Status with student permit but not in school?

[methyl]

My common law partner from Mexico has a student permit valid until end of March.
In summer 2015 she was studying English, then she got an acceptance letter for a master's degree from a university to start the program in Sept 2015.
The condition was that she get a sufficient language test score. Up to mid-September they held her spot but she couldn't the proper English score.
She got another acceptance from another university to start studies in Jan 2016. The university told her in December 2015 that everything is great and she can start the school. But a couple of weeks into January classes said that English score is too low and that there was an administrative error.

I want to know what our options are in this case to have her stay here legally. There are no more university admissions until Sept. She could get into a college starting in April but I understand that after so many false-starts the chances for extension of student permit are uncertain. Is it best to try to apply to change status into visitor's?

Also, if I apply for family sponsorship now before the student permit expires, would she considered to be in status or not?
We discovered only recently that if there are no studies for 90 days it make the student permit invalid but these conditions are not on her student permit.
If she's not considered to be in status it would be pretty devastating to spend 2+ years without ability to work or study, no healthcare coverage and fear of deportation. Please help with any info.

Thanks!

 

[Ponga]

The rules changed on June 1,2014:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/notices/2014-02-12.asp

A study permit becomes invalid 90 days following the completion of studies unless the foreign national also possesses a valid work permit or another authorization to remain in Canada.


If she has not been studying within the last 90 days, she may already be without status. If she is, she would need to apply for Restoration of Status, if she hopes to qualify for an Open Work Permit (if you are going to submit an Inland sponsorship application).

I can't say with certainty whether or not submitting an Inland sponsorship application and OWP now, would give her implied status. It all depends on if CIC is aware that she hasn't been studying.


Good luck!

 

[scylla]

As Ponga explained, the new rules regarding study permits came into place in the summer of 2014. They definitely apply to your common law partner. If she's been out of school for more than 90 days, then you should assume she is out of status in Canada. If she is out of status and you apply to sponsor her inland, she will still be out of status in Canada. Sponsoring her doesn't fix this.

I agree with the recommendation to apply to restore her status and change her status to visitor.

Alternatively she can return to her home country and you can sponsor her outland from there.

Hopefully she is not working.

 

[methyl]

She hasn't been working in Canada, just studying English privately and hasn't had any contact with CIC since getting the last renewal of the study permit in Spring 2015.

Is restoration of the status a possible option considering that she is not in school now?
Sponsoring outland doesn't look to be a realistic option, would not be considered common law anymore. Even if we get married 1.5+ years apart might be too much at this stage of our lives. It's insane that express entry can be processed in 6 months but spousal inland processing is ~2.5 years.

So if she violated the conditions I guess approval for student permit extension or conversion to visitor's status would be something miraculous? Does CBSA know she's still here?
Would it be best for her to leave quietly and try to apply for another study permit come summer, once she secures admission and the language scores are better.

Or did we run out of options here?

 

[jasdeep92]

As Ponga explained, the new rules regarding study permits came into place in the summer of 2014. They definitely apply to your common law partner. If she's been out of school for more than 90 days, then you should assume she is out of status in Canada. If she is out of status and you apply to sponsor her inland, she will still be out of status in Canada. Sponsoring her doesn't fix this.

I agree with the recommendation to apply to restore her status and change her status to visitor.

Alternatively she can return to her home country and you can sponsor her outland from there.

Hopefully she is not working.

Hi there, Scylla. I am sorry

As Ponga explained, the new rules regarding study permits came into place in the summer of 2014. They definitely apply to your common law partner. If she's been out of school for more than 90 days, then you should assume she is out of status in Canada. If she is out of status and you apply to sponsor her inland, she will still be out of status in Canada. Sponsoring her doesn't fix this.

I agree with the recommendation to apply to restore her status and change her status to visitor.

Alternatively she can return to her home country and you can sponsor her outland from there.

Hopefully she is not working.

Hi there, Scylla. I would like to do some corrections to your statmemt. I have seen you giving this 90 days cancellation of study permit statement to almost everyone, which is not true at all. You have misunderstood what cic regulations are. A study permit becomes invalid 90 days after the *COMPLETION* Of studies, not if you are on drop or not attending classes. I was on study permit myself and i took a year off , how come my study permit did not get cancelled. Moreover, i know a lot of students you take semesters off and their study permits are doing just fine. So please have knowledge of regulations yourself first, before giving advice to someone else. The study permit becomes invalid 90 days after the completion of studies ,which totally makes sense as there would be no need of a study permit after completion of studies. That's all. Thanks.

 

[Miraclejj]

Hi there, Scylla. I am sorry

Hi there, Scylla. I would like to do some corrections to your statmemt. I have seen you giving this 90 days cancellation of study permit statement to almost everyone, which is not true at all. You have misunderstood what cic regulations are. A study permit becomes invalid 90 days after the *COMPLETION* Of studies, not if you are on drop or not attending classes. I was on study permit myself and i took a year off , how come my study permit did not get cancelled. Moreover, i know a lot of students you take semesters off and their study permits are doing just fine. So please have knowledge of regulations yourself first, before giving advice to someone else. The study permit becomes invalid 90 days after the completion of studies ,which totally makes sense as there would be no need of a study permit after completion of studies. That's all. Thanks.

I think both you and Scylla are correct with conditions. If a student decided to temporary leave for whatever the reasons, you have to file a petition to the school and inform them your intention to be back, and the school has to agree on it, then what you said makes sense. If a student just simply drop out of school and no further plan to return with the pre-approval to return from school, it simply equivalents to "graduate", otherwise, a student permit can be valid indefinitely, and that doesn't make a sense at all.

 

[YVR123]

Well as a study permit holder, you are supposed to update the DLI for any changes. Try updating that to NONE and see if the permit is still valid.
Are you still "enrolled" when you took the year off?

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/change-schools/account.html

"A Study Permit is a federal document that allows international nationals to study in Canada at Designated Learning Institutions (DLI). In possession of this license, while studying, you must: always be enrolled at a DLI, make progress towards completing the program, respect any conditions listed on the Study Permit, stop studying if no longer meet the requirements and leave Canada when the permit expires."