there is absolutely NO rule that says that a person IN canada can NOT apply outside of canada. in the inland guide (overview section), it actually RECOMMENDS applicants to apply outside of canada to enjoy the quicker processing time. there's nothing to be confused about. a person can be IN canada as a worker, student or visitor and apply outside of canada. applying outside of canada has NOTHING to do with where the applicant is physically. it only has to do with which visa office processes the application and where the applicant is from. On the contrary, ONLY those living in canada can apply within cnada. it is not the best choice for most people, especially thouse who are visa exempt. the fact that CIC even states in the overview section to apply outside of canada suggests they are trying to limit the amount of inland applications seen.
see here:
taken from guide 5289:
The family class is aimed at faster processing of spouse or common‑law partner applications from applicants outside Canada.
Processing times for spouses or common‑law partners in Canada are generally longer.
The person being sponsored can apply to a visa office outside Canada to take advantage of the family class processing standard. Processing times for applications processed in Canada are posted on our Web site.
