Are you hoping to sponsor a loved one to immigrate to Canada? According to the immigration minister Ahmed Hussen, the government has achieved its goal of shortening wait times for spousal sponsorship applicants. The backlog has been reduced from 75,000 in 2016 to 15,000. Anyone who submitted their spousal sponsorship application after December 2016 will have to wait only 12 months for the application to be processed.
Matthew Jeffery, Toronto’s immigration lawyer, says that processing times have certainly reduced for sponsorship applications. Having helped numerous clients sponsor their loved ones to Canada, Matthew claims that processing times will greatly depend on whether the application is coming from in or outside Canada, but generally, it varies from 7 to 10 months.
Longer processing times for complex cases
According to Matthew Jeffery, some sponsorship applications can take longer than a year to be processed. For instance, if the case is complicated, longer wait times are expected. Applications that are filed outside of Canada can also have longer wait times depending on the country’s visa office. Matthew gave an example of the New Delhi office where sponsorship applications take longer to be processed than other visa offices outside Canada.
Overall, Jeffery commends the Federal government for doing a great job at reducing wait times for sponsorship applications. In 2018, the IRCC is expected to handle about 66,000 admissions. This is an indication that the government is truly seeking to reunite couples and understand the benefit it has in making a stronger nation.
To ensure your application is processed as quickly as possible, make sure your file is updated with all the information and that you respond to any requests for information as soon as you can. Working with an immigration lawyer certainly helps to reduce wait times by making sure the sponsorship forms are in order before being presented to the visa officers.
See If You Qualify For Spousal or Partner Sponsorship
Fill out our FREE Family Sponsorship Assessment form to see if you qualify to sponsor your spouse or partner to Canada.
