oerisir said:
My question is:
- By having applied for an extension of stay, have I jeopartized my situation in terms of getting a new TRV? Will the embassy in my country deny my TRV application on the grounds that I have already extended my residency because I am with my husband so I have no intention to leave Canada?
- If yes should I cancel my residency extension and leave before current status end of mid-April?
No. You jeopardized your chances by getting married. ;D It sounds a bit cruel but it's sort of like that.
It is not said anywhere clearly, and officially PR sponsorship and TRV applications are handled by 2 separate departments, but many people (i.e. immigration lawyers) say that if you have a Canadian citizen/p. resident spouse living in Canada that this can reduce your chances of getting your TRV.
To get a TRV, you must demonstrate sufficient ties to your home country which will convince CIC that you will return. If your husband lives in Canada permanently, this is a strong tie to Canada, not your home country, so you must demonstrate other "stronger" ties to your home country (job, other family members, children, property, etc.). Are you employed in your home country? Or a student? Do you own property? Do you have children or dependents there? If the answer is no, and your husband lives in Canada, just applying for a TRV you have high chances to be rejected. The reason is that CIC fears that you will enter on a TRV, and then your husband will do an inland sponsorship allowing you to stay in Canada until you get a response (which can take up to 3 years). They want to avoid people using TRVs as an "easy entry" that allows them to stay until they get a PR.
An immigration lawyer once told me that in cases like yours, what you should do is
1) Apply outland for the PR first.
2) Then apply for a new TRV.
This is called "dual intent". You can read about it here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/temp/visa/dual.asp
Please read the whole page, several times, very carefully.
These are some important bits:
Having two intents – one for temporary residence and one for permanent residence – is legitimate.
A22(2) states “An intention by a foreign national to become a permanent resident does not preclude them from becoming a temporary resident if the officer is satisfied that they will leave Canada by the end of the period authorized for their stay.” Dual intent is present when a foreign national who has applied for permanent residence in Canada also applies to enter Canada for a temporary period as a visitor, worker or student. Dual intent on the part of the applicant is therefore not prima facie grounds for refusal of temporary resident status.
and
Temporary residence status might be refused for several reasons, including:
history of having contravened the conditions of admission on a previous stay in Canada;
lack of or insufficient proof of adequate funds to support oneself while in Canada, and to affect one’s departure from Canada;
medical inadmissibility;
not satisfying the visa officer that the individual will leave Canada at the end of their period of authorized stay.
Refusals
Refusals do not stem from having two intents. They stem from having a single bona fide intent (i.e., to become a permanent resident) and misrepresenting the second intent (i.e., to become a temporary resident) in order to achieve the first intent.
...
Assessing an application where there are dual intent implications is no different from assessing any other temporary resident application. Each applicant receives the benefit of a procedurally fair, individual assessment. The applicant must, in turn, satisfy the officer that they meet all the requirements of IRPA’s Regulations relating to temporary residence, before any visa is issued.
...
Officers are reminded to use their own judgment and the flexibility afforded to them by A22(2) when making decisions in cases with a dual intent aspect.
The conclusion can be the following: you have a husband in Canada, and if you just apply for a new TRV, you have a high probability of being rejected, especially if you have no strong ties to your home country (e.g. no job). CIC might think that you are trying to "shortcut" being able to stay with your husband permanently, i.e. get in on the TRV and then stay through an inland application. Whether you spent now 6 or 9 months in Canada does not really matter here, I think. The fact that you came, and then left all legally and had no problems with the law or anything can only be a bonus for you, but the other factors probably outweigh this.
However, if you apply for the PR outland first, you have demonstrated "dual intent". You are not hiding the fact you want to move to Canada permanently, but also, you naturally wish to be with your husband as much as possible prior to getting your PR approved. CIC knows that you must leave Canada to get your PR papers (since you applied outland), and also, they know that you should know that overstaying illegally on a TRV jeopardizes your chances of getting your PR. So, you have motivation to leave. Still, it is far from automatic and not at all a foregone conclusion that you will get the TRV. You have a lot of convincing to do, and you have to craft your application carefully so that CIC is satisfied that you will leave once your TRV authorized stay expires. The fact that you came to Canada on a TRV already after getting married, and then left back to your home country, helps (you came, behaved like a visitor, and left, didn't overstay so you didn't abuse your TRV, and also, you didn't make an inland PR application!). However this is not enough. However doing things this way should increase your chances, compared to the just applying for a TRV (before the PR application).
It is really difficult to say what would happen in your case, whether you would get it or not finally (the TRV). It depends on your personal situation, the situation in your country (based on which they asses a risk of you overstaying illegally - i.e. if you are from a country which is war-torn or economically totally desperate, this reduces your chances), the current policy of the government, and in the end on the goodwill of the visa officer processing your application.
I know of couples who did what I described above, and after applying for the PR outland, the non-Canadian partner was granted a TRV. On the other hand I know of the opposite as well, I know of a couple who was waiting really long for the wife's PR application to go through, and during that time she got rejected for a TRV three times.
So finally, since you already applied for the extension, whether you leave in April or stay until the extension is processed I think doesn't make much difference. You already demonstrated intent to extend a 6 month stay because of wanting to be with your husband...if you had not applied at all, you could ponder whether applying would be wise or not, but now that's done.
How long after returning to your country do you want to come back to Canada again? If you go back and then immediately apply for a new TRV and say you want to go in a month or something, there is a very high chance of being rejected.
In your situation what I would do is - stay until August or whatever, go back, apply for the PR immediately, then wait e.g. 6 months, and apply for a TRV.
I really feel for your case (it's somewhat similar to my own, except that my gf does not want to apply for PR), unfortunately Canada does not have a quick way for reuniting spouses, granting some "temporary" permit to live while your process the PR...you are stuck between the TRV and the applying for the "full" PR and all that entails. There is no "bridge" in between. It sucks, I know.
Finally, a disclaimer: take everything I've written with a grain of salt, and everything you read here with a grain salt, and even anything an immigration lawyer tells you with a grain of salt. Please, please, please, do not make any decisions based only on what you read here (from me or anyone else). Gather as much information as you can and think with your own head.
