Help

[Lambeen]

I arrived in Canada as a visitor in July of 2012. i came here to canada as a new wife with my husband after being married in the states. My husband is canadian. My visitor permit said i could stay for a year. i did extend it for another six months. Now i have decided to appy for Permanent residence. My permit expires on April 23, which is the same day as my Passport expires. My new passport is being processed right now. As soon as i get my passport i am going to send in my PR paperwork before the exp date on my visitor permit which should then give me implied status right? I have a drivers license here that is good till April 9 my birthday, they wont renew it unless they have documentation saying i am here legally. when you have implied status of couse you have no document to say that. They told me to go to the border and try to get a visitor permit so i can get a new drivers license . I was wondering if the border would indeed issue me a new visitor permit if none of my conditions have changed, and by doing so would it mess up my application for PR. I would like to have a drivers license here if possible. THANKS for any input.
another question.... if i do get a visitor permit, will that allow me to cross the border while my PR and sponsorship is being processed?

 

[Rob_TO]

another question.... if i do get a visitor permit, will that allow me to cross the border while my PR and sponsorship is being processed?

A visitors permit does not guarantee you entry into Canada. So if you apply inland, each time you leave Canada you would risk that if you were denied re-entry back to Canada for any reason whatsoever, your inland app would be cancelled and you would start again from the beginning. For this reason, it's recommended that with an inland app you should be prepared to stay within Canada and not leave for any reason for the 16 months or so of processing time.

If you want the ability to come and go from Canada as a visitor during PR processing, then you need to apply outland, which for US residents is done through CPP-Ottawa office. With outland app, it doesn't matter if you're in Canada or anywhere else in the world during processing.

 

[Lambeen]

Thanks Rob i appreciate that info, could you tell me then would i be applying for PR and sponsorship outland? is that what you are saying? If so could you give me some info on how to get the forms etc. Or are you talking specifically about a visitor permit ouland ? and if so do i do this after sending in my paperwork while inside canada? phew ??? sorry just need to understand. I have to do something before my visitor permit expires on april 23. i definately would love the option to travel back and forth while in processing. I have chidren and family in the states. thanks so much for your help

 

[Rob_TO]

Thanks Rob i appreciate that info, could you tell me then would i be applying for PR and sponsorship outland? is that what you are saying? If so could you give me some info on how to get the forms etc. Or are you talking specifically about a visitor permit ouland ? and if so do i do this after sending in my paperwork while inside canada? phew ??? sorry just need to understand. I have to do something before my visitor permit expires on april 23. i definately would love the option to travel back and forth while in processing. I have chidren and family in the states. thanks so much for your help

You should definitely apply outland. All the forms you need are here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

You can submit the application to CPC-Mississauga while you are in Canada or the USA, it doesn't matter. After CPC-M approves sponsor (around 1 month time), the app will be forwarded to CPP-Ottawa for stage 2 processing (currently in the 8-10 month range).

Keep in mind this has absolutely NOTHING to do with your visitor status. An outland app does NOT give you any type of implied status in Canada. You need to maintain your visitor status separately, although often if you tell them that you have an outland app in progress, they will give you another 6 months or 1 year visitor status extension with no problem. You may not have your application ready to submit by April 23, so you should probably apply for a visitor extension in the meantime.

 

[QuebecOkie]

I am no expert, but from what I read at this time, there is no longer any "implied" status possible when in Canada as a visitor and submitting a PR application. It was once possible to submit an application for OWP (open work permit) with an inland PR application, which gave the applicant implied status until after stage one and a decision on their OWP app. However, a recent change (*all* PR apps are now sent to Mississaugua, instead of inland apps going to Vegreville where OWP apps are processed) appears to make getting implied status that way impossible now.

The only "implied status" you can receive is if you submit an application for extension of your visitor status before your current visitor status expires, you will then have implied status until you receive a decision on your extension request. (I applied, as CIC instructs, for my visitor extension over 30 days before expiry of my status; I didn't receive the approval for almost three months, and during that time, I just kept a copy of my extension request to show that I had implied status. It was never an issue for me.) An visitor status extension request can be submitted online (start here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/ctc-vac/cometocanada.asp?utm_source=slash-cometocanada&utm_medium=short-url&utm_campaign=come-to-canada), but I doubt they will extend your status beyond the validity of your current passport, i.e. I expect you will have to get your new passport before you can apply for an extension.