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Please Provide Full Details:

1. Proposed Position(s), Work Location(s), Hourly Rate, Hours per Week, Contract Duration.
2. Staffing at Location: Total Employee Count & Number of Temporary Foreign Workers currently employed.
3. Year of Business Incorporation/Establishment.
4. Additional Notes.

Please Include the Following:

1. Nature of Care (childcare, senior support, medical needs) & Profile of Care Recipient(s) (e.g., age, specific health conditions).
2. Living Arrangement (Live-in vs. Live-out), Hourly Rate & Hours per Week.
3. Prospective Applicant (if known): Age, Highest Educational Credential, Language Proficiency (English/French), and Related Work History.
4. Additional Notes.

Please Provide Full Details:

1. Sponsor’s Legal Status (Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident) & Current Residence (Country/Province).
2. Partner Being Sponsored: Citizenship & Current Country of Residence.
3. Number of accompanying dependent children.
4. Sponsorship Background:
- Has the Sponsor submitted a sponsorship application in the past?
- Was the Sponsor sponsored as a spouse in the last 5 years?
5. Is the Sponsor currently in Undischarged Bankruptcy, receiving Social Assistance (welfare), or in default of child support or immigration loans?
6. Relationship Details: Date of Marriage or date common-law cohabitation began.
7. Admissibility Issues: Does the sponsor or the applicant have any history of criminal charges, severe health conditions, or prior visa denials from any country?
8. Current Status & Past Marriages: If the applicant is currently residing in Canada, what is their active immigration status? Have any prior marriages for either party been officially dissolved by divorce?
9. Additional Notes.

Please Include the Following:

1. Applicant Citizenship & Current Country of Residence (Please specify your Status, e.g., Worker, Student, PR).
2. Reason for Travel, Intended Arrival/Departure Dates & Length of Stay.
3. Are you visiting specific relatives or friends? (Please specify relationship).
4. Details of any previous Canadian or US visa applications or refusals.
5. Available Funds & Reasons to Return Home (e.g., Employment, Assets, Family obligations).
6. Additional Notes.

Please Include the Following:

If through your Canadian ancestry (you may already be a Canadian citizen by law — no residence, tax or language history needed):

1. Which relative connects you to Canada (parent, grandparent, great-grandparent…) and how they became Canadian (born in Canada, naturalized, or by descent).

2. What you can provide to support your claim (e.g., birth/marriage certificates, your ancestor's citizenship or naturalization record).

If you are a permanent resident (citizenship by grant):

1. Date your Permanent Residence was obtained.

2. Total number of days spent in Canada during the past 5 years (estimate is fine).

3. Did you hold temporary status in Canada (e.g., Student, Worker) before becoming a PR? If yes, type and duration.

4. Have you filed Canadian Income Tax Returns for at least 3 of the last 5 years?

5. Proficiency level in English or French (Basic, Intermediate, Fluent).

6. Prohibitions & Background: any criminal history (convictions, probation, or parole, inside or outside Canada); and whether you are currently subject to a Removal Order or under investigation by immigration authorities.

Additional notes (either case).

Please Include the Following:

1. Applicant (Parent/Grandparent):
- Citizenship & Current Country of Residence.
- Details of prior Canadian or US visa applications or refusals.
- Do you have any significant pre-existing medical conditions?
2. Host (Child/Grandchild in Canada):
- Legal Status (Citizen or Permanent Resident).
- Household Composition: Total count of individuals residing in the home (including spouse and dependents).
- Gross Annual Household Income.
3. Additional Notes.

Please Provide Full Details:

1. Employment Status: Do you have a valid Job Offer? (Include Employer Name, Role, LMIA approval status, or if applying as an Intra-Company Transferee).
2. Open Work Permit (if applicable): Please specify your category (e.g., Spouse of Student/Worker, PGWP, or International Experience Canada/IEC).
3. Background: Summary of relevant Work History and details of any previous Canadian visa applications or refusals.
4. Additional Notes.

Please Provide the Following Details:

1. Proposed Study Plan: Program Name, Academic Level (e.g., Diploma, Master's), and status of Letter of Acceptance (LOA).
2. Language Proficiency: Standardized Test Scores (IELTS, CELPIP, TEF).
3. Economic Establishment: Source of Funds & Ties to Home Country (reasons to return).
4. Visa History: Details of any previous applications or refusals for Canada or the US.
5. Additional Comments.

Please Provide Full Details:

1. Current Immigration Status: Type of permit (e.g., Visitor, Student, Worker) & Expiration Date.
2. Justification for Extension:
- Study: (e.g., New Letter of Acceptance).
- Work: (e.g., Updated LMIA or Job Offer details).
- Visitor: (Purpose of continued stay, e.g., ongoing tourism, family visit, or pending Spousal Sponsorship).
3. Additional Notes.

