On average, spousal sponsorship applications take around 12 months to process from the time a complete application is submitted to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Processing times may vary depending on whether the application is made from inside Canada (inland) or outside Canada (outland). Inland applications generally follow similar timelines, though they can be delayed in complex cases. Applications involving Quebec have additional provincial steps, which can extend the overall timeline to more than a year. Factors such as incomplete documents, background checks, and high application volumes can also influence the total processing time.