You can sponsor your spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent children.

Your spouse: Your spouse can be either sex and must be
• Legally married to you
• At least 18 years old

Your common-law partner
• Isn’t legally married to you
• Can be either sex
• Is at least 18 years old
• Has been living with you for at least 12 consecutive months, meaning you’ve been living together continuously for 1 year in a conjugal relationship, without any long periods apart
• Any time spent away from each other should have been ; short or temporary

If you or your common-law partner choose to end the relationship, we consider the relationship to be over. You’ll need to give proof of your common-law relationship.

Your conjugal partner
• Isn’t legally married to you or in a common-law relationship with you
• Can be either sex
• Is at least 18 years old
• Has been in a relationship with you for at least 1 year
• Lives outside Canada
• Can’t live with you in their country of residence or marry you because of significant legal and immigration reasons such as
• Their marital status (for example, they’re still married to someone else in a country where divorce isn’t possible)
• Their sexual orientation (for example, you are in a same-sex relationship, and same-sex relationships are not accepted, or same-sex marriage is illegal where they live),
• Persecution (for example, your relationship is between different religious groups which is not accepted and they may be punished legally or socially)

You’ll need to give proof that you could not live together or get married in your conjugal partner’s country (for example, proof of refused long-term stays in each other’s country).