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IMM 5532, Relationship Information and Sponsorship Evaluation Form: who completes which part, and how to sign it

IMM 5532 is completed by the sponsor (Part A), the person being sponsored (Part B) and both together (Part C) in a spouse or partner sponsorship. It is signed digitally after you choose Print to PDF, and both people must sign. The consent questions about sharing fraud-investigation results are voluntary, according to IRCC.

IMM 5532, "Relationship Information and Sponsorship Evaluation Form", is the questionnaire in a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner sponsorship package. It collects the sponsor's work and sponsorship history, the applicant's details and information about the relationship itself. This page describes what IRCC's instruction page says about the form (the PDF is labelled "Last updated: February 2021" and the web page is dated 8 January 2026) and what IRCC's complete guide IMM 5289 says about relationship evidence and signing. It explains what the form asks and how it is submitted. It does not tell you what to write about your own relationship, and it cannot say whether your relationship meets the legal definition. Always download the current form from IRCC.

Where IMM 5532 fits in the package

IRCC's guide IMM 5289 lists two groups of forms for sponsoring a spouse, partner or dependent child. The sponsor completes PDF forms and gives copies to the person being sponsored (the principal applicant), who uploads them. For spouse and partner cases those PDF forms are IMM 1344, the Application to Sponsor, and IMM 5532. For a dependent-child-only sponsorship the guide lists IMM 5481 (Sponsorship Evaluation) and IMM 1283 (Financial Evaluation) instead of IMM 5532.

The principal applicant also completes online forms: IMM 0008, IMM 5669, IMM 5406, and IMM 5562 if it applies. Those are covered in their own guides on this site.

One detail in IRCC's wording: the guide uses two names for this form, "Sponsorship Evaluation and Relationship Questionnaire" in one place and "Relationship Information and Sponsorship Evaluation Form" in another. They refer to the same IMM 5532.

The form exists because the application is not only about papers. IRCC's guide says an officer may ask the principal applicant about their "relationship with the sponsor", and the forms are part of the record against which that conversation is read.

Who completes which part

IRCC's page says the form "must be filled out and signed by" the sponsor and the principal applicant, and divides the work as follows: - Part A, Sponsorship Evaluation and Information about the Sponsor: completed by the sponsor. - Part B, Information about the Principal Applicant: completed by the person being sponsored. - Part C, Information about Relationship: completed by both. - Signatures: both the sponsor and the principal applicant sign and date. - Interpreter declaration: if an interpreter was used, the interpreter completes the declaration at the end of the form.

IRCC also says the date of birth fields use an asterisk (*) for any unknown year, month or day, and that the Client ID is to be given only if you have one. First-time IRCC applicants will not have one.

The form may not open on tablets or phones. Use a computer and Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher.

Part A: the sponsor's employment history and other sponsorships

Part A is mostly about the sponsor. IRCC's page describes these questions: - Question 1, employment history. List all employers over the past five years, starting with the current employer. IRCC says "Make sure there are no gaps in time." Explain how you supported yourself during any period of unemployment. For self-employment, give the business name and the date it was established. Report monthly income as the gross amount, before taxes. Include the employer's name, full address and telephone number, plus your occupation or position. IRCC provides a worked example on the page. - Question 2, other sponsorships. Use the table to list everyone you have ever sponsored or co-signed for, including people who have not yet become permanent residents. Give each person's name and date of birth and state whether you were the sponsor or the co-signer. - Question 5, address history. Write addresses in full with no abbreviations, including unit numbers. Do not use P.O. boxes, and avoid gaps in time. - Question 8, consent to disclose. You answer Yes or No on whether the results of a marriage fraud investigation may be released to your spouse or partner. IRCC says: "Your consent for this question is voluntary," and that declining does not affect processing. - Question 9, declaration. By signing you certify that you "fully understand the questions asked" and that your information is complete, accurate and factual.

The other-sponsorships question links to a rule in the Regulations. Section 117(9)(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations says a person is not a member of the family class if the sponsor already has a sponsorship undertaking for a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner and the undertaking period has not ended. Whether that applies to a particular sponsor is a legal question for the sponsor and an adviser, not one this form guide can answer.

IRCC's page does not describe questions 3, 4, 6, 7 and 10 of the form in detail, so read those in the PDF itself. Do not rely on a summary for the questions that matter.

