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Lexaltico LLP reunites families through spousal and partner sponsorship. We prepare thorough applications that demonstrate the genuineness of your relationship and handle appeals when sponsorships are refused.
Book My Consultation →Spousal & Partner Sponsorship Applications
IRCC’s processing standard for spousal sponsorship is approximately 12 months, though times may vary. Inland applications with open work permit requests may allow the sponsored spouse to work in Canada during processing. Our lawyers can advise on the most efficient processing route for your situation.
Tell us briefly what is going on. A lawyer reviews every enquiry and replies within 24 hours on business days.
A lawyer replies within 24 hours on business days. Urgent? Call +1 416 333 6200, answered 24/7. Submitting this form does not create a solicitor-client relationship.
Spousal sponsorship allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner for permanent residence under section 12(1) of IRPA and Part 7 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). The sponsor must demonstrate that they meet the eligibility requirements under section 130 of the IRPR, including being at least 18 years old, residing in Canada (for citizens) or residing in Canada (for permanent residents), and not being subject to a removal order, in default of a previous sponsorship undertaking, in receipt of social assistance (with exceptions for disability), or convicted of certain offences.
The sponsored person must be a member of the family class as defined in section 116 of the IRPR. A spouse is defined under subsection 2(1) of the IRPR as a person who is party to a valid marriage. A common-law partner must demonstrate cohabitation in a conjugal relationship for at least 12 continuous months. A conjugal partner is one who has maintained a conjugal relationship for at least one year but has been unable to cohabit or marry due to an immigration barrier or other significant impediment. At Lexaltico LLP, we assess the category most appropriate for your relationship and prepare comprehensive applications that address all eligibility criteria.
The most critical element of any spousal sponsorship application is demonstrating that the relationship is genuine and was not entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring immigration status (section 4 of the IRPR). IRCC officers assess genuineness based on the totality of evidence, including the history of the relationship, knowledge of each other's backgrounds and families, evidence of communication (call logs, messages, photographs), joint financial activities, shared living arrangements, visits and travel together, and statements from family and friends.
Our Toronto spousal sponsorship lawyers prepare detailed relationship chronologies, organize evidence into clear categories, and draft supporting statutory declarations from the couple and from third-party witnesses. We address factors that officers commonly scrutinize, such as age differences, cultural differences, short courtship periods, language barriers, limited in-person meetings, and inconsistencies in statements. For marriages of convenience investigations, we prepare clients for potential interviews and ensure that the application proactively addresses any concerns an officer might raise. Where a conditional permanent residence requirement applies (for relationships of two years or less with no children), we advise on compliance and exemption possibilities.
When a spousal sponsorship is refused, the sponsor has the right to appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) under subsection 63(1) of IRPA. The IAD conducts a de novo hearing, providing an opportunity to present new evidence and testimony that was not before the original decision-maker. Common refusal grounds include a finding that the relationship is not genuine (section 4 of IRPR), inadmissibility of the sponsored person for medical, criminal, or misrepresentation reasons, and ineligibility of the sponsor due to a prior undertaking or criminal conviction.
Lexaltico LLP has successfully appealed numerous spousal sponsorship refusals before the IAD. Our approach involves obtaining the officer's GCMS notes to understand the specific concerns, gathering additional evidence to address deficiencies, preparing detailed written submissions, and representing the couple at the IAD hearing. Both the sponsor and the sponsored person may testify, and our lawyers conduct thorough preparation sessions to ensure credible, consistent testimony. Where an IAD appeal is unsuccessful, we assess whether judicial review at the Federal Court or a new application is the most appropriate course of action.
Our lawyers offer a initial consultation for most matters. Call, email, or book online. Do not sign anything before speaking with us.
55 University Ave, Suite 1100
Toronto, ON M5J 2H7
2 Sheppard Ave East, Suite 303, Toronto, ON M2N 5Y7
Monday to Friday: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Evenings & weekends by appointment
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Lexaltico LLP
How Lexaltico LLP handles personal information, under PIPEDA and Ontario law.
When you use a form on this site, email us or telephone us, we collect what you choose to send: your name, email address, telephone number and a description of the situation. Nothing on this site requires you to give more than that.
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We do not collect sensitive personal information through this website. Detailed personal and legal information is collected only after a solicitor client relationship exists, through the channels set up for that purpose.
