Does listing your spouse as non-accompanying help make your security screening shorter 

Many Iranians, especially men, are experiencing long background checks for their immigration applications. This is largely due to the 2024 designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the fact that many Iranian men have completed compulsory service there.

Because of these delays, one question keeps coming up in the community:

“If my wife applies for PR and lists me as non-accompanying, will her application move faster?"

The Short Answer: No

Background checks apply to all family members, spouses, partners, dependent children, and even grandchildren, whether or not they are accompanying you to Canada.

This is based on section 42(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which says that an applicant can be inadmissible if any family member  is inadmissible.

The only exceptions apply to temporary residents (such as study or work permit holders), and only if the inadmissibility is not related to security, human rights violations, or organized crime.

That’s why separating the application won’t help the length of background checks.