Inland vs. Outland Spousal Sponsorship Canada

“Which is faster, Inland vs. Outland Spousal Sponsorship Canada?”

The Canadian government provides immigration routes for spouses of Canadian permanent residents and citizens. This includes two specific types of Canadian spousal sponsorship programs: inland spousal sponsorship and outland spousal sponsorship.

As a Canadian permanent resident or citizen, you can use one of these programs to help your spouse get permanent residence in Canada. However, you must be careful in choosing because these immigration routes differ in a few ways.

For 80% of applications, both inland and outland have a standard processing time of 12 months. But there are a few things that may affect the processing times.

In this guide, we will go over both the inland and outland spousal sponsorship routes to help you determine which is suitable for your spouse.

The inland spousal sponsorship route is for Canadian citizens or permanent residents with foreign spouses who currently reside in Canada. These spouses are usually present in the country under a valid temporary resident status such as a work permit, student visa, or temporary visitor visa.

Such people will be required to leave Canada once their status expires unless they have been granted permanent residence. However, spouses whose permanent resident applications are currently being processed can apply for a particular work permit that allows them to stay and work in Canada until they receive their application decision.

You can sponsor your foreign spouse for permanent residence under this method if the following requirements are met:

• You are a Canadian citizen or a Canadian permanent resident
• You and your spouse are both at least 18 years old
• You can financially support your spouse and provide for their basic needs
• You can ensure your spouse won’t require financial assistance from the Canadian government
• You and your spouse are living together in Canada

In many respects, the outland spousal sponsorship route is similar to the inland route. However, the critical difference is that your spouse must be residing outside Canada when they apply for permanent residence. The eligibility requirements are also essentially the same, except that you and your spouse aren’t currently living together.

Related Topic: 8 Reasons Why Your Spousal Open Work Permit Refused?

The application process for inland spousal sponsorship and outland spousal sponsorship is the same and can be summarized in four simple steps:

• Obtain the Application Package from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
• Pay the application fees. This includes processing fees, the right of permanent residence fee, and a biometrics fee.
• Submit the application
• Send additional information or documents when IRCC requests them

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Most people won’t have a choice between choosing inland and outland sponsorship, depending on where their spouse currently resides. However, if your spouse is already in Canada, they can choose between following the inland or outland sponsorship route. In this situation, you might be wondering which is better. We have described various scenarios to help you understand the pros and cons of each type below.

The inland sponsorship route is better if you want your spouse to continue staying with you in Canada while their application is processed. In this scenario, your spouse can also apply for a work permit and work in Canada.

In the past, IRCC processed inland and outland spousal sponsorship applications at approximately the same rate. They began giving inland spousal sponsorship applications priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as of March 2022, they have returned to processing both types of applications at the same rate.

So you and your spouse can expect to receive a decision from IRCC within 12 months regardless of whether they have applied using the inland or outland route.

If your spouse chooses to apply using the inland sponsorship route, you won’t be allowed to leave Canada until IRCC reaches their decision on the application. This is due to the requirement that you and your spouse must be living together while the application is processed.

This means you won’t be able to travel outside Canada for business or recreation for a full year until your spouse receives their application decision. Therefore, it may be better for your spouse to apply using the outland sponsorship route if you must travel outside Canada while the application is processing.

Now you know the difference between Inland vs Outland Spousal Sponsorship Canada. If you plan to sponsor your foreign spouse for permanent residence, contact our experts at ELAAR Immigration. Our specialized team of Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants is familiar with both the inland and outland spousal sponsorship processes and can guide you on the best optimal immigration route for your spouse.