IMM 5533, the spouse document checklist: what it asks for and where relationship evidence fits

IMM 5533 is the IRCC document checklist for sponsoring a spouse, and any dependent children, for permanent residence in Canada. You tick the items that apply to your situation, include the documents it lists and upload the completed checklist with your online application. This guide summarises the checklist’s proof-of-relationship section and where chat history fits, including the 10-page limit on proof of contact for couples who do not live together.

Last reviewed: 2026-10-14

At a glance

Form: IMM 5533, Document Checklist: Spouse (Including Dependent Children)
Agency: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
Edition: 09-2022 (checked 2026-10-14) — The IRCC form page shows “Last updated: September 2022” and the checklist footer reads IMM 5533 (09-2022) E. The Complete Guide says to get your checklist through the IRCC application package page, where you choose who you are sponsoring and where they live.
Filing fee: IMM 5533 has no fee of its own. The checklist asks for a single receipt covering the sponsorship fee, the application fee and the biometric fee for the person you sponsor, plus the application and biometric fees for any dependants, and recommends paying the right of permanent residence fee at the same time. We do not print amounts here because fees change; check the IRCC fee list on the day you pay. Official fee schedule.

What the form is for

List the forms and supporting documents IRCC asks for in a spousal sponsorship, so you can check that your package is complete before you submit it.
Record your situation: you tick the boxes that apply to you (your class of application, previous relationships, whether you live together, and so on), and those answers decide which documents you include. IRCC asks you to submit only documents that apply to your specific situation.
Show which proof-of-relationship documents you are providing, and flag where you are giving a written explanation instead of a document you cannot get.

Who can file it

IMM 5533 is the checklist for sponsoring a spouse. IRCC publishes separate checklists for other situations (for example IMM 5589 for a common-law partner), and the Complete Guide says to get the right instructions and checklist from IRCC’s application package page, where you choose who you are sponsoring.
IRCC says you can sponsor someone as your spouse if your marriage is a legally valid civil marriage. A marriage that took place outside Canada must be legally recognised both in the country where it took place and in Canada.
The sponsor must be at least 18 and a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or a person registered in Canada under the Canadian Indian Act. A permanent resident living outside Canada cannot sponsor; a Canadian citizen living abroad must show that they plan to live in Canada when the people they sponsor become permanent residents.
The checklist has sections for both of you: one for the sponsor’s documents and one for the person being sponsored (the principal applicant) and their family members. The principal applicant uploads it with the online application.
It covers both routes. A spouse living outside Canada applies under the Family Class. A spouse who lives with the sponsor in Canada can apply under the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class, which the Complete Guide says also requires valid temporary residence status (or an exemption under a public policy).
If the sponsor lives in Quebec, the checklist says to skip its income section and the Financial Evaluation (IMM 1283), and that fees paid to Quebec for its own sponsorship process are separate from IRCC fees.

How and where it is filed

Online: IRCC says that as of September 23, 2022 it is mandatory to apply online. The principal applicant signs in to or creates a Permanent Residence Portal account; a paid representative who submits the application uses their Representative Portal account.
Upload a copy of the completed IMM 5533 with your application. The Complete Guide says that if you do not include all of the forms and documents listed on the checklist, the whole application is returned without being processed.
If you cannot provide a document the checklist requires, include a detailed written explanation for each missing document, plus any other evidence you have to meet the requirement.
Where the checklist asks for photocopies, upload a PDF of the original document. Do not send originals unless asked: the checklist says documents you submit will not be returned.
Files: the IRCC Help Centre lists a 4 MB limit per file for the Permanent Residence Portal. Extra pages you add when a form section needs more space can be JPG, JPEG or PDF, uploaded with “other” as the document type.
Check the country-specific requirements on the IRCC application package page for the country where the sponsored person lives, and for documents issued by a specific country. They can add forms or special instructions for documents.
If you cannot apply online and need an accommodation, including for a disability, IRCC says you can ask for the application in another format (paper, braille or large print).

