Dear future neighbour,
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is speeding up the processing of overseas spousal sponsorships, including common-law partners, with two new automation tools. These tools aim to automate the eligibility approval process for both the sponsor and the main applicant in standard family-class overseas spouse and partner applications.
To reduce backlogs, the immigration department plans to use new tools for future applications and is already using similar tools for post-graduation work permits, International Experience Canada, and LMIA-based applications.
The new initiative will streamline overseas spouse and partner applications by organizing them based on common traits, aiming to reduce the current 12-month processing time using automated tools.
See below two of the new tools that will focus on assessing the eligibility of the following sections:
1. Review of sponsorship with automation
The immigration officer initially reviews the sponsorship section to quickly approve common cases. If not automatically approved, the officer manually reviews the sponsorship section. After that, they may automate routine approvals to speed up the process for applicants.
2. Review of the primary applicant with automation
The automation tool for the primary applicant’s section speeds up processing for routine applications, allowing the department to operate more efficiently. For regular applications, the tool can confirm the applicant’s qualifications and pass the case to an officer for the final decision.
See below Spousal Sponsorship Canada Processing Time
| Application Type | Processing Time as of May 1 | Change Since April 23 |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse or common-law partner living outside Canada (intention to live outside Quebec) | 13 months | +1 month |
| Spouse or common-law partner living outside Canada (intention to live in Quebec) | 34 months | +6 months |
| Spouse or common-law partner living inside Canada (intention to live outside Quebec) | 11 months | +3 months |
| Spouse or common-law partner living inside Canada (intention to live in Quebec) | 27 months | +3 months |
According to the department, immigration officers will make the final decision on all family class applications; the new tools do not reject applications or advise officers to do so. Spouse and partner applications have two sections: sponsorship and the primary applicant.
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