Inland - Questions

[mmarkovs]

Hello,

My wife is from Macedonia. She is here on a multiple entry tourist visa. She is allowed to stay for 6 months at a time. We just got married legally on Saturday August 22nd so we can submit the inland sponsorship application. I have a few questions that I have been unable to get confirmation about. Can you please help me?

1. Can we use the temporary marriage certificate as part of the inland sponsorship application or do we need to submit the official marriage certificate? We would like to get the application sent in along with the application for work/study permit specific to inland sponsorship applications so she can start working and studying ASAP.

2. Can she leave the country in May for a wedding even if she isn't yet a permanent resident and will be here on the work study permit (assuming she is approved)? Will she be at risk of being refused entry when we return even though we are legally married?

3. Does she need to extend her tourist visa if she doesn't receive approval of her work/study permit before her current tourist visa expires? I was told the government is doing everything it can to process the work/study permits for inlad sponsporship applications as quick as possible, usually around 2 months. However, if we don't receive the decision before her current tourist visa expires, would we need to extend the visa?

Thank you,

Michael

 

[IrisSphere]

1. Yes you'd need a certified marriage certificate submitted with your application. I'm not sure what is a temporary one (maybe depends on the province?). Depending where you got married you can apply for your certificate right after you get married and they will process it as soon as the marriage is registered. They say it typically takes 10 weeks, but we got ours in 3 - I applied 1 day after we got married (we asked our officiant to include a note for urgency so this might have helped).
2. The whole caveat with inland is that you are not supposed to leave Canada, and if your wife is refused entry your application goes to the garbage, and you can't appeal. The chance might be small but its still there and noone can say for sure what could happen at the border. I believe the OWP does not guarantee re-entry.
3. I believe you can extend the tourist visa online by submitting documents that she has sufficient ties back home so she will return at the end of the extension. I also read that you should only apply for 6 month extensions at a time.

Hope this helps a little and good luck. I am not sure how fast the VO is in Macedonia but it might be beneficial to look into Outland application. Even though she won't have a work permit, at least she'll be able to leave the country without jeopardizing the application.

 

[mmarkovs]

Hi,

I appreciate your response, thank you. I was just wondering where you are getting your information from. I dont mean to sound rude but I just want to verify if this is something you know for sure. For example, it is frustrating for me that there is no concrete answer about leaving the country with an inland application. You mention that there is no guarantee that the officer will guarantee my wife re-entry. Why would they deny her when we are clearly married and have submitted our application? what if we we print out proof of the application and our marriage? For us, an out land application is not something we want to consider. We want her to stay here and get the open work permit ASAP. We were just trying to plan a wedding as all her family is in Macedonia. Its frustrating that there would be a chance she would be denied entry.

 

[IrisSphere]

Hi,

I appreciate your response, thank you. I was just wondering where you are getting your information from. I dont mean to sound rude but I just want to verify if this is something you know for sure. For example, it is frustrating for me that there is no concrete answer about leaving the country with an inland application. You mention that there is no guarantee that the officer will guarantee my wife re-entry. Why would they deny her when we are clearly married and have submitted our application? what if we we print out proof of the application and our marriage? For us, an out land application is not something we want to consider. We want her to stay here and get the open work permit ASAP. We were just trying to plan a wedding as all her family is in Macedonia. Its frustrating that there would be a chance she would be denied entry.

Sure, you have the right to question people's comments. I'm not an expert, just a user like you. If you do a search on google and put site: canadavisa.com you'll see numerous posts regarding travel. Like this one: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/traveling-during-an-inland-application-t198743.0.html or this one http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/inland-spousal-application-in-process-while-canadian-sponsor-wishes-to-travel-t159811.0.html

The problem with Inland is that your wife is supposed to be residing with you for the entire time.. if they think she's been away for two long, they may have grounds to reject. And you don't get to appeal. So in the end it's your choice - just sharing what my knowledge has been surfing these forums for the last 6 months.

 

[mmarkovs]

I appreciate your help. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Do you mind shedding some light on the outland process since you seem to know your stuff lol.

