AIP and no Work Permit or Study Visa?

[Rister]

I received the approval in principle letter the other day which I was really happy to see finally... so I called the immigration call center to confirm that I am eligible to get an open work permit or study , if I wish , and they told me because I didn't have status in Canada when I received AIP that I an not eligible to receive the work permit or study visa until I receive the permanent residence several months from now. However while I've been waiting for the AIP I've spoken with various people at immigration who all assured me that when I received AIP I would then be eligible to work and study. Everyone at immigration are saying different things. Very frustrating.

Does anyone know if this information is true or there is any way around this?

Let me know,

Thanks

 

[adzees]

I received the approval in principle letter the other day which I was really happy to see finally... so I called the immigration call center to confirm that I am eligible to get an open work permit or study , if I wish , and they told me because I didn't have status in Canada when I received AIP that I an not eligible to receive the work permit or study visa until I receive the permanent residence several months from now. However while I've been waiting for the AIP I've spoken with various people at immigration who all assured me that when I received AIP I would then be eligible to work and study. Everyone at immigration are saying different things. Very frustrating.

Does anyone know if this information is true or there is any way around this?

Let me know,

Thanks

Normally after approval in principle appplicant is allowed for a work permit but i am not sure about the people without status. Check on your letter if it says you are eligible or not.

 

[rjessome]

I received the approval in principle letter the other day which I was really happy to see finally... so I called the immigration call center to confirm that I am eligible to get an open work permit or study , if I wish , and they told me because I didn't have status in Canada when I received AIP that I an not eligible to receive the work permit or study visa until I receive the permanent residence several months from now. However while I've been waiting for the AIP I've spoken with various people at immigration who all assured me that when I received AIP I would then be eligible to work and study. Everyone at immigration are saying different things. Very frustrating.

According to my reading of the Regulations, the call centre Agent is correct. Here are the Regs that apply in your case:

Applicants in Canada

207. A work permit may be issued under section 200 to a foreign national in Canada who
(a) is a member of the live-in caregiver class set out in Division 3 of Part 6 and meets the requirements of section 113;
(b) is a member of the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class set out in Division 2 of Part 7;
(c) is a protected person within the meaning of subsection 95(2) of the Act;
(d) has applied to become a permanent resident and the Minister has granted them an exemption under subsection 25(1), 25.1(1) or 25.2(1) of the Act; or
(e) is a family member of a person described in any of paragraphs (a) to (d).

According to (b) you must meet the eligibility outlined in Part 7 Division 2 of the Regs. Here's what that one says:

124. A foreign national is a member of the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class if they
(a) are the spouse or common-law partner of a sponsor and cohabit with that sponsor in Canada;
(b) have temporary resident status in Canada; and
(c) are the subject of a sponsorship application.

So according to the (b) part of R123, since you don't have status in Canada, the (b) part of R207 does NOT apply to you. Sorry.

 

[Love_Young]

It was my understanding that if you apply for restoration of status they should give it to you and that would put you back into status and make you eligible to receive a work permit. Most people who are out of status and submit an inland application are recommended to submit a "Restoration of Status" application along with an OWP application so that when it comes time to be approved for AIP they will reinstate your status and in turn make you eligible to be given a work permit when you receive AIP.

rjessome could you please provide your opinion upon this? Would they not be eligible to apply for restoration of status and be given a work permit after it is reinstated? Then again even if they could do this, with the amount of time it would take to do all of that you might be landed in time. All in all, though, I would still look into it for the heck of it.

 

[rjessome]

It was my understanding that if you apply for restoration of status they should give it to you and that would put you back into status and make you eligible to receive a work permit. Most people who are out of status and submit an inland application are recommended to submit a "Restoration of Status" application along with an OWP application so that when it comes time to be approved for AIP they will reinstate your status and in turn make you eligible to be given a work permit when you receive AIP.

rjessome could you please provide your opinion upon this? Would they not be eligible to apply for restoration of status and be given a work permit after it is reinstated? Then again even if they could do this, with the amount of time it would take to do all of that you might be landed in time. All in all, though, I would still look into it for the heck of it.

Restoration has it's own rules. You must apply for it within 90 days of when your status expired. Seeing as the OP already has AIP, I'm assuming they've been out of status for a long time. The only option I can see would be applying for a TRP and I'm not even sure it would work. Never tried. However, considering that they now have AIP, it shouldn't be too much longer for PR now, a few months I would think depending on the office. It could take a few months to get a decision on a TRP. So it would probably be useless.