Part B: the person being sponsored

Part B is completed by the principal applicant. IRCC's page describes: - Question 4, consent to disclose. The applicant answers Yes or No on whether the results of a marriage fraud investigation may be released to the sponsor. As with the sponsor's equivalent question, IRCC says consent is voluntary and that refusing will not negatively affect processing. - Question 5, declaration. The applicant must read the declaration carefully before signing. The wording is the same certification as the sponsor's: the questions are understood and the information is complete, accurate and factual.

The two consent questions are separate. One person's answer does not decide the other's.

Part C: information about the relationship

Part C is completed by both people. IRCC's page describes: - Question 11, additional information. You can add anything that supports the application but was not covered elsewhere. IRCC says this is optional if your other answers are sufficient. - Questions 12 and 13, declarations. Each person reads the declaration carefully before signing. - Question 14, interpreter. If an interpreter was used to complete the form, the interpreter fills out the Interpreter Declaration at the end.

The earlier questions in Part C are on the form itself. IRCC's page does not reproduce them, and this guide does not either.

What IRCC's guide IMM 5289 says about the relationship underneath the form is worth knowing, because Part C reads against it: - Marriage: IRCC says you can sponsor a spouse if the marriage is a "legally valid civil marriage", and the certificate or proof of registration must show it "was legally registered with the government where it took place". IRCC adds that a record of solemnization obtained in Canada, or a marriage licence, "will not be accepted" as proof of marriage. - Common-law: the guide requires "at least 12 consecutive months in a marriage-like relationship". - Conjugal: the guide describes "a significant degree of attachment" and a genuine relationship of at least 12 months, where marriage or cohabitation was not possible for some reason. - Communication evidence: "A maximum of 10 pages of proof of communication documents may be submitted with your application." - Letters of explanation: "Providing an LoE doesn’t guarantee a positive outcome as the final decision remains up to a processing officer."

Those are IRCC's statements. Whether a given relationship fits one of those categories is the decision officers make, and it is not a decision a form guide can predict.

How to sign IMM 5532

IRCC's page gives these steps for the digital signature: 1. Download the completed form. 2. Go to File and select Print. 3. Choose "Microsoft Print to PDF" as the printer. 4. Save the file to your desktop. 5. Sign by typing your name in the signature fields.

The guide IMM 5289 says the same in shorter form: for spouse and partner cases, complete the form and then select "print to PDF" before signing digitally. This is a quirk worth planning for. People who click through the form and try to sign the original fillable PDF may find that the version they send is not the one IRCC is describing.

On the declaration itself, IRCC's guide says: "After you read the declaration, you must be the one who types your name." In other words, the signer types their own name. The sponsor and the principal applicant each sign; neither signs for the other.

If you need more space for any answer, attach an extra page with the relevant section completed. IRCC says to choose the document type "other" when you upload it, and accepts JPG, JPEG or PDF.

Why accuracy matters

Two provisions explain why the declarations are not formalities. Section 16(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act says a person who makes an application "must answer truthfully all questions put to them for the purpose of the examination and must produce a visa and all relevant evidence and documents that the officer reasonably requires." Section 40(1)(a) makes a person inadmissible "for directly or indirectly misrepresenting or withholding material facts relating to a relevant matter that induces or could induce an error in the administration of this Act", and section 40(2)(a) provides that the inadmissibility continues for five years following a final determination made outside Canada.

Section 10(2)(d) of the Regulations also requires every application to include "a declaration that the information provided is complete and accurate".

For a sponsored person there is a further link. Section 40(1)(b) makes a person inadmissible for being sponsored by someone who is determined to be inadmissible for misrepresentation, though subsection (2)(b) says that does not apply unless the Minister is satisfied the facts of the case justify the inadmissibility. This is why the sponsor's Part A answers (employment, past sponsorships, addresses) matter to the applicant as well as to the sponsor.

Employment gaps, a missing past sponsorship or an address left out are the sort of thing that can later be read as an omission. IRCC's instructions on this form repeat "no gaps in time" for a reason.