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Under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, S.C. 2000, c. 5 you may ask what personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct anything inaccurate, and withdraw consent to our use of it, subject to legal and contractual limits. We reply within thirty days or explain why we need longer.
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55 University Avenue, Suite 1100, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2H7
privacy@lexaltico.com
+1 416 333 6200
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This site publishes several hundred pages about Ontario law. They are written carefully, they cite statutes and cases by name, and they are reviewed. None of that makes them advice about your matter. Law is applied to facts, and we do not know yours.
The difference is practical rather than technical. A page explaining that spousal support is usually indefinite after a twenty year marriage is accurate as a general statement and may be wrong about you, because of a domestic contract you signed, a period of separation you have forgotten, or an income that is not what a tax return says it is.
Law also changes. Pages carry a review date where one is relevant. A page reviewed last year may not reflect an amendment made since, and a page about a subject currently before an appellate court may be overtaken between your reading it and your acting on it.
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Information sent through a form, or by email, before a retainer is signed is not covered by solicitor client privilege. That is not a policy we chose. It follows from there being no solicitor client relationship for the privilege to attach to.
It can also create a problem for you. If you send us detailed information about a dispute and we are later approached by the other side, what you sent may affect whether we can act for either of you.
So tell us the shape of the problem and leave out the detail: the area of law, roughly when it arose, and whether anything is urgent. That is enough for us to say whether we can help. The documents come after the retainer.
Case results described anywhere on this site are real and are described accurately, and they are specific to their own facts. A settlement at three times the original offer happened because of that employer, that contract and that person’s history. It says nothing about what your matter is worth.
Client reviews are the views of the people who wrote them. We do not offer anything in return for a review, we do not write them, and we do not ask only the clients we expect to be positive.
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Every limit on what this website tells you, and every thing it does not do, in one place rather than in small print at the bottom of each page.
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These pages describe the law of Ontario, and of Alberta only where a page says so expressly. They do not describe the law of any other province, territory or country. Law that looks similar across jurisdictions frequently is not.
Each page states the law as at the review date shown on it. Legislation is amended and case law develops. A page accurate when written may no longer be.
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Do not send confidential or sensitive information through this website or by email until we have confirmed in writing that we can act for you. Information sent before that point is not treated as confidential and may prevent us from acting for you, or for someone else, in a connected matter.
We aim to reply within one business day. Contacting us does not guarantee a reply within any particular period, does not oblige the firm to act, and does not stop, extend or satisfy any limitation period, filing date or court deadline.
Our line is answered 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Outside office hours calls are taken by our intake service, who record your details and pass them to the firm. A lawyer responds during the next business day, or sooner if the matter is urgent. Answering the telephone is not the same as giving legal advice, and no relationship arises from that call.
Lexaltico LLP is regulated by the Law Society of Ontario under the Law Society Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.8. All lawyers practising in Ontario through the firm are members in good standing.
Alberta matters are handled by lawyers licensed with, and in good standing with, the Law Society of Alberta. A lawyer licensed in Ontario is not thereby licensed in Alberta, and the reverse is also true.
Immigration consulting is provided by Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants in good standing with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants under the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act, S.C. 2019, c. 29, s. 292.
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Each page and biography states which applies. Ask at the outset who will handle your matter and under which licence.
We serve clients in thirteen languages. Every page of this website is written and published in English. Where anything is provided in another language, the English version governs in the event of a difference. If you need an interpreter, tell us when you book and we will arrange one.
The complimentary 15 minute initial assessment is a brief introductory conversation. It does not include a review of your documents and does not constitute legal advice.
The firm charges a fee for substantive consultations, including in civil litigation, criminal defence and immigration matters. The firm may waive that fee at its discretion. Any fee is disclosed in advance and credited in full toward your account if you retain the firm.
Where we refer a matter to another firm, including through LexKonnect, we comply with Rule 3.6-6.1 of the Law Society of Ontario’s Rules of Professional Conduct. Any referral fee is set out in the Law Society’s standard referral agreement, signed by you before the referral proceeds, and no fee is payable to us unless and until the receiving firm has been paid for its work. You are never obliged to accept a referral and are free to retain any firm you choose. No referral arrangement affects the independent professional judgment of any lawyer at this firm.
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Reviews shown here are written by third parties and published on platforms we do not control. Each describes one person’s experience of one matter. They are not a promise, a prediction or a guarantee about any other matter.
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