Spousal Sponsorship Canada Documents Checklist 2026

An incomplete application does not get delayed. It gets returned. IRCC’s completeness check is binary: every required form present, every signature in place, every mandatory document attached, or the entire package comes back to you unprocessed. The non-refundable fees are gone. The processing queue position is gone. You start from zero.

This checklist covers every document, form, and piece of evidence required for a spousal sponsorship Canada 2026 application. It is organized by category so you can work through each section systematically before you upload anything.

Part 1: Required IRCC Forms

Every form below must be completed correctly, signed in the specified sections, and uploaded to the Permanent Residence Portal. Missing a single signature on any of these forms is sufficient to trigger a return of the entire application.

Form Name Who Completes It / Notes IMM 1344 Application to Sponsor, Sponsorship Agreement and Undertaking Both sponsor and sponsored person sign.

IMM 0008 Generic Application Form for Canada Completed by the sponsored person (principal applicant) digitally through the portal.

IMM 5532 Relationship Information and Sponsorship Evaluation Completed jointly by both the sponsor and sponsored person.

Part 2: Sponsor Documents

These documents establish who the sponsor is, confirm their status in Canada, and verify that no disqualifying bars apply.

Proof of Status in Canada

• Canadian citizens: Provide a clear copy of your Canadian passport (all pages showing personal information and visa stamps). If you do not have a passport, provide a Canadian citizenship certificate or citizenship card.
• Permanent residents: Provide a copy of both sides of your PR card, or a copy of your Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) if you do not yet have a PR card.
• Persons registered under the Indian Act: Provide documentation of registration.

Proof of Identity

A government-issued photo identification document such as a provincial driver’s licence or national identity card.

Previous Relationship Documentation (if applicable)

• If you were previously married: Provide a final divorce certificate or, if your former spouse is deceased, a death certificate. The divorce must be legally finalized under Canadian law or recognized by Canada.
• If you were previously in a common-law relationship that has ended: Provide a statutory declaration or other evidence confirming the relationship has ended.

Financial Documentation (if applicable)

If the sponsored person has a dependent child who also has their own dependent children: Complete and submit IMM 1283 (Financial Evaluation Form) showing you meet the minimum necessary income threshold. Provide supporting financial documents including your most recent tax assessment (Notice of Assessment from the CRA), T4 slips, and three to six months of bank statements.

Part 3: Sponsored Person Documents

These documents establish the sponsored person’s identity, their travel and residence history, and their admissibility to Canada.

Identity and Travel Documents

• Valid passport, or travel document if a passport is not available. Provide all pages, including blank pages. The passport should cover the full period of the relationship where possible.
• If the passport has expired within the relationship period, include the expired passport as well.
• National identity card or other government-issued identity document if a passport is not available.

Civil Status Documents

• Marriage certificate: For married couples, a marriage certificate that is legally valid in the country where it was issued and recognized under Canadian law. The certificate must show the official government registration of the marriage, not only a religious certificate.
• Proof of legal registration: Evidence that the marriage was registered with a government authority at the local, provincial, state, or national level.
• If previously married: Divorce certificate, annulment document, or death certificate for each former spouse. Every prior marriage must be accounted for. An officer who discovers an undisclosed prior marriage treats it as misrepresentation.
• Children’s birth certificates: If the sponsored person and sponsor have children together, provide long-form birth certificates listing both parents’ names. For adopted children, provide adoption records.

Police Certificates

Police certificates are required from every country where the sponsored person has lived for six or more consecutive months since the age of 18. This includes the country where they currently live and every other country that meets the threshold. See our Police Certificates, Medical Exams and Expired Documents guide for the full rules on validity, expiry, and what to do when a certificate is difficult or impossible to obtain.

See Blog 5C for the full rules on validity, expiry, and what to do when a certificate is difficult or impossible to obtain.

Medical Examination

The sponsored person (and all dependants being included in the application, even if they are not accompanying to Canada) must complete an Immigration Medical Examination (IME) conducted by an IRCC-approved panel physician. For most spousal sponsorship applications, IRCC sends instructions for the medical examination after the application is submitted. Do not complete an upfront medical exam unless you have researched whether this is appropriate for your specific situation and visa office.

Find a panel physician using the IRCC Panel Physician Directory, searchable by country at canada.ca. Medical exam results are valid for 12 months from the date of the exam.

Biometrics After the AOR is issued, the sponsored person receives a Biometrics Instruction Letter.

Biometrics

After the AOR is issued, the sponsored person receives a Biometrics Instruction Letter. They must attend a designated Visa Application Centre within 30 days to provide fingerprints and a photograph. Biometrics fees of $85 CAD per person (ages 14 to 79) are paid separately.

