3. Wait for IRCC to contact the person you’re sponsoring
Question & Answer
I’ve applied to sponsor someone outside Canada. What happens next?If your or is not in Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) sends your application to the IRCC visa office for the area where they live.
The visa office decides whether your relative or family member:
- is because of a health condition
- is inadmissible to Canada for other reasons, for example, because of crimes they’ve committed
- has proved their relationship with you
They also decide whether there are other reasons to refuse the application for status. For example, they can refuse because of a misrepresentation by you or the person you’re sponsoring. This means giving false information to IRCC or leaving out information that’s required.
Misrepresentation is complicated. So it’s important to get legal advice if you think it might have happened.
If you’re sponsoring your or who’s in Canada, an immigration office in Canada makes these decisions.
IRCC contacts your relative or family member to get the information they need to make a decision about the sponsorship. They can also ask the person to come for an interview.
Documents
IRCC will have the documents that you sent with the sponsorship application. They may want to see the originals of documents, such as passports, birth certificates, and marriage certificates.
They can also ask for more documents. They do this if they don’t think the documents they have are enough to show that your relative or family member qualifies to be sponsored. For example, they might want more of the relationship between you and a spouse or partner.
Biometrics
Almost everyone who applies for a permanent resident visa has to give what IRCC calls biometrics. This means they have their fingerprints and a photo taken. IRCC sends them a letter saying where to have their biometrics done.
Medical exams
IRCC will ask your relative or family member to have a medical exam. They must choose a doctor on IRCC’s list.
If they have a spouse, common-law partner, or a , that person will also have to do medical exams. This is true even if the application for permanent residence says that they’re not coming to Canada.
The doctor sends the results directly to IRCC. IRCC looks at the results and decides whether or not your relative or family member is . Read more about being inadmissible in Step 4.