Evidence the instructions ask for

Forms: Application to Sponsor, Sponsorship Agreement and Undertaking (IMM 1344); Relationship Information and Sponsorship Evaluation (IMM 5532); and, for the principal applicant, the Generic Application Form for Canada (IMM 0008), Additional Family Information (IMM 5406) and Schedule A – Background/Declaration (IMM 5669). IMM 1283, IMM 5476 and IMM 5475 only if they apply to you.
A single receipt covering the sponsorship, application and biometric fees.
Sponsor: proof of status in Canada (for example both sides of a permanent resident card, a Confirmation of Permanent Residence, or one of the listed proofs of Canadian citizenship) and documents ending any previous marriage. Unless the sponsor lives in Quebec, the checklist also asks for income documents: if the sponsor works in Canada, a letter from the current employer (or financial documents if self-employed) plus the most recent Notice of Assessment or a Canada Revenue Agency proof of income statement (Option C); if not, other documents and a written explanation of how they will support the people they sponsor.
Principal applicant and family members: passport or travel document pages, birth or baptismal certificates, proof of status in Canada if living there, police certificates from everyone aged 18 or older (who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident) for any country other than Canada where they spent 6 or more months in a row since age 18 (unless IRCC’s police certificate page says otherwise), and the front and back of one photo for the principal applicant and each accompanying family member, following IRCC’s photo specifications.
Civil status: your marriage certificate or other proof that the marriage is legally registered where it took place (the checklist says a record of solemnization or a marriage licence is not acceptable), and divorce, annulment or death certificates for any previous relationships.
Proof of relationship to the sponsor (Part B, item 7 of the checklist), explained in the next section.
A certified translation into English or French of every document that is not already in English or French.

Where relationship evidence fits

The checklist says you must provide evidence that your relationship with your sponsor is genuine. It asks four questions to decide what you include: (a) do you live together, (b) do you have children together, (c) is this a first marriage for both of you, and (d) have you been married for at least two years on the date you apply.
Not living together: provide proof of contact (letters, printed text messages, emails, social media conversations or other documented contact), to a maximum of 10 pages with your application, and proof of your sponsor’s visits such as airline ticket coupons, used boarding passes or passport pages with entry and exit stamps. If your sponsor did not visit you, the checklist asks you to give an explanation in your IMM 5532 form.
Living together: provide 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 at the same address, government-issued documents showing the same address, or other documents issued to each of you at the same address. If you cannot, give a detailed written explanation and any other evidence of cohabitation you have.
Children together: a birth certificate for each child showing both parents’ names. For a child born in Canada, the checklist asks for the long-form provincial or territorial birth certificate.
If you answer yes to all four questions, the checklist says you do not need to provide additional proof of relationship at this time.
If you do not answer yes to all four, also provide up to 20 photos (wedding, customary celebrations, engagement or outings, taken at different times and places, with a separate document briefly describing each photo) and documents for 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 (for example letters or social media information showing a public relationship), or proof of past cohabitation.
In all cases, an IRCC official may ask for more documents, including proof of relationship, later in processing.

What chat history can help show

Proof of contact, if you do not live together: the checklist names printed text messages, emails and social media conversations, so printed pages from your chats are one of the formats it lists for this item, within the 10-page maximum.
Your sponsor’s visits: messages arranging flights, arrival times and where you stayed can sit alongside boarding passes and passport stamps. They support those documents; they do not replace them.
The relationship section of your IMM 5532 (Part C, which you both fill out): messages dated around the events you describe there can help corroborate the dates you give.

Before you include chat history

Proof of contact is limited to a maximum of 10 pages with your application, so select pages rather than attaching a full chat export.
Chat history is not one of the cohabitation documents the checklist lists for couples who live together. Lead with the documents named there.
For the option showing that friends or family recognise your relationship, the checklist’s example is social media information showing a public relationship, which is different from your private messages to each other.
Messages that are not in English or French need a certified translation. IRCC says translations must not be done by the applicants themselves or by members of the applicant’s family, which includes a spouse.
For online applications the checklist asks for a PDF of each document, so upload chat pages as PDF and keep each file within the Permanent Residence Portal’s 4 MB per-file limit.

