HAS YOUR WORK PERMIT EXPIRED AND ARE YOU OUTSIDE OF THE 90 DAY RESTORATION PERIOD?
I composed this response to someone else (Stream A Healthcare) who received their first PR email last March 2022. They advised IRCC they were going on a trip home for 2 months. They advised the landing office that they would return in May, so the Calgary landing process was paused, and then IRCC was notified that that they were back the day after they returned, exactly as planned, on March 13. Since then,
IRCC has not responded to any email or webform, their work permit in expired in July even though they continued to work (they have now stopped working based on my & IRCC's advice), and they are now outside the 90 day restoration period. For those of you in a similar circumstance, please review the following. If you have not yet received your first PR email, ignore point 2) however, if you are in the position that your work or study permit has expired and you are outside of the 90 day restoration period, you are technically 'inadmissible' in Canada but do not be alarmed -- follow points 1), 3) and 4), as needed.
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I have spent quite a bit of time on the phone with a call centre agent today & doing research on IRCC's website on your behalf. This is what the agent and I discussed as your best course of action and in this order.
The faster you do 1) and 2) below, the more quickly you can potentially resolve this whole issue. If you can get them working again on you PR landing, you may not be off work that long. Then 3) can follow quickly after or at the same time as 1) & 2). Then 4) can wait until you have TRP, or it may not be necessary if PR comes through.
- Please stop working -- very important right now -- if you have not stopped working already, please provide your employer with a request for a leave of absence today (or resign explaining that you are in the process of having your status restored and would like your job back when all is resolved). This may be hard but please stop working -- you do not want to be accused of misrepresentation. If you are honest that you continued working for awhile but explain that when you fully understood that your PR landing was going to be stalled for a long time, and that there were no temporary policies that applied to you that would allow you to continue, you stopped working. They should be understanding.
- Contact the IRCC Call Centre as soon as possible (yes, I know it's frustratingly busy, but it's necessary) and ask the agent to send a message to the appropriate officers and/or landing office to follow up on why no one has reinitiated the landing process in over a year, and what you need to do, if anything, to re-initiate or complete the landing process. If asked, say you are not working and you are in the process of applying for a TRP.
- Yes, you should definitely apply for a TRP (by paper) -- it is the correct process for your current situation:
- because you are still in Canada when technically you should have left, and
- because you continued to work past your expiry and past the 90 day restoration period, but say you are now on a leave of absence or have resigned (not working)
- because it will be viewed positively that you are proactively trying to address the situation (rather than waiting for a removal order)
- so technically you are considered 'inadmissible' but it is for reasons of non-compliance, not because of security, criminality, medical or other more dangerous issues, and given the delay of your TR to PR approval and/or landing issues, you should likely get your TRP without issue (my guess)
- Make sure you add a detailed Letter of Explanation with chronological dates of what happened (like you've stated to me) and explain that you expected the landing process to be completed long before your work permit expiry -- and, perhaps explain, if this is also true, that you did not fully understand that your work permit would not automatically be extended in the several temporary policies that were issued for TR to PR Pathway applicants, and that you stopped working as soon as it was made clear to you that those temporary policies did not apply to you and nothing would be arriving to automatically extended it.
- After you get your TRP, if your PR landing has still not yet been completed, you should apply for the 'OWP under TR to PR Pathway' which you can only do if your status is restored with the TRP. Follow the detailed guidelines to complete it properly and you can also apply for OWPs for your outland dependents allowing them to come to Canada and work while you wait for PR.
I don't think you need a lawyer just yet (the agent told me they can only submit webforms or contact agents, just like the rest of us, unless they are initiating legal inquiries or proceedings). But hopefully you'll get PR before you have to apply for OWP under TR to PR.
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Please remember that this is not legal advice, however, for TR to PR Pathway applicants with applications still in process (and given IRCC's desire to have us stay in Canada), it is best to be seen as trying to address your lack of status rather than waiting for other issues to arise as the result of doing nothing and being found out. Of course, you can also return to your home country and wait out the application process, because the current temporary policies for TR to PR Pathway applicants is that you cannot be refused PR just for being out of Canada.
(And/or watch for new temporary policies that may address 'restoration' in the coming months. Some may be coming in early April for PGWP's.)
Best wishes to those of you who may be in this difficult non-status circumstance.
