Quebec Family Sponsorship: Complete Timeline for Application Intake (2026–2028)

Quebec’s Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) has introduced new rules that determine when family sponsorship applications can be submitted. Simply receiving an eligibility letter from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is no longer sufficient to file your application immediately in Quebec. Instead, the date you can submit your paperwork now depends on a strict intake schedule, and an overall cap limits the number of applications processed during this period. Here’s what these changes mean for you and how to determine your place in the queue.

A Cap of 15,700 Applications Through 2028

Between July 2, 2026, and June 30, 2028, MIFI will accept a maximum of 15,700 sponsorship applications to bring a family member to Quebec. This total is divided into two categories, each with its own cap:

• 13,300 applications for sponsors seeking to bring their spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner;

• 2,400 applications for sponsors seeking to bring their parent, grandparent, or other eligible relative.

If either category reaches its maximum number of applications before June 30, 2028, MIFI will stop accepting new submissions in that category for the remainder of the period. Applications received after the cap is reached will be returned unprocessed, and no fees will be charged. Sponsors will need to wait until a new intake period opens before resubmitting.

The Intake Schedule: Why Your Submission Date Matters

MIFI’s intake schedule prioritizes applicants who have been waiting the longest to submit their sponsorship application. The earliest date you can file depends on the issuance date of one of two IRCC documents:

• The sponsor’s eligibility letter for family sponsorship;

• Or, for applications under the “Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class,” IRCC’s acknowledgment of receipt.

Below is the full intake schedule published by MIFI, which links the cutoff date of your IRCC document to the first date your application can be submitted:

• Document dated on or before July 31, 2024 → application accepted starting July 2, 2026;

• Document dated on or before January 31, 2025 → application accepted starting September 1, 2026;

• Document dated on or before June 30, 2025 → application accepted starting November 1, 2026;

• Document dated on or before August 31, 2025 → application accepted starting January 1, 2027;

• Document dated on or before October 31, 2025 → application accepted starting March 1, 2027;

• Document dated on or before November 30, 2025 → application accepted starting May 1, 2027;

• Document dated on or before December 31, 2025 → application accepted starting July 1, 2027;

• Document dated on or before February 28, 2026 → application accepted starting September 1, 2027;

• Document dated on or before May 31, 2026 → application accepted starting November 1, 2027;

• Document dated on or before August 31, 2026 → application accepted starting January 1, 2028;

• Document dated on or before December 31, 2026 → application accepted starting March 1, 2028;

• Document dated after December 31, 2026 → application accepted starting May 1, 2028.

MIFI is clear: any application submitted before its designated intake date will be deemed ineligible and returned to the sponsor. Filing too early won’t speed up the process—it will only force you to start over.

Eligibility Letter vs. Acknowledgment of Receipt: Key Differences

While these two documents are often confused, IRCC’s acknowledgment of receipt only replaces the eligibility letter in one specific scenario. It can only be used to determine your intake date if it meets two conditions: it must confirm that the application falls under the “Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class”—a category for married or common-law couples already living together in Canada when they apply to IRCC—and it must be addressed to the sponsor, not the sponsored person.

If both conditions are met, the date on the acknowledgment of receipt—not the eligibility letter—determines when you can submit your application to MIFI, even if you’ve since received an eligibility letter. In this case, both documents must be included in your application, but the acknowledgment of receipt is the one that counts for intake purposes.

Requirements for a Valid Application

In addition to adhering to the intake schedule, your sponsorship application must meet several formal requirements to be accepted by MIFI:

• It must be submitted using the official forms available on Quebec.ca (under “Submit a sponsorship application”), along with all required documents, including either the IRCC eligibility letter or acknowledgment of receipt, as applicable;

• It must comply with the intake date assigned to your IRCC document, unless exempt;

• It must be mailed to the address listed on the “Submit a sponsorship application” page—MIFI does not accept in-person submissions;

• Each envelope must contain only one application.

Applications that fail to meet these requirements will be rejected without review, regardless of their merits.

Applications Exempt From the Intake Schedule

Certain sponsorship applications are exempt from both the intake schedule and the 15,700-application cap. These can be submitted at any time without waiting for a specific date:

• A dependent child (under 22, or dependent due to a physical or mental condition beyond that age);

• A minor child the sponsor intends to adopt;

• An orphaned minor who is the sponsor’s sibling, nephew, niece, grandchild, or other eligible relative—provided the child is neither married nor in a common-law relationship.

An additional exemption applies to requests to add a dependent (such as a child, spouse, or common-law partner) to an existing sponsorship application or a pending permanent residence application. These requests are also exempt from the cap and intake schedule.

Key Takeaways

MIFI may adjust these rules based on application volumes, with the official page last updated on July 15, 2026. Before preparing or submitting your application, double-check the current requirements on Quebec.ca, particularly which document—eligibility letter or acknowledgment of receipt—applies to your case. For complex situations (e.g., mixed-status applications or changes in the sponsor’s status), consulting an immigration consultant or lawyer is strongly recommended.