According to them, if the sponsored spouse is in Canada and the sponsorship application has been filed under the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class, they have the right to remain in the country until the immigration process is completed, regardless of their current status in Canada. Thus, the requirement to hold a valid temporary immigration status in Canada is removed. As reported by Russian Toronto, the change takes effect immediately upon its announcement (i.e., from February 18, 2005).
Before this provision was introduced, sponsored spouses could remain in Canada only if they held a legal permit – for example, a valid visa (tourist, student, etc.). If such a visa expired and could not be extended, the spouse had to immediately leave Canada and wait for the immigration process to conclude from outside the country. This situation forced spouses to live apart for quite a long period, as the immigration process for sponsored spouses can take up to a year or more.
The Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration decided to ease the plight of separated spouses and give them the opportunity to live together while the immigration process is underway. However, the minister stressed that his department would carefully monitor that spouses who have been refused an immigration visa immediately leave Canada.
It should be noted that these changes apply only to sponsored spouses who are in Canada and whose immigration application was filed within Canada under the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class.
The same change does not apply to spouses who are outside the country and who file their application with the nearest Canadian embassy abroad. Nevertheless, Joe Volpe stressed that such applications for sponsorship of spouses outside Canada will be processed on a priority basis so that families can reunite as quickly as possible. In particular, he said that most Canadian embassies abroad process immigration applications from sponsored spouses within six months.
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