A Canadian citizen or permanent resident may sponsor a foreign national they are married to, their common-law partner, or their conjugal spouse for the purposes of the family class sponsorship programme. Under these programmes and Canadian legislation generally, same-sex spouses and partners are likewise acknowledged and eligible. Under this programme, dependent children may also be sponsored. For additional . Contact us

A spouse is someone who has a valid marriage licence. The applicant must be able to present a marriage certificate issued by the province or territory where the couple's wedding took place if they were married in Canada. Read More If the couple wed outside of Canada, the union must be recognised as legal under Canadian law as well as in the nation where the marriage licence was issued. When a marriage is performed in an embassy or consulate, it must adhere to the laws of the nation in which it was actually done, not the nation that the embassy or consulate is representing (however must still be considered valid in Canada). Read Less

A same-sex partner can be sponsored as a spouse by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident if: Read More A province or territory in Canada issued a marriage certificate for the couple after their wedding (certain conditions apply depending on the province).Same-sex unions consummated outside of Canada are valid provided that they are recognised as such both under the laws of the nation in which they were consummated and in Canada. Read Less

Sponsored couples, such as spouses, common-law partners, and conjugal partners, must cohabitate in a legal partnership for at least 24 months after obtaining their Canadian permanent residency in order to avoid losing it (including same-sex spouses and partners). Any couples who don't share children and who fall under one of the following conditions are subject to this condition: those who have been wed for no more than two years or people who have been married for two years or less after dating for four years or those who have been married to the sponsor for no more than two years or those who have lived together as common law partners for