Common mistakes

Leaving out a form or document listed on the checklist. IRCC returns incomplete applications without processing them, and says incomplete applications will not have a place in the processing queue.
Not uploading the completed IMM 5533 itself. The checklist says you must upload it with your application.
A missing document with no detailed written explanation for that item.
Sending more than 10 pages of proof of contact when you do not live together.
Submitting a record of solemnization or a marriage licence instead of the marriage certificate or other proof that the marriage is legally registered.
Translations done by the applicant or a family member, or a translation by someone who is not a member in good standing of a Canadian provincial or territorial organization of translators and interpreters without the translator’s affidavit.
Not declaring all family members, accompanying or not. The checklist warns this may lead to refusal and to being unable to sponsor them in the future.
Choosing the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class while not living with your sponsor in Canada. The checklist says you should apply under the Family Class instead.
A sponsor who receives correspondence for, or acts on behalf of, the principal applicant without a Use of Representative form (IMM 5476) from the applicant naming them. The checklist says the application will be returned without being processed.
Getting an immigration medical exam before IRCC asks. The checklist says not to complete one at this time; you will receive medical instructions later.

Frequently asked questions

Can WhatsApp messages be used as proof of contact for IMM 5533?

The checklist does not name any app, but it lists printed text messages, emails and social media conversations as proof of contact for spouses who do not live together. Include a maximum of 10 pages with your application, and get a certified translation of anything that is not in English or French.

What does the IMM 5533 10-page limit cover?

It applies to the proof-of-contact item for couples who are not living together: letters, printed text messages, emails, social media conversations or other documented contact, to a maximum of 10 pages with your application. Proof of your sponsor’s visits (tickets, boarding passes, passport stamps) is a separate item on the checklist. An IRCC official may still ask for more documents later in processing.

Do we need proof of relationship if we live together and have been married for more than two years?

Not necessarily. Only if you answer yes to all four of the checklist’s questions (you live together, you have children together, it is a first marriage for both of you, and you have been married for at least two years on the date you apply) does the checklist say you do not need to provide additional proof of relationship at this time. You still provide the documents those answers call for, such as cohabitation documents and your children’s birth certificates, and an official may ask for more later.

Can I use IMM 5533 to sponsor a common-law or conjugal partner?

IMM 5533 is the checklist for a spouse. IRCC publishes a separate checklist for a common-law partner (IMM 5589), and the Complete Guide says to get the right checklist from the application package page, where you choose who you are sponsoring (spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent child) and where they live.

Can I submit a spousal sponsorship application on paper?

IRCC says that as of September 23, 2022 it is mandatory to apply online. If you cannot apply online and need an accommodation, including for a disability, you can ask IRCC for the application in another format (paper, braille or large print).

What if I cannot get one of the documents on the checklist?

The checklist says to provide a detailed written explanation for each missing document, along with any other evidence you have that meets the requirement; the Complete Guide says this is so that your application is not returned as incomplete. The guide also says you can upload a letter of explanation in the optional documents section of your online application, and that there is no guarantee it will be accepted.

How much does it cost to sponsor a spouse?

IMM 5533 has no fee of its own. The checklist asks for one receipt covering the sponsorship fee, the application fee and the biometric fee for the person you sponsor, plus the fees for any dependants, and recommends paying the right of permanent residence fee at the same time. We do not print amounts because fees change; check the IRCC fee list on the day you pay.

Related guides and templates

Official sources

IRCC — Document Checklist: Spouse (Including Dependent Children) [IMM 5533] (checked 2026-10-14)
IRCC — IMM 5533 checklist PDF, IMM 5533 (09-2022) E (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 — Sponsoring your spouse, partner or dependent child (application package) (checked 2026-10-14)
IRCC — Sponsor your spouse, partner or children: who can sponsor (checked 2026-10-14)
IRCC — Document Checklist: Common-Law Partner (Including Dependent Children) [IMM 5589] (checked 2026-10-14)
IRCC — Relationship Information And Sponsorship Evaluation Form (IMM 5532) (checked 2026-10-14)
IRCC — Fee list (checked 2026-10-14)
IRCC Help Centre — Is there a file size limit for documents I upload to my account? (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 →