I’ve applied to sponsor someone outside Canada. What happens next?

Once you’ve sent in your application, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) contacts you by email or by mail using Canada Post to say they have your application. Make sure IRCC has your most current email address or mailing address.

If your application is not ready for processing

IRCC will send your application back to you if:

• you used outdated forms or the wrong forms,
• you did not include all the required information, or
• you have not paid the required fees.

If IRCC returns your application, you have to correct the problems and send it back.

This means that IRCC will not start to process your application until you send them the corrected version. This is important because the date when IRCC starts to process your application can affect whether you can sponsor dependent children.

If your application is ready for processing

When IRCC begins to process your application, they give you an application number.

You can go online to check what’s happening with your application. You can also call IRCC’s Client Support Centre at 1-888-242-2100 to ask about the processing of your application.

And you can check processing times online to see how long sponsorships like yours usually take to be processed.