-up and business communities, the Tech Talent Strategy led to the creation on July 16 last year of an open work permit stream specifically targeted for those foreign nationals working in the United States with H-1B specialty occupation visas, a visa widely used by Silicon Valley companies to bring in highly-skilled immigrants.
That stream also provided work and study permit options for the workers’ family members.
Within one day, the IRCC had already received the maximum number of 10,000 applications, with only principal applicants and not their accompanying family members counting towards the application cap.
The March 19 draw saw invitations issued in five different categories.
A general draw saw 88 invitations issued through five BC PNP streams for skilled workers and international graduates. Minimum scores ranged from 98 to 125 points.
In a targeted draw, 27 invitations were issued to skilled workers and international graduates scoring at least 80 points in a draw targeting childcare workers.
Construction workers received 21 invitations with a minimum score of 85.
A draw targeted at healthcare workers saw 30 invitations issued to skilled workers and international graduates, with a minimum score of 80 points.
Finally, a draw aimed at veterinary care workers saw ‘less than 5’ invitations issued, again with a minimum score of 80. It was listed as ‘less than 5’ to protect the identity of those invited.
Luxembourg has the cultural and linguistic affinities to enable its citizens to immigrate to Canada through the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program (QIIP).
Canada’s only passive investment immigration program, the QIIP allows foreign nationals to gain their permanent residence in the country by investing in that francophone province.
Since it is a small, rural country with a population of only about 661,000, Luxembourg is certainly not one of the bigger sources of new permanent residents to Canada, contributing only about a few dozen immigrants to the country every year.
The country borders France, Belgium and Germany as is famed for its fortified medieval old town perched on sheer cliffs.
Luxembourgers who immigrate to Canada tend to come to the country primarily through the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) programs.
But Luxembourg’s relatively high per capita income makes them good candidates to also settle in Quebec through the QIIP.
It allows foreign nationals to gain their permanent residence in Canada simply by investing $1 million with IQ Immigrant Investisseurs Inc., a Quebec crown corporation, without having to establish or actively manage a business in the province.
Luxembourgers who choose to immigrate to Canada through the QIIP must additionally pay a non-refundable financial contribution of $200,000 and intend to settle in the French-speaking province of Quebec.
Successful applicants are then issued a selection certificate from Quebec for Canada immigration, which allows them to obtain their Canadian permanent residence following health and criminality checks by federal immigration officials.
The eligibility criteria include:
language proficiency
a legally-acquired personal net worth of $2 million;
two years of suitable management or business experience within the five years preceding the application;
mandatory Residency;
investment of $1.2 million into a passive government-guaranteed investment for a period of five years bearing no interest;
a high school diploma, and;
the intention to settle in the province of Quebec.
Applicants To The QIIP Must Demonstrate French-Language Abilities
The French language proficiency requirement is met by applicants by submitting a Certificate of Test Results (TEF, TEF Canada, TEFAQ, TCF, TCFQ) or a recognized French diploma (DELF or DALF) confirming a B2 level in oral French in speaking and listening along with their application to the QIIP.
Applicants can demonstrate that they have legally acquired the minimum net worth of $2 million by showing the net value of their current assets, as well as their history of acquiring funds over the course of their careers with supporting documentation.
That can be demonstrated using bank statements, investor booklets, real estate evaluations, audited financial statements and other pertinent and up-to-date documentation. Grants received less than six months before submitting an application cannot be included in the net worth calculation.
The principal applicant can share this net worth with a spouse or common-law partner accompanying him or her to Quebec.
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Since the intention of the QIIP is to attract business acumen and investment to Quebec, applicants must also have owned or managed by an active trade or business, which may include professional practices, rather than merely have managed investments.
Gray areas under the QIIP include professionals who don’t manage the business, passive real estate investors and investment managers. Developing real estate may qualify while merely owning real estate may not.
“(The applicant must have) … for at least two years in the five years preceding the application for a selection certificate, duties related to the planning, management and control of financial resources and of human or material resources under the investor’s authority; the experience does not include the experience acquired in the context of an apprenticeship, training or specialization process attested to by a diploma,” state the eligibility criteria.
Quebec Selection Certificate Required Under QIIP
Under the QIIP, applicants first apply for an Avis d’intention de sélection du Québec, after receipt of which they can apply for a three-year work permit from federal Canadian immigration officials.
