You were sponsored as a spouse and want to sponsor a new partner: the five-year bar and your options

By Sundeep S. Grewal, lawyer at Lawgical Law Corporation · Reviewed November 10, 2026

Published November 10, 2026

Sundeep S. Grewal is a lawyer at Lawgical Law Corporation, called to the BC bar in 2018, and a member of the Law Society of British Columbia.

Updated November 10, 2026: section 130 of the Regulations checked that day.

If you became a permanent resident because a spouse or partner sponsored you, you cannot sponsor a new spouse or partner until you have been a permanent resident, a citizen, or both, for at least five years before the day you file. It does not matter that the first relationship has ended, or why. If you file too early the sponsorship will be refused. The choices are to wait, or, where your new partner is in Canada, to ask for a humanitarian exemption.

Lawgical Law Corporation, an immigration law firm in Surrey, Abbotsford and Vancouver, BC, prepares spousal sponsorships and humanitarian applications and takes refusals to the Federal Court; this guide is by Sundeep S. Grewal.

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What does section 130(3) say?

Section 130(3) of the Regulations says a sponsor who was sponsored as a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner “may not sponsor a foreign national [..] as a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner unless the sponsor has been a permanent resident, or a Canadian citizen, or a combination of the two” for at least five years before the sponsorship application is filed.

The bar is about sponsoring a partner. It does not stop you sponsoring your own dependent child.

Why this needs a lawyer

One lawyer, one file, every step:

• counting the five years correctly from your landing date;
• a humanitarian application, if waiting is not workable;
• judicial review within 15 or 60 days if that is refused.

Immigration lawyers are members of a provincial law society (in our case, the Law Society of British Columbia), and only lawyers can appear for you in the Federal Court.

What are my options?

1. Wait and file after the five years. Count from the date on your confirmation of permanent residence.
2. Humanitarian and compassionate application, if your partner is in Canada, asking for an exemption from section 130(3) under section 25 of the Act.
3. A temporary option for your partner in the meantime, such as a visitor record or a permit of their own.
4. If already refused: appeal or judicial review only if the officer got the dates or facts wrong.

What did the Court say in Khandaker?

In Khandaker v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2020 FC 985, a woman whose earlier husband had died suddenly in 2017 later remarried. Section 130(3) barred her from sponsoring her new husband because she had not yet been a permanent resident for five years, so he applied in Canada and asked for a humanitarian exemption from the bar. The officer refused, and the Court dismissed his challenge.

The lesson I take from Khandaker is that a sympathetic reason for the first relationship ending is not enough by itself. A humanitarian request has to show real hardship from waiting.

Five-year bar at a glance

Worked example: counting five years

Example. A woman landed in Canada as a sponsored spouse on March 15, 2022. She can file a sponsorship for a new partner on or after March 15, 2027. If she files on March 1, 2027, it will be refused.

Mistakes I have seen

• I have seen people count from the date they arrived in Canada on a visa, not the date they became permanent residents.
• I have seen people file a few weeks early and lose the fee.
• I have seen people assume citizenship resets the clock. Time as a PR and citizen together counts.

Frequently asked questions

My first spouse died. Does the bar still apply?

Yes, on its face. Khandaker involved a sponsor whose earlier husband had died. A humanitarian request is the route to ask for an exception.

Can my new partner visit me meanwhile?

They can apply for a visitor visa or a permit of their own, but the officer will look at whether they will leave.

Does the bar apply if my first sponsor was a parent?

No. It applies only if you were sponsored as a spouse or partner.

Related guides

See our guides on other sponsor bars, an undeclared family member, inland and outland sponsorship and separating after getting PR as a spouse or dependant.

What should I do right now?

Find the landing date on your confirmation of permanent residence and add five years. If that date is far away and your partner is in Canada, ask about a humanitarian application.

Book a consultation with our immigration lawyers in Surrey, Abbotsford or Vancouver, or online from anywhere.

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Sources (official)

• Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, s. 130 (current to October 19, 2026)
• Khandaker v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2020 FC 985 (October 20, 2020)

This article is general information, not legal advice. Every case depends on its own facts.