tin ribs said:
Thanks for the response, now I am not trying to be an awkward git but are you 100% sure on this? because I have got so far without making any huge mistakes and I would hope not to bungle it now by doing something stupid :S I am sure you understand it is a rather nervy time.
Thank you for answering ! 8)
Totally understandable! Obviously I can't give 100% foolproof guarantee, I'm not an immigration professional or anything. I can only say what's happened to me and what I've observed happening to others.
I applied for a BOWP last November, without realizing that I'm not eligible for it (because of my PNP employment restriction). I realized the mistake in January, withdrew that application immediately and applied for the correct one. I only got the withdrawal confirmation at the end of January, which means that it took CIC almost 3 months to even touch my application (and that time has only gone up since because of the increasing processing backlog). So that tells me that one would get at least a couple of months of implied status just by sending the application, because nobody will pick it up to reject until that much later. Implied status only gets "cancelled" from the date of the negative decision, so the time you spent on implied status before the decision would still be considered as time you spent in Canada on a legal and valid status.
I know for a fact that implied status is commonly recommended by immigration lawyers and consultants, in situations where the applicant needs to gain more time to stay in Canada for whatever reason. Sometimes it's even worth it to send a paper application, because those get processed even slower (which might be wise in your case anyway, since you're wanting to apply for a closed extension but the online system only offers you the option to apply for an open one). There was someone else here recently who had the same trouble with the online site - ragluf wrote a good response to that but I don't have time to look for it right now, you can search for his profile and look through his latest posts to find it.
Being on implied status can be nerve-wrecking, because it makes you feel like you're standing on thin air without any safety net. But from everything I've gathered so far, it's a completely legal and accepted way of extending your stay in Canada, and the purpose is literally to allow foreigners to keep working legally with a valid status beyond the expiry of the WP, as long a new application is submitted. Makes no difference whether or not the application is eventually approved or rejected.
Because CIC has already sent you the PPR, then chances are that you might be able to land as PR even before your WP expires. They've been decently quick this spring with the passport turnaround time. But I would still absolutely send the WP application, because you cannot be out of status at the time of your PR landing (and again, implied status is considered valid status).
If you want to be as sure as possible about this, then you do need to find a reputable lawyer/consultant. I know a good one in Vancouver, if you're on the west coast I can share his information if you'd like.
