Expected timeline for new outland spousal sponsorship applications after the pause is lifted?

[jgv22]

Hello,

I'm about ready to submit the application to sponsor my spouse, who is living outside Canada. I'm counting on being given the ok to go ahead to submit to Quebec before the pause is lifted on June 26. First, is this a reasonable assumption--do we know what the current processing times are for this first step at IRCC? Second, I maybe naively felt optimistic that after having had almost a year of no new applications to Quebec, the backlog would have cleared and timelines might not be so horrendous. Do we still expect a bottleneck somewhere in the process after the pause has lifted, and if so where?

Third question: for requesting a visitor's visa, citing dual intent (intent to return to her home country after the visit as well as the longer-term intent to immigrate to Canada), do you think there is any difference in the likelihood of getting a positive answer if we apply immediately after getting AOR from Canada, versus waiting until we have submitted to Quebec?

And finally there is a thing I don't understand, looking at the timelines I've seen posted here. People's time to get the CSQ seems quite reasonable after being invited to apply, like less than 6 months. Since this is the part of the process where Quebec has its own process distinct from other provinces, I would have thought this should mean it wouldn't take more than an extra 6 months, compared to the rest of the country, to complete the process in Quebec. What am I missing, where have the horrendous delays people have previously experienced in the Quebec process come from?

 

[Joey-Jo]

Each case is different, and no-one here can tell you how long the process will take for individual cases, whether inside Quebec or outside, or whether there is a bottleneck (there probably is though). The length of the background check especially can vary from case to case.

If you are planning to apply for a CSQ when they unpause applications for the next round in June 2026, I would sort out your spouse's TRV and start applying to Federal immigration (ie, IRCC) now (or soon) for spousal sponsorship. That way you get a large chunk of the initial stages (hopefully) out of the way before you apply for the CSQ (AOR, sponsorship approval, biometrics, medical). Background check is usually the longest part. (Mine took 1.5 years!).

In my case the first stage with IRCC went fairly fast (applied end February 2024, sponsorship eligibility, biometrics and medical completed by May 2024). I then applied for my CSQ in May 2024 (I was in Canada at the time when I did this, which really helped as my partner and I could collaborate in collecting all the info required from him), and it took 3 months to receive my CSQ. After that... a VERY long wait (due to the background/security check).

I think I was lucky when applying for the CSQ because I got my application in before June 2024 before they imposed caps on applications.

 

[jgv22]

Each case is different, and no-one here can tell you how long the process will take for individual cases, whether inside Quebec or outside, or whether there is a bottleneck (there probably is though). The length of the background check especially can vary from case to case.

Thank you -- could you confirm one thing for me? After Quebec emits the CSQ, is there any other Quebec-based bottleneck that is known about, or is the process from that point on all identical to any other federal application? I ask because I can't figure out why the expected times are currently given as 14 months elsewhere in Canada, and 33 months in Quebec (for outland applications), if the CSQ process only seems to take a few months (once the pause is lifted).

Yes, we have assembled everything and are just waiting for one foreign police check to be returned to us before we put it all in. This will hopefully be in enough time that we'll be permitted to go forward to the Quebec stage in time for when the pause is lifted, because I imagine that after a year of pause, there will be enough applications ready to go that the new quota will be met extremely quickly.

Then I really, really hope that a TRV will be granted when we apply, citing dual intent, after the PR application receives AOR. This is also a federal-only decision, right?

 

[Joey-Jo]

Thank you -- could you confirm one thing for me? After Quebec emits the CSQ, is there any other Quebec-based bottleneck that is known about, or is the process from that point on all identical to any other federal application? I ask because I can't figure out why the expected times are currently given as 14 months elsewhere in Canada, and 33 months in Quebec (for outland applications), if the CSQ process only seems to take a few months (once the pause is lifted).

Yes, we have assembled everything and are just waiting for one foreign police check to be returned to us before we put it all in. This will hopefully be in enough time that we'll be permitted to go forward to the Quebec stage in time for when the pause is lifted, because I imagine that after a year of pause, there will be enough applications ready to go that the new quota will be met extremely quickly.

Then I really, really hope that a TRV will be granted when we apply, citing dual intent, after the PR application receives AOR. This is also a federal-only decision, right?

To be honest, I don't have the answer to that because I posed a similar question here in this forum last May. Quebec applications simply take longer, despite the applicant successfully being awarded the CSQ. If the "estimates" quoted on the IRCC website (for Quebec outland) are 37 months (or however long it is currently), then that's what you should expect - receiving PR can occur sooner than that (as in my case), but not guaranteed. Also you have to factor in how long a background check can take, which can vary from case to case. Having said that, I was honestly expecting my application to drag on for another year at least as per the IRCC estimates, but I got my PR in approx 21 months immediately after my background check and eligiblity was completed.

TRV is a federal-only decision I believe, yes. In my case since I was married and the application was already in process (medical, biometrics, police certificates etc done), and I already had an ETA (similar to a TRV), I also received a SOWP (Spousal Open Work permit) for 2 years.

It is good you are preparing all the documents in advance. Just be prepared for a long wait after everything is applied for, although with a TRV your partner can still visit you in Canada.

I'm not going to lie, the whole process of this for me personally was mentally (and somewhat emotionally) quite exhausting, uncertain and stressful. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. So just best of luck to you.