Form IMM 5532, Relationship Information and Sponsorship Evaluation: what it asks and where relationship evidence fits

IMM 5532 is the IRCC form that a sponsor and the spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner they are sponsoring fill out for a Canadian sponsorship application. This guide summarises what each part asks, who signs where, and where chat history can support your Part C answers about how your relationship developed.

Last reviewed: 2026-10-14

At a glance

Form: IMM 5532, Relationship Information and Sponsorship Evaluation
Agency: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
Edition: 02-2021 (checked 2026-10-14) — IRCC’s IMM 5532 page shows the form as last updated in February 2021, and the form itself is marked 02-2021. Download it from that page when you prepare your application.
Filing fee: IRCC does not list a separate fee for IMM 5532. It is one of the forms in a spouse or partner sponsorship application, and IRCC’s fee list sets out the fees for that application (the sponsorship fee, the processing fee and the right of permanent residence fee). We do not print the amounts here; check the fee list on the day you pay. Official fee schedule.

What the form is for

Part A (sponsor): employment history for the past five years, past and current sponsorships, other people who depend on you financially, your education, every address for the past five years, whether you live in Canada now, previous marriages or common-law relationships, an optional consent, and your declaration.
Part B (principal applicant): whether the sponsor was related to you before the relationship, relatives living in Canada, previous marriages or common-law relationships, an optional consent, and your declaration.
Part C (both of you): your first in-person meeting and any contact before it, whether you live together, visits, the languages you use with each other, how often and how you communicate when apart, who knows about the relationship, whether the marriage was arranged, ceremonies or events and which family members attended, pregnancy, and any other information that supports your relationship.
Background: under section 4 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, a person is not considered a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner if the relationship was entered into primarily to acquire any status or privilege under the Act, or is not genuine. IRCC’s spouse checklist asks you to provide evidence that your relationship with your sponsor is genuine.

Who can file it

Two people fill out and sign IMM 5532: the sponsor and the principal applicant (the spouse or partner being sponsored). The sponsor completes Part A, the principal applicant completes Part B, and you complete Part C together.
IRCC’s complete guide (IMM 5289) says that if you are sponsoring a spouse or partner, with or without dependent children, you must fill out this form.
Sponsor: IRCC says you can sponsor if you are at least 18; are a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or a person registered in Canada under the Indian Act; live in Canada; commit to supporting the people you sponsor by signing an undertaking and sponsorship agreement; and meet the other requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and its Regulations. A Canadian citizen living outside Canada must show they plan to live in Canada when the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident, and a permanent resident living outside Canada cannot sponsor.
Spouse: legally married to the sponsor. Common-law partner: not legally married, but you have lived together continuously for 1 year in a conjugal relationship, without any long periods apart. Conjugal partner: not married or common-law, in an exclusive and mutually interdependent relationship with the sponsor for at least 1 year, living outside Canada, and may not be able to live with the sponsor in their country of residence or marry them because of legal, immigration, social, cultural, religious or other reasons. In each category the sponsored spouse or partner must be at least 18.
In every category, IRCC says the relationship must be genuine and not only for the purpose of getting permanent resident status.

How and where it is filed

IMM 5532 is not filed on its own. It is part of the sponsorship application, which IRCC’s complete guide says has been mandatory to submit online since September 23, 2022. The guide explains how to ask for a paper, braille or large-print package if you cannot apply online and need an accommodation, including for a disability.
The sponsor fills out the PDF form and gives an electronic copy of the completed form to the person being sponsored, who uploads it to their online application in the Permanent Residence online application portal.
Signatures: the sponsor signs Part A, Question 9 and Part C, Question 12; the principal applicant signs Part B, Question 5 and Part C, Question 13.
To sign digitally, IRCC’s guide says to complete the form first and then select “print to PDF”, which creates a version that can be signed. The IMM 5532 page describes printing the completed form to “Microsoft Print to PDF”, saving it, and typing your name in the signature fields.
Open the form on a computer with Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher. IRCC says it may not open on tablets or mobile phones.
If you need more space for a section, include an additional page for that section and upload it with your application, choosing “other” as the document type. IRCC accepts JPG, JPEG or PDF for these pages.
If an interpreter helped you fill out the form, the Interpreter Declaration (Part C, Question 14) must be fully completed.
IRCC’s guide says an application will not be accepted for processing if requested forms are missing or not fully completed and signed.

