+1(514) 937-9445 or Toll-free (Canada & US) +1 (888) 947-9445

Visitor visa expired but married in Ontario

Jonsnow0009

Full Member
Mar 11, 2019
23
1
Dear all,

I'm in a bit of a pickle and not sure how to proceed. I've been in Canada a little over 12 months now, met my wife here, we got married in January and were going to wait till we got the marriage license to apply for my PR.

This morning I was going over some papers and realized that my visitor status expired. This is 100% my own fault as I should've been more careful but for some reason I thought that I had 6 months from the day it was granted and that's not true so as of 2019/02/17 I am out of status.

I have read that I can restore my status and was about to do that but when I fill out the questionnaire it tells me that I am eligible to apply for spousal sponsorship.

This is where I don't know how to proceed. Is it best for me to apply for status restoration and apply for the PR after/during?

I've done a lot of googling and it's mentioned that as long as I don't lie about it and I apply for restoration within 90 days I should be fine, but I am still lost as to what the best thing to do is now.

Thank you for reading this and helping me.
 

starnaenae

Champion Member
Aug 9, 2016
2,792
837
Category........
FAM
Visa Office......
Mexico
App. Filed.......
March 1 2017
Doc's Request.
March 27, 2017, July 10, 2017
AOR Received.
AOR 1:March 17 2017 AOR 2: May 10, 2017
File Transfer...
April 8, 2017
Med's Request
Upfront - PASSED
Med's Done....
December 12 2016
Interview........
NOT REQUIRED
Passport Req..
March 5, 2018
VISA ISSUED...
March 13, 2018
LANDED..........
April 30, 2018
if you are going to apply inland and for an OWP you have to have valid status so you will need to restore your status provided it hasnt been 90 days... for outland, you dont have to have status but i would still apply to restore to be safe
 

Calm2019

Hero Member
Jan 31, 2019
576
186
Ontario
Category........
FAM
Visa Office......
Mississauga
App. Filed.......
November 2, 2018
Doc's Request.
Not Applicable
AOR Received.
November 22, 2018
Med's Request
January 21, 2019
Med's Done....
January 29, 2019
Dear all,

I'm in a bit of a pickle and not sure how to proceed. I've been in Canada a little over 12 months now, met my wife here, we got married in January and were going to wait till we got the marriage license to apply for my PR.

This morning I was going over some papers and realized that my visitor status expired. This is 100% my own fault as I should've been more careful but for some reason I thought that I had 6 months from the day it was granted and that's not true so as of 2019/02/17 I am out of status.

I have read that I can restore my status and was about to do that but when I fill out the questionnaire it tells me that I am eligible to apply for spousal sponsorship.

This is where I don't know how to proceed. Is it best for me to apply for status restoration and apply for the PR after/during?

I've done a lot of googling and it's mentioned that as long as I don't lie about it and I apply for restoration within 90 days I should be fine, but I am still lost as to what the best thing to do is now.

Thank you for reading this and helping me.
Restore your status you can apply online
 

Attak

Hero Member
Dec 29, 2016
272
72
If you are within the 90days by time your marriage certificate is complete then you can apply for PR, OWP and restoration of visa.In that case you could be considered as having implied status, based on that you could be considered for open work permit if the restoration is granted. If you choose to the restoration without your proof of marriage certificate your chances of getting your status restored is very small. So check to see whether your marriage certificate is ready within the 90days Grace period
 

canuck_in_uk

VIP Member
May 4, 2012
31,553
7,205
Visa Office......
London
App. Filed.......
06/12
If you are within the 90days by time your marriage certificate is complete then you can apply for PR, OWP and restoration of visa.In that case you could be considered as having implied status, based on that you could be considered for open work permit if the restoration is granted. If you choose to the restoration without your proof of marriage certificate your chances of getting your status restored is very small. So check to see whether your marriage certificate is ready within the 90days Grace period
There is no Implied Status when applying for Restoration.

Restoration without the marriage certificate has a perfectly fine chance. The key point would be stating they will apply for sponsorship and including the $1040 PR fee receipt.
 

Jonsnow0009

Full Member
Mar 11, 2019
23
1
There is no Implied Status when applying for Restoration.

Restoration without the marriage certificate has a perfectly fine chance. The key point would be stating they will apply for sponsorship and including the $1040 PR fee receipt.
This is what we have done. I've just told the truth and mentioned that we'd be applying for the sponsorship as soon as we have the marriage certificate.

Do I have implied status when applying for the sponsorship? Of course assuming my status gets restored.
 

andybc

Star Member
Jul 20, 2018
151
67
This is what we have done. I've just told the truth and mentioned that we'd be applying for the sponsorship as soon as we have the marriage certificate.

Do I have implied status when applying for the sponsorship? Of course assuming my status gets restored.
You will have status as a visitor if and when your application for restoration gets approved.

That will usually take about 3-4 months.

Make sure to mention your application for restoration in your sponsorship application and in your OWP application.

If your app for restoration gets approved before they process your OWP application (which also takes 3-4 months) you should be fine!
 

Jonsnow0009

Full Member
Mar 11, 2019
23
1
You will have status as a visitor if and when your application for restoration gets approved.

That will usually take about 3-4 months.

Make sure to mention your application for restoration in your sponsorship application and in your OWP application.

If your app for restoration gets approved before they process your OWP application (which also takes 3-4 months) you should be fine!
This is confusing because it has been mentioned that I need valid status to apply for spousal sponsorship. So what would be my current status? Do we still apply for the sponsorship and OWP?

What if the 2 overlap and my restoration doesn't get approved before the sponsorship application gets approved?

I know I'm asking a lot, but I'd be lying if I said this isn't confusing.

I appreciate all the answers a lot. Thank you.
 

andybc

Star Member
Jul 20, 2018
151
67
This is confusing because it has been mentioned that I need valid status to apply for spousal sponsorship. So what would be my current status? Do we still apply for the sponsorship and OWP?

What if the 2 overlap and my restoration doesn't get approved before the sponsorship application gets approved?

I know I'm asking a lot, but I'd be lying if I said this isn't confusing.

I appreciate all the answers a lot. Thank you.
Actually, you don't need to be in status for a sponsorship application, it will just make things more complicated during processing.

Your sponsorship application will most definitely not be processed before the restoration as the sponsorship application takes about a year give or take a month or two, and the restoration takes 3-4 months.

The only tricky part is the OWP. You will need to be in status to be eligible for it. You will be in status if the restoration gets approved before the OWP is processed. The OWP is processed about 3 months after sending a complete sponsorship application package.
 

Jonsnow0009

Full Member
Mar 11, 2019
23
1
Hello all,

I was wondering if anyone had an idea how long it will take before we can link the spousal sponsorship to our cic account. It's been roughly 4 weeks since we sent it in but so far we haven't been able to find the application yet. Just curious if anyone had an idea.

Thank you.
 

Qwertypod

Hero Member
Jan 28, 2019
817
272
Hello all,

I was wondering if anyone had an idea how long it will take before we can link the spousal sponsorship to our cic account. It's been roughly 4 weeks since we sent it in but so far we haven't been able to find the application yet. Just curious if anyone had an idea.

Thank you.
Have you received your AOR yet? Until then, you won't find the application online. Even after you receive AOR, linking an application sometimes proves to be difficult for most, search for threads on the topic, you will find many.