With that Quebec certificate, the principal applicant and their spouse agree to live in Quebec for a period of at least six months within their first two years of receiving work permits – a requirement that can be completed through simultaneous residency or separate periods of six months each.
Once that is completed, the applicant can apply for the actual Certificat de Selection du Quebec (CSQ) from Quebec. As part of this application, the investor needs to establish a clean source of funds and give an interview in French to convince the officer of his or her intention to stay in Quebec.
Once issued a CSQ, they can apply for permanent residence through the IRCC.
Successful applicants are required to make their investment with Investissement Québec for a period of five years at the end of which the capital is returned without interest. The five-year period begins upon issuance of the selection certificate before the applicant has even landed in Canada.
Proceeds from the investment are used to fund various business and social programs within the province of Quebec.
The QIIP allows applicants to finance the bulk of their investment through designated securities brokerage firms and investment banks. Typically, the financing plans require a down payment before the bank loans the balance of up to $1.2 million.
The applicant then deposits that sum with Investissement Québec. The down payment is not refunded at the end of the five-year period. The bank takes fees and interest from the down payment, the immigration agent takes his or her commissions from the down payment.
Canada has welcomed almost a quarter of a million Ukrainians under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization For Emergency Travel (CUAET) – and a growing number of them are arriving as the March 31 travel deadline for the program looms.
“We’re seeing definitely more arrivals week over week, because people are trying to come, people are coming before the end of it,” Ihor Michalchyshyn, CEO and executive director of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, reportedly told the National Post.
Between March 17, 2022 and Feb. 27 this year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) received 1,189,320 applications under the CUAET temporary residence program.
But while 960,091 of those applications were approved during that period, only 248,726 Ukrainians, or 25.9 per cent of the total, actually made the move to Canada.
That means almost three-quarters of a million Ukrainians, exactly 711,365, are still eligible to come to Canada as temporary residents under CUAET before the end of March.
In February alone, Canada welcomed 27,495 Ukrainians through CUAET.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded the Ukraine in February 2022, prompting Canada to respond by opening its arms to Ukrainians and putting in place the CUAET pathway in mid-March that year.
The CUAET pathway was meant to allow those fleeing Putin’s war in the Ukraine to stay in Canada for up to three years and make them eligible for free open work and study permits.
Ottawa also upped its immigration application processing capacity in Europe after implementing the CUAET pathway and sent mobile biometrics kits to Warsaw, Vienna and Bucharest to take the fingerprints and portrait photos of prospective Ukrainian refugees in a bid to ensure proper security precautions were taken with the surge in applications.
The government then increased its federal settlement programs to include language training, orientation, employment assistance and other supports for Ukrainians as they settled into their new communities.
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In addition to settlement services, Ukrainians fleeing to Canada were also offered transitional financial assistance of $3,000 per adult and $1,500 per child.
“These funds will help Ukrainian nationals and their family members meet their basic needs, such as transportation and longer-term housing, as they arrive in communities across Canada and find a job,” noted IRCC on its website.
“Settlement services will remain available to Ukrainians and their family members after they arrive so that they can fully participate in Canadian communities while they are here. Ukrainians and their family members will also continue to benefit from the one-time transitional financial support, as well as from access to emergency accommodations for up to two weeks, if needed, after they arrive in Canada.”
Hotline To Help Ukrainians With Legal Services
This year, Ottawa upped its offering of help to Ukrainians by pumping $475,788 into a trilingual hotline to help them access the legal services they need for the coming three years.
The money was for Pro Bono Ontario’s Ukrainian Refugee Legal Relief Initiative to allow displaced Ukrainians access legal information and advice, including the toll-free hotline that are accessible nationally and abroad.
The hotline provides Ukrainians in Canada with access to Canadian lawyers so they can ask immigration-related questions on such things as sponsorship, refugee claims and work permits or be referred to provincial pro bono organizations or community groups across Canada
“Our government is grateful to be able to count on organizations, such as Pro Bono Ontario, that improve access to justice, a fundamental Canadian value and an integral part of a fair and effective justice system,” said Justice Minister Arif Virani.
“This investment shows how our government continues to stand with Ukraine, and that we will continue to support Ukrainians forced to flee their homes because of Russia’s illegal invasion.”
