Canadian spousal sponsorship comes into action when Canadian citizen or permanent resident can sponsor their partner or spouse to come to live permanently in Canada. A person who is a permanent resident of Canada can sponsor a person as his/ her spouse if that very person is married to the permanent resident legally. A marriage between two people of the same sex is also recognized for immigration purposes, if the marriage was legally performed in Canada, or was performed outside of Canada in any other country where marriage between two people of the same sex is legally recognized.

Applications for spousal sponsorship are considered a top priority in Canada. If denied, the sponsor has two options, either to re-apply or file an appeal through the Immigration Appeal Division.

Many people think that getting married is sufficient for their spouse to come to Canada and become a permanent resident. Sadly, this can not always apply, Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada will sometimes deny a spousal sponsorship application for many unknown reasons, some fair, others not so much.