Applying for Work Visa, but Common-Law Partner has expired PR card

[kyeno1]

I am applying for a closed work permit after being nominated by BC for BC PNP express entry pathway and have a work permit support letter. My common-law partner however is a Canadian PR whose card expired in 2014. I have to upload her PR card for my application, is this going to cause issues? She has been in Canada for over 2 years now and is going to be applying herself to renew her PR card, but has not done so yet.

Thanks!

 

[armoured]

It should not be a problem.

 

[armoured]

It should not be a problem.

To explain a bit more: the valid PR card is evidence of PR status but it is separate and distinct from the PR status. PR status does not 'expire.'

If she has been in Canada two years continuously, she is in compliance with her residency obligation. I don't think that's relevant to your application described above, but certainly there's no danger in showing the expired PR card to IRCC. (If they think it's relevant, they'll look up in their own files).

Where the residency obligation (being compliant with) definitely is relevant is for a sponsorship application - i.e. if you want to have her sponsor you for PR application. Even for a sponsorship application, the PR card itself is not relevant, being compliant with (and resident in Canada) is relevant. In other words, she can sponsor you if she is compliant with the residency obligation at any time, regardless of whether she has a 'valid' PR card.

I don't know your situation but in most cases, it would make sense for you to apply for PR status (have her sponsor you) at some point.

(There is one small advantage to her applying for the PR card soon, which is that once she demonstrates she is compliant under a new PR card application, there probably won't be a new examination of her compliance for sponsorship purposes. Probably not a big difference but could save some time.)

 

[kyeno1]

Thanks so much for the info. We were considering going down the sponsorship path for my PR application but I ended up being sponsored by my employer for BC provincial nominee program, as we were worried her long expired card would cause problems. She needs to apply to renew that herself, we were wondering when the best time would be, if she should do that now that my PR application is being sent in, which has her listed as my common law, or if she should wait.

Thanks either way for the help

 

[armoured]

Thanks so much for the info. We were considering going down the sponsorship path for my PR application but I ended up being sponsored by my employer for BC provincial nominee program, as we were worried her long expired card would cause problems. She needs to apply to renew that herself, we were wondering when the best time would be, if she should do that now that my PR application is being sent in, which has her listed as my common law, or if she should wait.

Thanks either way for the help

I don't think it makes much difference. Probably best for her to apply sooner. You can let your pnp app proceed.

 

[kyeno1]

Okay thanks a bunch.

It looks like as a result of me listing her as a common law in my PR application, that it's prompting me to pay for the application fee of over 1k for each of us, so almost 3k total. Should I proceed with this, or is this a mistake, as she is already a PR?

 

[armoured]

Okay thanks a bunch.

It looks like as a result of me listing her as a common law in my PR application, that it's prompting me to pay for the application fee of over 1k for each of us, so almost 3k total. Should I proceed with this, or is this a mistake, as she is already a PR?

First, you really should post in the relevant forum (provincial nomination program) when it's questions that are about that.

I am guessing there is a mistake and it's probably your mistake - you should not be including her on IMM0008, for example, even though she is your dependent, because it does say dependents should not be included on that form who are already permanent residents or citizens.

Or it may be at the stage of calculating/entering the payment. Even if she is your dependent, she's not 'part of your application'.

But I don't know the PNP/BC PNP programs well and you should check in the relevant forum.

(That said it's probably not that frequent that a spouse of a PR is applying separately rather than under spousal sponsorship, so there may be minor collisions between what forms require or seem to require).