Part 4: Relationship Evidence

Relationship evidence is not a formality. It is the core of your application. Officers use it to answer the question that governs every spousal sponsorship file: is this a genuine relationship, or was it entered into primarily for immigration purposes? No single document proves a relationship is real. The totality of your evidence package does.

The requirements differ by relationship category.

For Married Couples

IRCC asks that married couples provide evidence from at least two categories in the list below, plus photographs, unless the couple answers yes to all four of the following qualifying questions: Are you and your spouse currently living together? Do you and your spouse have any children together? Is this a first marriage for both you and your sponsor? Have you and your sponsor been married for a minimum of two years as of the application date?

If any answer is no, provide the following:

• Photographs: Up to 20 photographs taken at different times and in different locations, each with a brief written description explaining the context, the date, and who is present. Include wedding and engagement photographs as well as everyday life photographs. Staged or posed photographs with no context are less useful than candid images showing real shared moments.
• Proof of contact: Letters, printed text messages, emails, social media conversations, or documented communication showing ongoing contact. IRCC’s checklist specifies a maximum of 10 pages.
• Proof of sponsor’s visits: Airline ticket coupons, boarding passes, or passport pages with entry and exit stamps showing the sponsor visited the sponsored person, or vice versa. If no in-person visits took place, an explanation must be provided in IMM 5532 Part C, Question 4.
• Financial ties: Evidence of financial interdependence, such as joint bank accounts, money transfers between the partners, shared credit cards, or shared financial obligations.
• Shared accommodation evidence: Joint lease or mortgage documents, utility bills addressed to both partners at the same address, or other documents showing cohabitation.
• Institutional recognition: Employment records, insurance documents, or other records showing the couple is recognized as spouses in formal contexts.
• Family and social recognition: Letters from family members or friends who know the couple, attesting to the genuineness of the relationship with specific personal details. Generic letters have limited value.

For Common-Law Partners

Common-law applications carry a higher documentation burden than married applications because there is no marriage certificate to anchor the relationship. The couple must prove continuous cohabitation for at least 12 consecutive months, plus the same relationship evidence categories above.

Financial ties: Evidence of financial interdependence, such as joint bank accounts, money transfers between the partners, shared credit cards, or shared financial obligations.

Shared accommodation evidence: Joint lease or mortgage documents, utility bills addressed to both partners at the same address, or other documents showing cohabitation.

Institutional recognition: Employment records, insurance documents, or other records showing the couple is recognized as spouses in formal contexts.

Family and social recognition: Letters from family members or friends who know the couple, attesting to the genuineness of the relationship with specific personal details.

Proof of contact: Letters, printed text messages, emails, social media conversations, or documented communication showing ongoing contact.

Proof of sponsor's visits: Airline ticket coupons, boarding passes, or passport pages with entry and exit stamps showing the sponsor visited the sponsored person, or vice versa.

IRCC requires at least two documents demonstrating current cohabitation, including at minimum one joint utility bill. Accepted documents include joint lease agreements, mortgage documents, utility bills, bank statements, insurance policies, or government documents showing both partners at the same address.

The Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union (IMM 5409) must also be completed, commissioned or notarized, and included.

For Conjugal Partners

Conjugal partner applications require a signed written statement from both partners explaining why they cannot marry or cohabit, with specific documentation supporting those reasons. IRCC treats this as the most exceptional and most scrutinized category. Seek professional guidance if you are applying as conjugal partners.

Part 5: The Final Check Before You Upload

Before uploading anything to the Permanent Residence Portal, work through this final review.

• Both IMM 5287 (sponsor checklist) and IMM 5533 (spouse checklist) are completed, all applicable boxes are ticked, and both are uploaded.
• IMM 5532 is signed in all required sections by both the sponsor and the sponsored person separately.
• IMM 1344 is signed by both parties.
• Every form has been generated correctly, not hand-typed. Forms must be completed using the official fillable PDF versions from canada.ca to generate the required barcodes.
• Every document with information in a language other than English or French has a certified translation attached. The translator cannot be a family member.
• Police certificates have been obtained from every required country and meet the validity requirements (see our Police Certificates guide).
• Application fees have been paid and the payment receipt is attached.
• All uploaded files are legible, colour scans or high-quality photographs of originals, not photocopies of photocopies.
• The sponsor’s and sponsored person’s answers across all forms are consistent with each other and with the supporting evidence.

Police certificates have been obtained from every required country and meet the validity requirements (see Blog 5C).

Frequently Asked Questions