Spousal sponsorship proof of relationship 2026: the IRCC checklist, IMM 5409 and IMM 5532

The checklists name the categories: documents showing you live together (a lease, joint accounts, the same address on ID), proof of contact while apart, the sponsor’s visits, photos, and evidence that others recognize the relationship, such as letters from family or social media. Which of them you need depends on the situation, as the checklist finder shows for spousal, common-law and conjugal sponsorship.

At most 20 with the application, taken at different times and places, uploaded as JPG, JPEG or PDF, with a separate document describing each photo. All three IRCC checklists set that cap. A married couple who live together, have a child together, are both in a first marriage and have been married at least two years provide no photos at this stage.

No, not on their own. The checklists treat chats as proof of contact, which they ask for from couples who do not live together and from conjugal partners, capped at 10 pages with certified translations. Chats are not listed as a substitute for the cohabitation documents, photos or recognition options the same checklists ask for. Choose pages that show dates and both names, as described in how to present chats.

Conjugal partners do: their checklist asks for at least 2 letters of support from people with personal knowledge of the relationship. Where the checklist asks spouses and common-law partners for at least 2 of 4 recognition options, letters from friends and family or social media showing a public relationship count as one of the four.

Follow the living-apart section of your checklist: proof of contact, proof of the sponsor’s visits or an explanation in IMM 5532, photos, and two of the four recognition options. IMM 5532 asks when you first met in person and whether you were in contact before that. Under section 5 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, a person is not a spouse if either spouse was not physically present at the marriage ceremony. The exception is a spouse absent because of service as a member of the Canadian Forces, where the marriage is valid both where it took place and under Canadian law.

Under subsection 4(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, a foreign national is not considered a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner if the relationship was entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring any status or privilege under the Act, or is not genuine. Show it with dated evidence that matches what you both answer in IMM 5532: when you met, the visits, how you keep in touch and who knows about the relationship.

IRCC’s own instructions say applicants must be informed of the decision-maker’s concerns and have a meaningful opportunity to respond, and that decision-makers should tell applicants which documents may be required. Answer each concern with dated evidence, labelled the same way as in your application, by the deadline in the letter. A licensed consultant or lawyer can help.

In a sponsorship, IRCC’s instructions ask for it when the sponsor’s common-law partner co-signs the application, and when the person being sponsored has a common-law partner. Both cases involve a common-law partner, not a married spouse. The declaration is made before a Notary Public, a Commissioner of Oaths or a Commissioner of Taking Affidavits, and signed by hand. The common-law checklist IMM 5589 does not list the form itself, so ask an authorized representative whether to include it.

At least one year. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations define a common-law partner as someone cohabiting with the person in a conjugal relationship for at least one year. If you do not live together now, IMM 5589 asks for documents showing you previously cohabited in a common-law relationship for a minimum of 12 months.

Yes. The checklists ask for certified English or French translations of all proof of contact that is not already in English or French. The general instructions on the checklist also require a certified copy of the original document, and an affidavit from the translator when the translator is not a member in good standing of a provincial or territorial organization of translators and interpreters in Canada.

4 MB per file in the Permanent Residence Portal, according to the IRCC Help Centre. Each field holds only one file, so combine related pages into one PDF; if it is over the limit, IRCC suggests saving it at 150 DPI or less.

IRCC publishes current processing times for spouse and partner sponsorship in its processing times tool and updates them regularly, so check there rather than relying on a figure in a guide.