Inland or Outland?

[PaulaG]

Hi everyone,
I'm hoping to draw on your experience and expertise.

I'm a Canadian citizen planning to sponsor my Irish common law partner and we're trying to decide whether to apply inland or Outland. Here are the details:

- Sean has been in Canada on a work visa since Apr2014, and his visa is due to expire Apr2016.
- We've been a couple since June 2014 and he started living with me (unofficially) around Oct2014.
- We moved in together into a new apartment in Feb 2015 but he still had to finish his old lease so his name was added to the new lease in May 2015 (didn't take my advice on that). It's doubtful that the company we're renting from will agree to change the start date on the lease.
- Sean has been working with his current employer since oct 2014 and they are not applying for an LMIA for him. They have, however, provided an offer of permanent employment.
- we have a joint bank account and I have added him as a beneficiary to my pension and life insurance benefits. (We have papers for this)
- we have tons of photos and friends and family who will provide support letters.

Plan based on my current knowledge:
- Apply for work visa extension end of March/beginning of April 2016 to have implied status for a couple of months until we apply for the family class PR. I'm fairly certain this would be denied as it doesn't meet the proper conditions to apply for OPW (no support from the employer, no ongoing application for PR)
- may 2016 send in PR application

Friends have advised to apply Outland, but if we do that, he wouldn't be able to work for a few months cause OPW is only available for inland.

If we apply Outland, I understand it takes about 18 months right now to get approval in principle (sorry not good with acronyms yet) and 6 months later he would reach the 4yr work limit in Canada and we'd still have to wait for the PR to be able to work again, right? In the meantime we wouldn't be able to visit his family in Ireland for Christmas or anything, and they're not sure how long his grandma will still be around (we'd like to go for Xmas 2016)

What would you do in this situation? How would you go about the new whole thing?

Thanks for taking the time to read this

 

[Aquakitty]

What kind of work visa is he on? IEC? AFAIK those cannot be extended, so that would just be a waste of time and money, and using it to game the system to stay in status is also not a good idea. Simply apply to "Change conditions or extend stay" in Canada in February. If you apply inland with an OWP, that would give implied status anyways, though he still couldn't work.

Now if you have any way you can prove when you really started living together, you can apply for PR now. A lease is not the only way to prove common-law. Alternatively, just get married. If you are committed enough to sponsor him and be financially responsible for him for years, why not marriage?

Either way, I'd suggest applying outland, maybe his work can hire him back once he is a PR. The long, long wait for PR as inland is horrible for most people. With outland he could have his PR in months rather than years.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

- Apply for work visa extension end of March/beginning of April 2016 to have implied status for a couple of months until we apply for the family class PR. I'm fairly certain this would be denied as it doesn't meet the proper conditions to apply for OPW (no support from the employer, no ongoing application for PR)

If we apply Outland, I understand it takes about 18 months right now to get approval in principle (sorry not good with acronyms yet) and 6 months later he would reach the 4yr work limit in Canada and we'd still have to wait for the PR to be able to work again, right? In the meantime we wouldn't be able to visit his family in Ireland for Christmas or anything, and they're not sure how long his grandma will still be around (we'd like to go for Xmas 2016)

There is no Implied Status with IEC. Your partner must stop working once his permit expires and cannot work again until he is either a PR or in possession of a new work permit.

Where did you get 18 months? London averages around 9 months; there are many applicants from June/July this year that already have approval.

Regardless of how he applies, he will have to stop working. It would be better to apply outland.

 

[PaulaG]

Thanks for your replies Aquakitty and Canuck

His work visa seems pretty generic, says employer: open, occupation: Open EA, location: Unknown. I have no way of telling whether it's IEC or what. Not even sure what IEC is. The lady I talked to when I called CIC said it would be da like an open work permit, what he has.

I got 18months from the times posts on CIC website for Inland. Sorry, that was a typo on my part. How accurate this is, or whether I'm miscalculating the times, is another issue. I may be completely off base.

What would be other ways of proving we were living together other than a lease? Are letters from friends and family enough? Or our story letter? We got the joint acct after may. And he never got any mail to outlet address until wall after may. Even if we were to get married, we still have to prove that we lived together for at least 1yr. And he's under the impression that it would look like we only got married to get status. What is the difference between married and common law, are there any benefits? I understand there would be benefits if we had kids together, but that hasn't happened yet.

It was the 'change conditions or extend stay' that's the work visa extension we are considering. In the application there is a field where you have to choose the type of work permit: LMIA, LMIA exempt, open WP or a couple others that would't apply even remotely. And since there's no LMIA, nor exemption, it has to be 'open'.