Evidence the instructions ask for

The IMM 5532 instructions do not list documents to attach to the form itself, apart from any extra pages you add. The supporting documents are set by the document checklist for your category, for example IMM 5533 for a spouse or IMM 5589 for a common-law partner. The items below are from the spouse checklist (IMM 5533).
Marriage certificate or other proof that your marriage is legally registered where it took place. A record of solemnization or a marriage licence is not accepted.
Not living together: proof of contact (letters, printed text messages, emails, social media conversations or other documented proof of contact), up to a maximum of 10 pages, plus proof of your sponsor’s visits such as airline ticket coupons, used boarding passes or passport pages with entry and exit stamps.
Living together: documents from at least two of the listed sets, such as joint ownership of your home, a rental agreement naming you both, joint utility, credit card or bank accounts, vehicle insurance showing you both at the insured address, or government-issued documents showing the same address.
Children together: a birth certificate for each child showing the names of both parents.
Unless you answer yes to all four checklist questions (living together, children together, first marriage for both of you, married at least two years): up to 20 photos taken at different times and places with a short description of each, and documents from at least two of four options: documents showing you are recognised as each other’s spouse (such as employment or insurance benefits), financial support or shared expenses, proof that friends or family recognise the relationship (such as letters or social media showing a public relationship), or proof of past cohabitation.
Documents not in English or French need an English or French translation and, unless the translator is certified in Canada, an affidavit from the translator. Translations cannot be done by the applicants or members of their family.
If you cannot provide a document the checklist asks for, the checklist asks for a detailed written explanation and any other evidence you have.

Where relationship evidence fits

IMM 5532 is where you answer IRCC’s questions about your relationship. The documents that support those answers are listed in the proof-of-relationship section of your document checklist.
Part C, Questions 1 and 2 ask when and where you first met in person, whether anyone introduced you, and whether you were in contact before that, including who made first contact, when, and whether it was by phone, letter, email or social media.
Part C, Questions 3 and 4: if you do not live together, explain why not and list any past periods of living together; if you have visited each other, give the dates, who travelled, and where you stayed. The spouse checklist says that if your sponsor did not visit you, you should explain this in Part C, Question 4.
Part C, Questions 5 to 7 ask which languages you use with each other, how often and how you communicate when you are not together, and whether close friends, family and children know about the relationship.
Part C, Questions 8 and 9 ask whether the marriage was arranged and about ceremonies or events such as an engagement, wedding, reception or honeymoon, and which family members attended.
Part C, Question 11 lets you add anything else that supports your application and was not covered by the earlier questions.
IRCC may ask for more documents, including more proof of relationship, later in processing. If an interview is needed, IRCC tells you in writing, and an officer may ask the principal applicant about their relationship with the sponsor.

What chat history can help show

Contact before meeting (Part C, Question 2): the first messages in your chat can show who made first contact, when, and on which platform.
How you communicate when apart (Part C, Question 6): dated messages from across the relationship can corroborate the frequency and channels you describe, within the 10-page proof-of-contact limit for couples who are not living together.
Visits (Part C, Question 4): messages planning trips, arrival times and where you stayed can support your boarding passes and passport stamps. They support those documents; they do not replace them.
Languages (Part C, Question 5): the messages themselves show the language or languages you write to each other in.

Before you include chat history

IMM 5532 does not ask you to attach messages. On the spouse checklist, printed text messages and social media conversations are listed as proof of contact for couples who are not living together; couples who live together are asked for cohabitation documents instead.
IRCC allows a maximum of 10 pages of proof of contact with your application. A long chat export will not fit within that limit, so you will need to choose which pages to include.
Messages that are not in English or French need certified English or French translations, and IRCC says translations cannot be done by the applicants or members of their family.
Check that the dates in the messages you include match the dates you give in Part C. You both declare that the information on the form is truthful, complete and correct, and IRCC’s guide says that submitting false documents or misrepresenting facts leads to refusal and a record of the misrepresentation being kept.

Common mistakes

Leaving questions blank. IRCC says to answer all questions on IMM 5532, and its guide says to write “Not Applicable” or “NA” where a section does not apply.
Missing one of the four signatures (sponsor: Part A, Question 9 and Part C, Question 12; principal applicant: Part B, Question 5 and Part C, Question 13). Applications with forms that are not fully completed and signed are not accepted for processing.
Gaps in the sponsor’s five-year employment or address history, reporting income after tax instead of the gross amount, abbreviated addresses, or P.O. box addresses.
Leaving out a previous marriage or common-law relationship. Part A, Question 7 and Part B, Question 3 ask for details of each previous spouse or partner, and the checklist asks for documents such as a final divorce certificate, an annulment or a death certificate for a previous marriage.
Not explaining in Part C why you do not live together or, if your sponsor has not visited you, why not.
Sending more than 10 pages of proof of contact.
Messages or documents in another language without an English or French translation, or translations done by yourself or a family member.
Submitting a record of solemnization or a marriage licence instead of a marriage certificate.
Trying to open the form on a phone or tablet, or with something other than Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher. IRCC says the form may not open on tablets or mobile phones.

