Canada Spouse Visa Processing Time

A Canadian citizen or permanent resident (PR) can sponsor their spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner for PR in Canada. Since the process is complex and involves a substantial amount of paperwork, the Canadian Government can take a long time to review a sponsorship application.

Inside Canada Spouse Visa Processing Time 2024:
11 months

Outside Canada Spouse Visa Processing Time 2024:
10 months

Spousal sponsorship applications submitted inside Canada have historically been processed faster than applications submitted outside Canada. As of July 2024, this is no longer the case as processing times outside Canada have reduced significantly. Spouse Visa Canada processing times can increase or decrease due to a variety of factors including application volume. In our experience, Canadian spousal sponsorship processing times can suddenly speed up or slow down by several months. Consequently, it is advisable to continue watching for updated wait times.

Want an estimate of the current Canada Spousal Visa processing time? Contact our Canadian immigration law firm today!

Are Spousal Sponsorship Processing Times Improving?

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the spousal sponsorship processing time was rather slow. Wait times are better in 2024, however, but it's possible 2025 processing might take a bit longer. In early 2023, the Spouse Visa processing time inside Canada was 15 months. By March 2024, the estimated wait time was only 9 months which was 6 months faster. In early 2023, the Spouse Visa processing time outside Canada was 23 months. By March 2024, the estimated wait time was only 12 months which is an impressive 11 months faster. Processing times for inside Canada applications slowed down slightly in Spring 2024, and by Summer 2024 were 11 months for inland sponsorship. Outland sponsorship has continued to get faster, and as of July 2024 is slightly quicker than inland sponsorship.

How to Reduce Spouse PR Processing Time

Most people who want to sponsor their loved one for permanent residency in Canada are interested in doing so as fast as possible. Unfortunately, there is no magic way to speed up the spousal PR processing time. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is in total control of review times and any service claiming they can expedite the Canadian Spouse Visa processing time is making a false claim. While a lawyer can optimize your family sponsorship application to minimize the chance of delays, it is not possible to pay money to IRCC to speed up the review process. Consequently, any company or immigration consultant claiming you can pay for faster processing should not be trusted.

How to Avoid Processing Delays

Even though it is not possible to pay money to have your Spouse Visa application reviewed extra fast, by dotting the i's and crossing the t's you can minimize the risk of processing delays. If your spouse sponsorship application contains errors or omissions, IRCC will likely ask for additional information or documentation and could even deny the application outright. This can slow down the processing time and put an applicant at risk of losing the government processing fee which is non-refundable. For example: submitting a Spouse Visa application to IRCC that is missing a required supporting document will typically result in a longer processing time compared to a properly completed application.

Complicating factors can also impact the estimated review time of a family sponsorship application. If an applicant or their husband or wife has a past bankruptcy, divorce, visa denial, criminal conviction, or other circumstances that might lead to additional scrutiny from Immigration Canada, the application will likely take more time to be fully processed.

If you are interested in moving to Canada asap and want to minimize the sponsorship timeline as much as possible, a Canadian Spouse Visa lawyer may be worth considering. By working with a lawyer or immigration professional, you can ensure your spousal PR application is done correctly in an effort to reduce problems that could slow things down.

How Long Does It Take to Get AOR For Spousal Sponsorship?

Shortly after a spousal sponsorship application is submitted to Immigration Canada, the applicant should receive an acknowledgement of receipt (AOR). Some applicants get their AOR as quickly as two weeks, while other applicants can end up waiting several months. Factors that can impact how fast an AOR is given include country of submission, method of submission (online vs. paper), and current volume. While it may be easy to estimate how long it will take to get an AOR for a Spouse Visa application submitted within Canada, there is much more variance for outland applications since they are being received by different visa offices around the world.

Moving to Canada While Waiting for Spouse Visa

In May 2023, IRCC started offering expedited Visitor Visas to sponsorship applicants. Consequently, a sponsored spouse may now be able to obtain a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) in approximately 30 days while they wait for their PR application to be reviewed. In May 2023, IRCC also started allowing outside Canada spousal sponsorship applicants to apply for an Open Work Permit (OWP). This was previously exclusive to people applying from within Canada. Consequently, if you plan to apply for spousal PR from outside Canada but do not want to wait for the application to be fully processed there are options that may allow you to move to Canada in the meantime.

Questions about the current spouse sponsorship processing time? Our Canadian immigration law firm is here to help.