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After you apply

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Processing your application

Check processing times

How we use electronic methods to process applications

In line with Canada’s immigration and privacy laws,

  • we may use electronic methods to help process applications and make decisions, including on your application
    • Methods could include computer analytics, automation and others.
  • we may use personal information we collect on an application and supporting documents to support electronic processing
    • This could include research, statistics, program and policy evaluation, internal audits, compliance, risk management, computer analytics development, strategy development and reporting.

Find out more about how we use electronic systems.

After we receive your application, we’ll review it and check that it’s complete.

We’ll return it to you if

If your application is complete, we’ll begin to process your application and

We’ll also ask the people you’re sponsoring to submit their

We’ll send the people you’re sponsoring instructions and tell them how much time they have to send us this information.

While you wait for a decision, your family member may be able to join you in Canada

While you wait for a decision on your spouse, partner or dependent child’s permanent residence (PR) application, they can apply for a visitor visa. If they’re approved for a visitor visa, they can apply for an open work permit (OWP) when they arrive in Canada.

Visiting Canada

After you submit the PR application, your spouse, partner or dependent child has the option to apply for a visitor visa if they’re currently outside Canada.

How to apply for a visitor visa

Faster processing for your spouse or partner’s visitor visa

Your spouse or partner may be eligible for faster processing for a visitor visa if you (the sponsor) received an acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) that confirms their permanent residence application is in progress.

To get faster processing,

If they’re eligible, they’ll automatically receive faster processing. They don’t need to request it.

Applications that need more information, for example custody documents for a child, will take longer to process.

Working in Canada

Once your spouse, partner or dependent child arrives in Canada, they can apply for an OWP if

  • you (the sponsor) received an AOR that confirms that their permanent residence application is in progress
  • they’re living with you

How to apply for an OWP

Getting health coverage

If you’re in Canada or plan to come to Canada while your PR application is being processed, it’s important to learn about the health care system.

Processing times vary based on several factors, including how many applications we get and how complex your case is.

You may not be eligible for public health insurance right away. To make sure you’re covered in case you need medical care, we encourage you to check your province or territory’s requirements for health coverage and to explore private health insurance options.

Decision on your application

If we approve you as a sponsor

We’ll send you a letter or email to tell you that you’ve been approved. We’ll then assess the eligibility of the people you’re sponsoring.

If you live in Quebec

You must complete an undertaking with the Government of Quebec.

Learn about

Don’t submit your undertaking application to Quebec until we tell you to do so. If you don’t wait for our confirmation, Quebec won’t process your application.

If we refuse you as a sponsor

We’ll send you a letter or email to tell you that you’ve been refused.

When you applied, you told us whether you wanted to withdraw your sponsorship or continue processing your family member’s permanent residence application if you were refused as a sponsor.

If you chose to withdraw your sponsorship, you won’t get the sponsorship fee back. You’ll get all other fees back.

If you chose to continue processing the permanent residence application, you won’t get any processing fees back. Keep in mind, there is no guarantee that your family member’s application will be approved.

If we approve your family members’ permanent residence application

To finish processing their application, we may ask your spouse, partner and/or their dependants who are immigrating to Canada with them (if this applies) to send us

  • their passports, or photocopies of their passports (we’ll tell them which one they should send)
  • 1 photo (front and back)
  • the receipt for the right of permanent residence fee, if you haven’t sent it to us already

We’ll tell them how to send us this information.

If your family members are outside Canada

Once we finish processing their application, we’ll issue your family members

  • their Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR), which is a document confirming they’ve been approved to become permanent residents
  • a permanent resident visa, if required
    • If the people you’re sponsoring are from countries whose citizens need a visa to travel to Canada, we’ll give them a permanent resident visa in their passport.

Once your family members receive these documents, they can travel to Canada. Make sure to check the expiry dates on the permanent resident visa and the Confirmation of Permanent Residence.

Your family members will have to show their COPR and permanent resident visa (if we gave them one) to the border services officer at a Canadian port of entry before their documents expire. The officer will decide if your family members can enter Canada as permanent residents.

Find out more about how your family members can prepare for arrival.

If your family members are inside Canada

We’ll contact your family members with instructions on how to confirm their permanent residence status online through the Permanent Residence Portal.

In some cases, your family members may need to meet with an immigration officer for an in-person interview. If an interview is required, we’ll tell them what documents to bring, and the time and place of their interview.

If we refuse your family members’ permanent residence application

If we refuse their permanent residence application, we’ll tell you

  • why we refused it
  • how to appeal the decision (if this applies)
    • You can’t appeal our decision if you’re sponsoring them under the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class.

Track and update your application

During processing, track your application and make sure it’s up to date by

Check the status of your application

For the sponsor

After we receive your application and check that it’s complete, we’ll send you an acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) letter or email. After you get your AOR, you can use the Application Status tracker (opens in a new tab) to check the status of your application.

Check your spouse, partner or child’s application status

If you want to check your family member’s application status (without acting as their representative), you must first request access to their information. Find out how they can give you access.

To protect their privacy, your family member will need to give us their written consent before we’ll share any of their personal information with you, or give anyone access to their application information.

Manage your spouse, partner or child’s application

You can act as your family member’s representative if you want to

  • fill out and submit their application for them
  • communicate with us on their behalf

To become their representative:

  1.  Complete and sign the form to appoint or change a representative.
    • The people you’re sponsoring must also sign the form, unless they’re under 18 years old.
  2. Include the form with your application. If you’ve already submitted your application, send it to us through our web form.
    • In your web form request, include your
      • full name
      • date of birth
      • country of birth
      • application number (if you know it)
      • relative’s client ID number (UCI) (if you know it)

For the people being sponsored

The people you’re sponsoring can check their application status in 2 ways:

If your processing time has passed

If your application is complex, it may take us longer than normal to process it.

Do not contact us about your application status if you don’t have an acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) letter.

Keep your information up to date

Update your contact information or tell us about changes to your family situation, for example, marriage, birth, divorce or death.

Update your personal information

Withdraw your sponsorship application

You can request to withdraw your sponsorship application any time before the people you’re sponsoring become permanent residents.

You may be able to get a refund if we haven’t started processing your application.

How to request to withdraw your sponsorship application

Use our web form to request to withdraw your sponsorship application.

In your request, include your

  • full name
  • date of birth
  • country of birth
  • application number, if you know it
  • unique client identifier (UCI), if you know it
  • signed withdrawal request letter

Once we receive your request, we’ll review it and confirm if your application has been withdrawn.

If the people you’re sponsoring become permanent residents before we process your request, you’re responsible for them for the undertaking period.

Refund for the right of permanent residence fee

You may receive a refund for the right of permanent residence fee if

If you don’t automatically receive the refund within 2–8 weeks, you can ask for a refund.

Need help?

If you need help, you can find answers to your questions in the Help Centre.

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