HELP! UK WAITING TIME for PR from Outland Spousal Sponsorship & OPEN WORK PERMIT

[Blibblobblib]

Hello everyone.

I'm sure these questions have been asked a hundred times before but any willing and knowledgable members who can help me with answers would be hugely appreciated.

My story is i am 33 years old from the UK and I married my Canadian husband in London last year before he returned to Ontario and I remained in the UK. We immediately applied for the Outland Spousal Sponsorship, and he has since been approved as my sponsor and my PR is currently at the stage as having received my medical exam.

My first question is - It is currently saying the waiting time for my PR is 17 months, which is far longer than we anticipated as we heard it was far shorter than applying inland. I keep hearing stories that this is a worse case scenario but I was wondering if anyone knows of cases where PR is confirmed before 17 months?

And my second question is - I am arriving into Toronto in a few weeks on a visitor visa and would like to apply for an Open Work Permit so i can stay in Toronto living and working with my husband until my PR is approved. According to the CIC eligibility test I may be eligible to apply for an Open Work Permit, and there is no talk of needing a job offer. Is this a viable way to obtain a work permit for someone in my position that will allow me to live in Toronto with my husband working until my PR is complete?

Any answers or discussion will be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

[Ponga]

You will not be waiting 17 months, unless you have a difficult/complication case. Most UK applicants are completing the entire process in ~6-8 months, according to the Outland UK thread here.


As an Outland applicant, you do not qualify for an OWP.

 

[Blibblobblib]

Thank you so much for the quick reply Ponga.

That's great news about the UK wait time, hopefully our case is not complicated and there are no delays. Do you have a link for the Outland UK thread? I can't find it when I search.

That's unfortunate about the OWP, do you know why I do not qualify?

As an Outland applicant, is there *ANY* type of work permit I can apply for which will allows me to live and work in Toronto during my wait for my PR? I need to work to be able to live in Canada with my husband

 

[Ponga]

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/thread-for-outland-london-uk-applications-t49436.20520.html

You do not qualify for the OWP, because you have submitted an Outland application. The OWP is only available to those that have applied for spousal sponsorship with an Inland application, so long as they have legal status.

Unfortunately, you'll have to find an employer willing to go through the LMIA process to hire you...which is going to be extremely difficult.

And it's important to know that you will NOT be allowed to `live' in Canada, until your PR has been approved. You can possibly `visit' your husband while you wait.

 

[Blibblobblib]

Thank you for the link.

And thank you for the explanation regarding the OWP. I will have to attempt to find an employer willing to go the route of the LMIA process to hire me, but like you say I can imagine it is a difficult process. But if this is the only option I have it is the only route I can take as I do plan on staying with my husband in Canada until my PR is confirmed.

Visiting my husband will allow me to stay up to 6 months with no working visa. I have been trying to find out what the time period between 6 month visits in Canada is - how long the period between visits should be, or whether its a case of leaving Canada, getting your passport stamped then coming straght back in. But there is very little info on this answer anywhere.

Thanks again for your response.

 

[Ponga]

Since you already have an active sponsorship application, you might not have a need to extend your stay beyond the 6 months, if that is what the CBSA officer gives you when you seek entry into Canada. Just make sure that you know what `Dual Intent' is (check the CIC website) and be prepared to prove that you still have ties `back home', while you wait for your PR to be completed.

 

[Mightytonewheel]

Thank you so much for the quick reply Ponga.

That's great news about the UK wait time, hopefully our case is not complicated and there are no delays. Do you have a link for the Outland UK thread? I can't find it when I search.

That's unfortunate about the OWP, do you know why I do not qualify?

As an Outland applicant, is there *ANY* type of work permit I can apply for which will allows me to live and work in Toronto during my wait for my PR? I need to work to be able to live in Canada with my husband

OWPs are intended for people who are applying inland -- that is, they want to live and work in Canada while they wait for permanent residency. There are three major downsides of inland applications: 1) they take a lot longer to process than outland applications; 2) the applicant is expected to remain in Canada while the application is pending, and 3) there is no appeal process if the permanent residency application happens to be rejected.

In short, OWPs are intended to relieve inland applicants of having to sit in Canada for 2 years or more without the ability to work or study, while their application is processed.

While applying outland is much faster, the downside is that you cannot work or study in Canada, and you can only officially stay here as a visitor (provided you are able to persuade the government that you will abide by the terms of a visitor visa).

While many of us would like to have both speedy applications and the ability to work, the reality is that we can't. I don't think it's possible to apply for a regular work permit while there's a concurrent outbound application for permanent residency underway. Even if it was, you'd probably have your permanent residency faster than you would a work permit.