His work would probably take him back, it's more a situation where we'd be strained financially with my income alone for 5-6months at least. Especially if a baby makes its way into our lives in the interim.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

His work visa seems pretty generic, says employer: open, occupation: Open EA, location: Unknown. I have no way of telling whether it's IEC or what. Not even sure what IEC is.

Even if we were to get married, we still have to prove that we lived together for at least 1yr.

What is the difference between married and common law, are there any benefits?

I understand there would be benefits if we had kids together, but that hasn't happened yet.

It was the 'change conditions or extend stay' that's the work visa extension we are considering. In the application there is a field where you have to choose the type of work permit: LMIA, LMIA exempt, open WP or a couple others that would't apply even remotely. And since there's no LMIA, nor exemption, it has to be 'open'.

IEC is International Experience Canada, a working holiday program. Unless he studied in Canada and then got a post-grad work permit, he holds an IEC permit.

No, you do not have to prove you have lived together for a year if you are married. That is a common-law requirement.

Common-law applicants must prove they have lived together for a year. Married applicants don't.

Having kids together provides zero benefit.

He cannot work on Implied Status. It doesn't matter what he is applying for.

 

[PaulaG]

Interesting about the marriage vs common law, thought I had read that in one of their guides. Would they not find it suspicious though, getting married shortly before applying?

Having kids apparently removes the condition childless couples have after receiving PR. Not exactly why we want kids though haha

Maybe I'm using the wrong term and it's not implied static that I'm referring to. I read somewhere on the CIC site that if you can prove to. Your employer that you have applied for a work visa extension, then you can continue working until you receive an answer. Is this accurate?

Thanks again for all your time, really appreciate your input

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Interesting about the marriage vs common law, thought I had read that in one of their guides. Would they not find it suspicious though, getting married shortly before applying?

Having kids apparently removes the condition childless couples have after receiving PR. Not exactly why we want kids though haha

Maybe I'm using the wrong term and it's not implied static that I'm referring to. I read somewhere on the CIC site that if you can prove to. Your employer that you have applied for a work visa extension, then you can continue working until you receive an answer. Is this accurate?

It's not suspicious if there is a relationship to back it up.

Conditional PR means pretty much nothing to genuine couples. All it means is that you must live together for the first 2 years after sponsorship.

Implied Status is the correct term. IEC doesn't qualify.

 

[PaulaG]

sdo you know how to find out for sure if his visa is IEC or not? Is it written anywhere on the doc or would CIC be able to tell us if we call in?

Thank you again for taking all this time to help us out!

 

[krishnalynn]

sdo you know how to find out for sure if his visa is IEC or not? Is it written anywhere on the doc or would CIC be able to tell us if we call in?

Thank you again for taking all this time to help us out!

He doesn't remember how he got his visa? I can't think of any situation where it's not an IEC visa unless he graduated from a Canadian university, is a refugee, or had a previous Canadian spouse.

 

[PaulaG]

>He doesn't remember how he got his visa?
No, he's dyslexic and had a friend help him at the time. Even without the learning disability he's not good with paperwork, which is why I'm handling it all. And we can ask the friend but doubtful that he'll remember.


>I can't think of any situation where it's not an IEC visa unless he graduated from a Canadian university, is a refugee, or had a previous Canadian spouse.
None of these apply to his situation. But he did seem fairy certain he couldn't extend the WP once it was done, so it might be right after all.

Starting to look into police certificates now...another pain, oh boy!

 

[MissReeva-Walker]

>He doesn't remember how he got his visa?
No, he's dyslexic and had a friend help him at the time. Even without the learning disability he's not good with paperwork, which is why I'm handling it all. And we can ask the friend but doubtful that he'll remember.


>I can't think of any situation where it's not an IEC visa unless he graduated from a Canadian university, is a refugee, or had a previous Canadian spouse.
None of these apply to his situation. But he did seem fairy certain he couldn't extend the WP once it was done, so it might be right after all.

Starting to look into police certificates now...another pain, oh boy!

lol... Trussss me. Police record cost me nearly $350 Canadian by the time we got my husbands fingerprints, certified copy of his passport, send via dhl ($78) , 8000 JMD for express 1-2 days from the police stations, and for it to be sent back via DHL was another $78.

 

[PaulaG]

Good grief, MissReeva, it's quite the expense, isn't it? we might as well go there and do it all in person lol

 

[canuck_in_uk]

sdo you know how to find out for sure if his visa is IEC or not? Is it written anywhere on the doc or would CIC be able to tell us if we call in?

Thank you again for taking all this time to help us out!

Canada doesn't hand out open work permits; they are given in only very specific circumstances. He didn't study in Canada, so he holds an IEC permit.

 

[Snowisland]

Just wanted to point out that if you apply inland and are not approved you can't appeal.

 

[PaulaG]

Thanks again, everyone, we'll likely apply Outland in May, regardless of the work visa situation, and hope for the best