With CUAET no longer taking applications from overseas, Ukrainians wishing to come to Canada from abroad can still apply for a visa or a work or study permit through the IRCC’s existing temporary resident programs but are now subject to fees and standard requirements.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault’s request to Ottawa for complete jurisdictional control over immigration has been refused by Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“No, we are not going to give more power (to Quebec) on immigration,” said Trudeau at a Montreal news conference after a meeting with Legault.
“Quebec already has more powers over immigration than any other province because it’s very important to protect French.”
Trudeau did call the conversation “very constructive,” after discussing healthcare funding, economic issues, and immigration with the Quebec premier.
However, the prime minister steered away from commenting on which government has the power.
“But what interests me is making the system function in a better way,” he said.
“It’s not a question of who has control over what. We are here to collaborate.
“We are here to work in solution mode. It’s not a question of jurisdiction or constitution. It’s a matter of arriving at a solution, and this is what I am concentrating on.”
The federal immigration department recently bypassed Quebec’s cap to speed up family reunification, which Immigration Minister Marc Miller described as “artificially low.”
“We’re talking about people who are husbands, wives, parents, grandparents, who are waiting unsuccessfully to be reunited with their families in Quebec,” said Miller in an interview with Radio-Canada.
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This shows Ottawa’s lack of reluctance to pull rank when needed in terms of immigration, and its reluctance to give complete control to Quebec.
Quebec Premier Legault, while answering a question in the National Assembly from Parti Quebecois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, indicated that he intended to make the request for full immigration powers during his meeting on Friday with Trudeau.
Him and Trudeau had not met on their own since December 20, 2022.
Quebec also recently upped its request for compensation for the cost of managing hundreds of asylum seekers entering the province to $1 billion.
The latest data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reveals Canada’s spousal sponsorship program was down almost a third in January this year compared to the level of new permanent residents admitted under the program during the comparable month last year.
In January, the spousal sponsorship program helped 6,975 spouses and common-law partners become new permanent residents.
That’s down 30.8 per cent over the 10,080 new permanent residents who immigrated to Canada under the program during the first month of last year.
The immigration program’s performance was, however, 15.7 per cent better in January this year than it was the previous month as 2023 drew to a close.
In December last year, only 6,030 new permanent residents came to Canada under the spousal sponsorship program.
Despite the slower start to the spousal sponsorship program this year compared to the first month of last year, the program could welcome 83,700 spouses and common-law partners this year if the monthly level of immigration in January this year were to hold up for the rest of 2024.
That would be 11.2 per cent more than the 75,250 new permanent residents who came to Canada under the spousal sponsorship program last year.
Canada’s most populous province, Ontario, once again saw the greatest number of arrivals under the spousal sponsorship program in January with 4,140 spouses making it their home last year. That was an increase of 41.1 per cent in the number of new permanent residents under that program in January compared to the previous month.
The other provinces and territories attracted the following number of new permanent residents under the spousal sponsorship program during January:
Newfoundland and Labrador – 15
Prince Edward Island – 20
Nova Scotia – 85
New Brunswick – 65
Quebec – 275
Manitoba – 200
Saskatchewan – 105
Alberta – 920
British Columbia – 1,125
Yukon – 10
Northwest Territories – 15
Nunavut – 0
When a Canadian citizen or permanent resident chooses to sponsor a spouse or common-law partner to immigrate to Canada, the sponsor must sign an undertaking, promising to give financial support for the sponsored person’s basic needs, including:
food, clothing, shelter and their needs for everyday living, and;
dental care, eye care and other health needs not covered by public health services.
This agreement cannot be cancelled, even if:
the person sponsored becomes a Canadian citizen;
the couple divorces, separates or the relationship breaks down;
either the sponsor or the sponsored spouse or common-law partner moves to another province or country, or;
the sponsor experiences financial problems.
EI Payments Considered Income For Sponsor Of Spouse
Maternity, parental and sickness benefits paid under the Employment Insurance Act in Canada are all considered income and contribute to allowing a person to sponsor a spouse or common-law partner but other payments from the government, such as employment insurance and federal training allowances, are not considered income.
According to that website, the current processing time for sponsorship applications for spouses or common-law partners currently outside the country and planning to live outside of Quebec is now down to 12 months, a considerable improvement over the 20-month processing time in 2022.