This is why it is important to try to stay "in status" with an inland spousal application. Many people rely on the opportunity to get an OWP once AIP is received. But they have to know the rules.

 

[BelieveinGod]

Hi Rister, did your AIP letter not say that you can now apply for open work permit?

My husband was out of status and at the interview the immigration officer advised us that we will be receiving our aip letter soon and once received, we can apply for the open work permit.

Our letter made reference to that fact on the second page. If your letter says that then I would say you can then apply.

Good luck and please let me know if you have any further questions.

 

[Rister]

OK thanks so much..


Do you know what the chances of getting or not getting an interview are? When they approve you for permanent residence do you need to leave the country and re-enter?

 

[Love_Young]

Restoration has it's own rules. You must apply for it within 90 days of when your status expired. Seeing as the OP already has AIP, I'm assuming they've been out of status for a long time. The only option I can see would be applying for a TRP and I'm not even sure it would work. Never tried. However, considering that they now have AIP, it shouldn't be too much longer for PR now, a few months I would think depending on the office. It could take a few months to get a decision on a TRP. So it would probably be useless.

This is why it is important to try to stay "in status" with an inland spousal application. Many people rely on the opportunity to get an OWP once AIP is received. But they have to know the rules.

Well I wasn't sure because I had seen previous threads where I thought matthewc talked about that if you were out of status before sending in the application that you could send in a restoration of status application and owp with the PR application and when it came time to give you AIP, then they would reinstate your status and give you the OWP. (Wow sorry for the run on sentence lol) The reason I had you explain was because I wasn't sure and didn't want to give inaccurate advise. Thank you for explaining it. I would think that they would be alright to wait since like you said they won't have much longer. They also shouldn't be at much risk of being deported as they were issued AIP already. Hopefully they find what is the best to do for them. I am surprised they weren't transferred as many seem to be when out of status. And yes I can't stress how important it is to stay in status during this process. Don't make things more complicated than they need to be.

 

[Love_Young]

OK thanks so much..


Do you know what the chances of getting or not getting an interview are? When they approve you for permanent residence do you need to leave the country and re-enter?

I am pretty sure they were transferred to the local CIC office BEFORE AIP because of lack of status. Then they were interviewed and because they based it, they were given AIP. Since you already received AIP, you will not need an interview. The only interview you will need is for PR and it is more a formality than anything. They only ask three questions. They basically just make sure you weren't asked to leave Canada during your wait, you didn't forget to claim dependents, and that the rest of the spelling and such on your documents are correct. And no you will be "landing" at a local CIC office. You will receive a letter of when they are ready for you to come and land as a PR.

 

[rjessome]

Well I wasn't sure because I had seen previous threads where I thought matthewc talked about that if you were out of status before sending in the application that you could send in a restoration of status application and owp with the PR application and when it came time to give you AIP, then they would reinstate your status and give you the OWP. (Wow sorry for the run on sentence lol) The reason I had you explain was because I wasn't sure and didn't want to give inaccurate advise. Thank you for explaining it. I would think that they would be alright to wait since like you said they won't have much longer. They also shouldn't be at much risk of being deported as they were issued AIP already. Hopefully they find what is the best to do for them. I am surprised they weren't transferred as many seem to be when out of status. And yes I can't stress how important it is to stay in status during this process. Don't make things more complicated than they need to be.

matthewc was right but the key to his advice was that they send the Restoration application and OWP app WITH the sponsorship application. But a Restoration application should still be received within 90 days of status expiry. However, I want to point out that I have never tested any of this and just read the appropriate part of the Foreign Worker Manual and Regulations to find the answer. Sometimes, what happens in actual practice can be different. If the OP got lucky, maybe the IO would give them the work permit if they applied. There is no basis in law to support this but stranger things have happened!

 

[Rister]

Are you sure there will be no interview if you have received the AIP letter? Can anyone confirm that statement?

 

[Love_Young]

Are you sure there will be no interview if you have received the AIP letter? Can anyone confirm that statement?

If you weren't asked to attend an interview before AIP they won't give you one afterwards. If they had any concerns they would have addressed those before giving you AIP not after. The only "interview" will have now is for PR.

P.S. Feel free to scan over the inlander threads. The only time there is evidence of an interview happening (besides PR) was when they were transferred to local CIC office without given AIP. Then they attended an interview and were given AIP afterwards. The only wait they have left is to get the letter telling them when to go and land as a PR. I wouldn't stir you the wrong way on this but I understand the feeling of wanting to be certain.