Can my wife and child (temporary residents) stay with me while I have implied status?

[MichaelJenkins]

Hi there,

I am living in Ontario as a foreign worker on a closed work permit (from the UK). My wife and child have temporary resident visas which were accepted on the basis of my work visa. My visa expires on 1st Feb (soon, I know), and so do my wife and child's visas. I've recently submitted my application for an extension for a further year, as my job's contract has been extended.

Firstly, I know that a decision likely won't be made on my application until long after my visa expires. However, I know that I can keep working while a decision is being made, as I will have implied status. What I don't know is whether my wife and child will also have implied status. As far as I'm aware (correct me if I'm wrong), they would have to wait until my extension is accepted before they can submit their applications. Since they won't have made an application before their visas expire, that suggests they won't have implied status and would have to leave the country until a decision is made on my application. However, because their visas are specifically dependent on my work permit (they required my permit in their visa applications), perhaps the implied status automatically applies to them as well?

If someone could enlighten me on how IRCC deals with these types of circumstances, that would be great. Thanks for reading this and for your help.

 

[galaxys0]

Which kind of Work Permit do you have? Skilled? Low skilled?

How long were your wife and child temporary visas?

Did your child go to school? On which visa?

 

[zardoz]

Hi there,

I am living in Ontario as a foreign worker on a closed work permit (from the UK). My wife and child have temporary resident visas which were accepted on the basis of my work visa. My visa expires on 1st Feb (soon, I know), and so do my wife and child's visas. I've recently submitted my application for an extension for a further year, as my job's contract has been extended.

Firstly, I know that a decision likely won't be made on my application until long after my visa expires. However, I know that I can keep working while a decision is being made, as I will have implied status. What I don't know is whether my wife and child will also have implied status. As far as I'm aware (correct me if I'm wrong), they would have to wait until my extension is accepted before they can submit their applications. Since they won't have made an application before their visas expire, that suggests they won't have implied status and would have to leave the country until a decision is made on my application. However, because their visas are specifically dependent on my work permit (they required my permit in their visa applications), perhaps the implied status automatically applies to them as well?

If someone could enlighten me on how IRCC deals with these types of circumstances, that would be great. Thanks for reading this and for your help.

Your dependent's immigration status is independent of yours. Just because you are under implied status, it doesn't mean that they are. If they have not applied for a new status then they are almost certainly out of status now.

 

[MichaelJenkins]

In reply to galaxys0:

I believe it is a skilled work permit as I am working as a researcher at a University.
My wife and child first used their eTA to travel here from the UK in January, and then applied for temporary residency in approximately February (can't remember when it was accepted).
My child is only 15 months old so she does not attend school.

In reply to zardoz:

If my dependents' immigration status is independent of mine, does this mean they can apply now to extend their residency? I was under the impression that they would have to wait until my work permit is extended before they can apply, since my permit is the reason they got their temporary residency in the first place. If they can apply now, that would be great news, because they are still in status until February 1st so they may be able to gain implied status independently.

 

[zardoz]

In reply to galaxys0:

I believe it is a skilled work permit as I am working as a researcher at a University.
My wife and child first used their eTA to travel here from the UK in January, and then applied for temporary residency in approximately February (can't remember when it was accepted).
My child is only 15 months old so she does not attend school.

In reply to zardoz:

If my dependents' immigration status is independent of mine, does this mean they can apply now to extend their residency? I was under the impression that they would have to wait until my work permit is extended before they can apply, since my permit is the reason they got their temporary residency in the first place. If they can apply now, that would be great news, because they are still in status until February 1st so they may be able to gain implied status independently.

They can, assuming they are eligible, apply either for restoration of status and/or change/extend their status to visitor. If not eligible for either of those, they may have to leave Canada and reapply as visitors from scratch.

 

[MichaelJenkins]

They can, assuming they are eligible, apply either for restoration of status and/or change/extend their status to visitor. If not eligible for either of those, they may have to leave Canada and reapply as visitors from scratch.

Thank you for you help. Could you explain why they would need to apply for a restoration of status? They are currently temporary resident visa holders (albeit valid only for the next 10 days), so surely they should be able to simply apply for an extension of the same status.

I'm not sure what the difference is between visitor and temporary resident...

 

[zardoz]

Thank you for you help. Could you explain why they would need to apply for a restoration of status? They are currently temporary resident visa holders (albeit valid only for the next 10 days), so surely they should be able to simply apply for an extension of the same status.

I'm not sure what the difference is between visitor and temporary resident...

If they are currently in status, restoration is not required. They should apply for extension as visitors.

 

[MichaelJenkins]

If they are currently in status, restoration is not required. They should apply for extension as visitors.

OK thank you very much for clarification. One final question - considering my visa extension has not been accepted, and therefore my work permit is currently only valid until the 1st of February, do you think it is likely their extension application will be rejected? I am worried this may be the case since they originally needed my work permit to determine the period of their temporary residency, which is why all of our visas end on the same date. So I guess I'm seeing two options for them here:

1) Apply for an extension now, which should give them implied status until a decision is made. The risk here is that their application will be rejected because my work permit may not have been granted yet.

2) Wait until my extension is accepted before they apply. This would ensure that they would also be accepted, but in the mean time until my application is accepted, they would need to leave the country.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

OK thank you very much for clarification. One final question - considering my visa extension has not been accepted, and therefore my work permit is currently only valid until the 1st of February, do you think it is likely their extension application will be rejected? I am worried this may be the case since they originally needed my work permit to determine the period of their temporary residency, which is why all of our visas end on the same date. So I guess I'm seeing two options for them here:

1) Apply for an extension now, which should give them implied status until a decision is made. The risk here is that their application will be rejected because my work permit may not have been granted yet.

2) Wait until my extension is accepted before they apply. This would ensure that they would also be accepted, but in the mean time until my application is accepted, they would need to leave the country.

When you say visas, are you referring to Visitor Records?

 

[MichaelJenkins]

Sorry, yes, they are Visitor Records. I always forget the terminology.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Sorry, yes, they are Visitor Records. I always forget the terminology.

Apply for the extensions now. Explain in the app that you have applied to extend your work permit.

 

[MichaelJenkins]

OK, thank you so much for your help.