Quebec won’t accept some applications for sponsorship of immigrants until 2026

MONTREAL — The Quebec government says it won’t accept new applications from residents who want to sponsor their spouses, common-law partners or adult children for immigration until next year.

The Immigration department says in a news release that it has reached its cap for sponsorship in those categories.

As a result, the families of those immigrants would have to wait until June 25, 2026 to apply.

The government announced last year that it would process a maximum of 13,000 family applications from immigrants seeking to reunite with relatives over the two-year period from June 2024 to 2026, after approving more than 16,500 in 2022 and more than 10,000 in the first six months of 2023.

The current processing time to sponsor a spouse or partner living outside the country is 37 months in Quebec, compared to 11 in the rest of Canada.

Quebec says it is still accepting applications for other classes of family members, such as children under 18.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2025.