Notice – Updated spousal guides and checklists

Ottawa, June 13, 2017— Family reunification continues to be a key immigration priority for the Government of Canada. Effective today, we’ve updated our guides and checklists for the spousal sponsorship program to make them even easier to use and understand.

Since launching the revised spousal application package on December 15, 2016, we’ve been listening to our clients. Based on what we heard, we’ve improved the:

• Basic Guide,
• Complete Guide, and
• Document checklists (one each for spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, and dependent child)

The latest changes will help ensure that the application you send us is complete, so that we can process it as quickly as possible. The changes reflect the Department’s ongoing commitment to respond to clients’ needs and make improvements where possible.

The checklists replace the ones that were made available on this website, as part of last December’s 12-month processing time announcement.

If you have been filling out an application using the previous version of the checklists, we will still accept your application using the old checklists until July 15, 2017. But since the new ones are even easier to use and understand, we encourage you to use them right away.