One possible workaround: you actually can work while on Canadian soil, as long as certain criteria are met. For instance, if the employer is located outside Canada, and you aren't actually entering the Canadian workforce, you may not even need a work permit. Make sure to understand all the criteria before you make plans along these lines.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

And thank you for the explanation regarding the OWP. I will have to attempt to find an employer willing to go the route of the LMIA process to hire me, but like you say I can imagine it is a difficult process. But if this is the only option I have it is the only route I can take as I do plan on staying with my husband in Canada until my PR is confirmed.

Visiting my husband will allow me to stay up to 6 months with no working visa. I have been trying to find out what the time period between 6 month visits in Canada is - how long the period between visits should be, or whether its a case of leaving Canada, getting your passport stamped then coming straght back in. But there is very little info on this answer anywhere.

There is little chance of getting a work permit. You can expect it would take several months to find a willing employer, plus several more months for the actual LMIA process. You would most likely be a PR before then.

You don't need to leave. If your PR app hasn't been approved yet, you can just apply to extend your stay.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/extend-stay.asp

While many of us would like to have both speedy applications and the ability to work, the reality is that we can't. I don't think it's possible to apply for a regular work permit while there's a concurrent outbound application for permanent residency underway.

It is completely possible to apply for a work permit while waiting for an outland app to be processed. The apps have nothing to do with each other.

 

[Mightytonewheel]

Since you already have an active sponsorship application, you might not have a need to extend your stay beyond the 6 months, if that is what the CBSA officer gives you when you seek entry into Canada. Just make sure that you know what `Dual Intent' is (check the CIC website) and be prepared to prove that you still have ties `back home', while you wait for your PR to be completed.

Here's the link Ponga mentioned about "dual intent":

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/temp/visa/dual.asp

Basically, it means that you can enter Canada with dual intentions: the first being as a visitor, the second being to become a permanent resident. That's fine, as long as you intend to abide by the rules surrounding visitors until your PR application is approved. Basically, that means you can't work, you can't study, and you have to intend to leave.

 

[Mightytonewheel]

There is little chance of getting a work permit. You can expect it would take several months to find a willing employer, plus several more months for the actual LMIA process. You would most likely be a PR before then.

You don't need to leave. If your PR app hasn't been approved yet, you can just apply to extend your stay.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/extend-stay.asp

That's true, but: from http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/temp/visa/dual.asp

The possibility that an applicant for temporary residence may, at some point in the future, be approved under a Permanent Resident Program does not absolve the individual from meeting the requirements of a temporary resident, specifically, to leave Canada at the end of the period authorized for their stay."

It is completely possible to apply for a work permit while waiting for an outland app to be processed. The apps have nothing to do with each other.

It would have been more accurate to say it's unusual, at best. And since most outland applications take much less time than most work permit applications, it generally makes more sense to wait for PR to be approved.

 

[Blibblobblib]

Thank you for all the advice guys.

It does sound like applying for a work permit through LMIA is possible, but pointless as my PR may be approved before the work permit is. I have been reading through the options on the CIC site and here at this link regarding exemptions from LMIA [EDIT - unable to post the link apparently]

It says the following candidates can be exempt from an LMIA: spouses and common-law partners who are in Canada and have been sponsored through the Family Class by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and have applied for permanent residence.

This would be myself would it not? And would this mean the process for a working visa could be a bit quicker?

Sadly i don't have the freedom of staying in Canada as a visitor for 10 months without work. I am a freelance writer and I do have clients from the UK so I would be able to stay in Canada as a visitor but would produce work for British clients. Just annoyingly this alone would not be enough to fund my stay.

 

[Ponga]

Well, it's better than not being able to work at all...while you are with your husband.

Can you expand your client base to include other countries (beside Canada, of course)?

 

[Blibblobblib]

Well, it's better than not being able to work at all...while you are with your husband.

Can you expand your client base to include other countries (beside Canada, of course)?

That is true, it's not as dire as it could be but still not a factor alone that allows me to stay in Canada.

I may be able to extend my client base, this is something i'm looking into now as it looks like it may be my only source of income!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

It would have been more accurate to say it's unusual, at best. And since most outland applications take much less time than most work permit applications, it generally makes more sense to wait for PR to be approved.

It's not unusual at all. Many people apply for work permits while waiting for PR apps to be processed.

It says the following candidates can be exempt from an LMIA: spouses and common-law partners who are in Canada and have been sponsored through the Family Class by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and have applied for permanent residence.

This would be myself would it not? And would this mean the process for a working visa could be a bit quicker?

No. As said above, this refers only to inland applicants and you applied outland.

 

[Blibblobblib]

No. As said above, this refers only to inland applicants and you applied outland.

Bugger. I knew that would be a reason I wouldn't be exempt. I *WISH* there was some way I could get work over there, my life would be so much easier haha. Living apart from my husband another 10 months isn't an option.

Thank you for the help guys.