Mistakes drawn from IRCC's own instructions

From IMM 5532's page and Step 5 of the guide ("Check your application to avoid common mistakes"): - Gaps in the five-year employment history or the address history, with no explanation of how the sponsor was supported. - Abbreviated addresses, missing unit numbers, or P.O. boxes in the address history. - Leaving out a person the sponsor has previously sponsored or co-signed for, including someone who has not yet become a permanent resident. - Reporting net rather than gross monthly income. - Signing the wrong way: not using Print to PDF, or having someone else type the signature. IRCC says the signer must type their own name. - An email address nobody can read or that is mistyped. The guide says IRCC will not use an email address it cannot clearly read, and that incorrect addresses cause delays. - Sending originals. IRCC says not to send originals unless asked, because they will not be returned. - Leaving out documents the checklist lists. IRCC says missing items mean "your whole application will be returned to you without being processed". - Undeclared family members. The guide says: "There are no exceptions to this requirement." It adds that failing to declare a family member could put permanent resident status at risk.

When it is worth paying a regulated adviser

Plenty of couples complete IMM 5532 themselves. Paid help tends to come up where the relationship history is complicated (a prior marriage, an overlap, a long separation), where the couple has been apart for most of the relationship, where there has been a prior refusal, or where the sponsor has a history that raises eligibility questions. A licensed consultant or lawyer can assess your facts and advise on how to present them accurately, which no form guide can do. Check the person's licence on the public register before you pay, expect a written consultation agreement and a fee agreed in advance, and expect IMM 5476 to be filed if they act for you.

Questions people ask

Who fills in which part of IMM 5532?

The sponsor completes Part A, the person being sponsored completes Part B, and both complete Part C. Both sign and date, and an interpreter, if used, completes the declaration at the end.

How do I sign IMM 5532?

IRCC's steps are: download the completed form, choose File then Print, select Microsoft Print to PDF, save the file, then type your name in the signature fields. Each person types their own name.

Do I have to consent to my fraud investigation results being shared with my partner?

IRCC's page says consent in Part A question 8 and Part B question 4 is voluntary and that declining will not negatively affect processing.

Do I need IMM 5532 if I am sponsoring only a dependent child?

IRCC's guide lists IMM 5481 (Sponsorship Evaluation) and IMM 1283 (Financial Evaluation) for dependent-child-only sponsorship and IMM 5532 for spouse and partner cases. Check the guide for your category.

What if I run out of space on the form?

Attach an extra page with the relevant section completed and upload it with the document type other, as a JPG, JPEG or PDF.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-09.

Related guides

  • IMM 1344, Application to Sponsor, Sponsorship Agreement and Undertaking: what it asks and who signs — IMM 1344 is the sponsor's application, sponsorship agreement and undertaking. The sponsor, any co-signer and the person being sponsored must all sign it electronically, and the application is returned if any signature is missing. A co-signer is not allowed when sponsoring a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner.
  • IMM 5406, Additional Family Information: who must list whom, and why leaving someone out matters — IMM 5406 collects details about your parents, spouse or partner, children and siblings. IRCC says it is "very important" to list all your children, including married, adopted, stepchildren and those in an ex-partner's custody, and to answer every question, using N/A where one does not apply. The online version is certified when you click the complete button, and the paper version is signed in Section D.
  • IMM 5409, Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union: who signs, what it asks and common mistakes — IMM 5409 is a sworn declaration by two people that they are in a common-law relationship. It must be signed by hand, it will not produce a barcode when validated, and it asks for places, dates, years together and the kinds of shared life you can document. The regulations define a common-law partner as someone who has cohabited with you in a conjugal relationship for at least one year.
  • Spousal Sponsorship in Canada: Inland vs Outland, Eligibility and the Process — A Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is 18 or older and lives in Canada can sponsor a spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent child. Spouses and common-law partners can be sponsored in the 'in Canada' class (IRPR s.124) or the family class from outside; the choice depends on residence and status, and the appeal rights differ.
  • Misrepresentation in Canada: The Five-Year Inadmissibility Rule — Under section 40 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, misrepresenting or withholding a material fact that induces or could induce an error makes a person inadmissible for five years, and during that time a foreign national cannot apply for permanent residence. The five years run from the final determination if it was made outside Canada, or from the day a removal order is enforced if it was made in Canada.
  • IMM 5476, Use of a Representative: what the form asks and how it is submitted — IMM 5476 tells IRCC that someone may act for you on an application, paid or unpaid. You complete the applicant sections, your representative signs their own declaration, and a paid representative must give their membership ID from the College, a law society or the Chambre des notaires. The same form is used to cancel or change a representative.