My husband passed away last year. We had submitted our spousal sponsorship application and were waiting to hear back. I'm told the application may be cancelled because he died. Is there anything I can do? I cannot afford to start over.

I am very sorry for your loss. You are right to seek advice quickly. A sponsor's death can affect a sponsorship application, but it does not automatically end the process.

Under Canadian immigration law, spousal sponsorship is based on a legal undertaking signed by a specific sponsor. Section 130 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations requires a valid sponsor throughout processing. When the sponsor dies, IRCC must reassess whether the application can continue. In many cases, they may move to refuse or close the file, but that is not always the end of the matter.