Frequently asked questions

Who fills out IMM 5532?

Both the sponsor and the principal applicant (the spouse or partner being sponsored). The sponsor completes Part A, the principal applicant completes Part B, and you complete Part C together. The sponsor signs Part A, Question 9 and Part C, Question 12; the principal applicant signs Part B, Question 5 and Part C, Question 13.

Is IMM 5532 the same as IMM 5533?

No. IMM 5532 is the Relationship Information and Sponsorship Evaluation form, where you answer questions about the sponsor, the principal applicant and your relationship. IMM 5533 is the Document Checklist for a spouse: it lists the documents to upload, including proof of contact for couples who are not living together.

Do WhatsApp or other chat messages count as evidence for IMM 5532?

Messages are not attached to IMM 5532 itself. On IRCC’s spouse document checklist, couples who are not living together are asked for proof of contact, and the examples include letters, printed text messages, emails and social media conversations. Chat history can support your Part C answers about first contact, how often you communicate and your visits. IRCC asks for certified English or French translations of proof-of-contact documents in other languages.

How many pages of messages can we send?

IRCC’s spouse checklist and complete guide allow a maximum of 10 pages of proof of contact with your application. IRCC may still ask for more documents later in processing if it needs more information.

What if we do not live together or have not visited each other?

Part C, Question 3 asks you to explain why you are not living together and to list any past periods when you did. Part C, Question 4 asks you to explain why if you have not visited each other, and the spouse checklist says that if your sponsor did not visit you, you should explain this in Part C, Question 4.

Do we have to consent to the release of marriage fraud investigation results?

No. IRCC says consent for these questions (Part A, Question 8 and Part B, Question 4) is voluntary, and that if consent is not provided, your application will still be processed and this will not have a negative impact.

How do we sign IMM 5532 digitally?

IRCC says to complete the form first and then select “print to PDF” (its IMM 5532 page uses “Microsoft Print to PDF”), which creates a version that can be signed, and then type your name in the signature fields. The sponsor then gives the electronic copy to the principal applicant, who uploads it to the online application.

Is there a fee for IMM 5532?

IRCC does not list a separate fee for the form. The fees belong to the sponsorship application as a whole (the sponsorship fee, the processing fee and the right of permanent residence fee), and IRCC publishes them on its fee list. Check the fee list on the day you pay.

Do common-law and conjugal partners use IMM 5532 too?

Yes. IRCC’s complete guide covers spouses, common-law partners and conjugal partners, and says that if you are sponsoring a spouse or partner you must fill out IMM 5532. The document checklist differs by category; for example, a common-law partner uses IMM 5589.

Related guides and templates

Official sources

IRCC — Relationship Information and Sponsorship Evaluation Form (IMM 5532) (checked 2026-10-14)
IRCC — IMM 5532 E, Relationship Information and Sponsorship Evaluation (PDF form, 02-2021) (checked 2026-10-14)
IRCC — Sponsor your spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent child – Complete Guide (IMM 5289) (checked 2026-10-14)
IRCC — Document Checklist: Spouse (Including Dependent Children) [IMM 5533] (checked 2026-10-14)
IRCC — IMM 5533 E, Document Checklist: Spouse (PDF, 09-2022) (checked 2026-10-14)
IRCC — Document Checklist: Common-Law Partner (Including Dependent Children) [IMM 5589] (checked 2026-10-14)
IRCC — Sponsor your spouse, partner or children: Who you can sponsor (checked 2026-10-14)
IRCC — Sponsor your spouse, partner or child: Check if you’re eligible (checked 2026-10-14)
IRCC — Citizenship and immigration application fees: Fee list (checked 2026-10-14)
Justice Laws — Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227), section 4 (checked 2026-10-14)

Not legal advice. PartnerProof turns WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and iMessage exports into dated, chronological PDF evidence you can print and add to your package. It does not fill in or file IRCC forms. Try it free →