Please Provide Details for Principal Applicant and Spouse:

1. Personal Profile: Age, Citizenship, Marital Status, Highest Educational Credential, Language Proficiency (IELTS, CELPIP, TEF), and Settlement Funds.
2. Work History (Past 10 Years):
- Total years of Foreign Skilled Work.
- Total years of In-Canada Skilled Work.
3. Proposed Province of Residence (e.g., Ontario, Quebec, BC).
4. Canadian Ties: Relatives in Canada, prior Canadian study/work history, or Valid Job Offer.
5. Additional Notes.

1. What program do you need help with?
2. Share your current citizenship, residence, and immigration status—and whether you have family in Canada.
3. Are you looking to apply, renew or appeal?
4. Let us know if you're working toward a deadline or have key dates in mind.
5. Observations (provide details).

Castle & Co. — Canadian Immigration Consultants

Spouse, Common-Law or Conjugal Partner: Which Category Fits Your Relationship

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Start Your Process Now
Man smiling during a video call on his tablet in an armchair, a relationship kept alive across a distance

When you sponsor a partner to Canada, the first thing IRCC needs to know is which kind of relationship you have: spouse, common-law or conjugal partner. The three are not interchangeable, and choosing the wrong one is one of the easiest ways to weaken an application that could otherwise succeed.

The biggest misunderstanding is about the third category. It exists precisely for couples who could not live together.

What are the three categories?

Each one is defined by a different fact about your relationship.

CategoryWhat it requiresDo you have to live together?
SpouseA legally valid marriageNot as a requirement of the category
Common-law partnerLiving together in a conjugal relationship for at least one yearYes
Conjugal partnerA genuine relationship of at least 12 months in which marriage or living together has not been possibleNo

For a spouse, what matters is the marriage itself. A marriage performed in Canada must be legal here; one performed abroad must be legally recognized both in the country where it took place and in Canada.

For a common-law partner, what matters is the time living together. The regulation defines it as cohabiting in a conjugal relationship for a period of at least one year.

For a conjugal partner, what matters is the relationship — and the fact that something has prevented you from marrying or living together.

Who is the conjugal partner category really for?

Woman writing a letter by hand beside a framed photo of her partner

For couples who can neither marry nor live together.

IRCC’s own operational manual says it directly: the category is meant to accommodate Canadians and permanent residents with foreign partners who can neither marry nor live together. It gives examples such as a partner from a country where divorce is not possible, or where same-sex marriage is not recognized.

What IRCC looks for is a significant degree of attachment: not just a physical relationship, but a mutually interdependent one, genuine and lasting at least 12 months. And the barrier does not have to be absolute on both fronts — it is enough that marriage or living together has not been possible.

If that describes your situation, you are not outside the system. There is a category built for you.

Are there limits on who can use it?

Yes. The conjugal category only works for a partner living outside Canada.

It applies only in the family class, to a foreign national abroad who is sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Canada. It does not apply to the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class.

So if your partner is already in Canada, the conjugal category is not the route, and the analysis starts again from spouse or common-law partner.

What if you couldn’t live together because of persecution?

Then the law treats you as common-law partners, even without the year of cohabitation.

The regulation includes a specific rule: a person who has been in a conjugal relationship for at least one year but is unable to cohabit due to persecution or any form of penal control is considered a common-law partner.

It is a narrow provision, and it depends on the reason you could not live together. But for the couples it covers, it changes the category entirely.

How to work out which one is yours

Two women talking quietly on a park bench in autumn about which sponsorship category fits them
  1. Are you legally married? If the marriage is valid where it happened and in Canada, you are applying as a spouse.
  2. If not, have you lived together for at least a year? Then you are common-law partners.
  3. If you haven’t, is it because you couldn’t? If marriage or living together has not been possible, and your partner is outside Canada, look at the conjugal category.
  4. Was the barrier persecution or penal control? Then the common-law rule may apply to you anyway.
  5. Does the sponsor live in Quebec? Then there is an additional undertaking with the Government of Quebec on top of the federal process.

Once you know your category, the rest of the process follows. We explain how the sponsorship itself works in Sponsor Your Spouse or Partner.

Where we come in

Castle & Co. helps couples get the first decision right, before the paperwork starts:

  • Identifying which of the three categories fits your relationship
  • Documenting a conjugal relationship where living together was never possible
  • Preparing the sponsorship, including the Quebec step when it applies

If you are not sure which category is yours, start your process now and we will tell you before you build an application on the wrong one.

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