So as far as I know, we can still apply outland even if she stays with me in Canada. However, with this process, she wont be able to receive an open work permit so she would have to extend her tourist visa until the application is completely approved and she becomes a PR? And obviously she wont be able to work until the whole application is approved. However, by applying out land, she would be free to leave and re enter without trouble after we submit the application? How long generally would it take for the application to be completely processed and for her to become a PR? thanks a lot,

mike

 

[IrisSphere]

Sure, happy to help

I believe for Macedonia the Visa office processing will be Vienna. It currently states here that the processing time is 16 months http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/offices/missions/vienna.asp however keep in mind that this is likely worst case scenario (this is how long it takes them to process 80% of applications, not the average). Best way to gauge timelines is look at this spreadsheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FAYZyQgud1lzp7fM28i2O8ZrfbMAxdTc_t7_fiwI6ak/edit#gid=658388151 that records actual timelines for people. There is one user there from Vienna office that had his Visa within 6 months.

You are correct, she is able to live with you as a visitor and apply for extension to her visa as needed 6 months at a time. She won't be able to work, at least she will be able to travel. And even if she is denied entry it does not shut down your application. You might want to read the Vienna thread and ask people there on your situation, but generally people here do not recommend Inland applications especially if your wife has the ability to be in Canada as a visitor.

 

[Oak]

Hi,

Just my two cents..

Yeah. Inland applications take much longer, but as soon as they start processing on the application, if no red flags, everything seems to go pretty fast. Mine took a total of about 16 months, which about 14 or 15 months were sitting in the queue. Hahaha.

But I wouldn't say Inland is purely bad, it has some positive points as well.

Good luck!

 

[Aquakitty]

Hi,

Just my two cents..

Yeah. Inland applications take much longer, but as soon as they start processing on the application, if no red flags, everything seems to go pretty fast. Mine took a total of about 16 months, which about 14 or 15 months were sitting in the queue. Hahaha.

But I wouldn't say Inland is purely bad, it has some positive points as well.

Good luck!

No inland isn't all bad, it's the right choice for some people. It's luck of the draw really with outland, but with inland you know for sure inland is gonna take at least a year and a half.

The problem is, outland could be anything from blazing fast to a nightmarish time. There's no way to know for sure, you just have to go by the spreadsheet info and what the average is for most people from your VO. According to the 2015 spreadsheet, it looks like Vienna is taking about 7-9 months, not bad!

The key to an outland application is to be very thorough, but don't go too extreme so that whoever is looking at your app has to start shredding papers. Be succinct and relevant and don't forget anything. Do everything you can upfront, and if you have to wait for a document like police clearance, make sure you send it with your app numbers all over it, name, address etc.

I suggest sending only your official marriage certificate though, up front, if you apply outland.

 

[IrisSphere]

The problem is, outland could be anything from blazing fast to a nightmarish time. There's no way to know for sure, you just have to go by the spreadsheet info and what the average is for most people from your VO. According to the 2015 spreadsheet, it looks like Vienna is taking about 7-9 months, not bad!

Not to hijack the post or anything, but how do people find out the averages for the VO? I tried filtering but it says the cells are locked. Am i missing something?

 

[mmarkovs]

Im confused about one thing. I thought the whole caveat with an outland application is that the person you are sponsoring can not be in Canada while the app is being processed. Am I wrong?

Also, other people have told me that if we decide to go the inland route, which is definitely what we were planning on doing given the fact that we would like her to stay in the country and start working/studying ASAP, that if we were to leave the country in about 9 months time for a wedding back in macedonia, we shouldnt have problems being allowed back in, especially if we have a photocopy of the sponsorship application and a copy of the work/permit visa as well as the marriage certificate. What kind of officer would deny you entry, it just doesnt make sense. any thoughts?

 

[Ponga]

Im confused about one thing. I thought the whole caveat with an outland application is that the person you are sponsoring can not be in Canada while the app is being processed. Am I wrong?

Also, other people have told me that if we decide to go the inland route, which is definitely what we were planning on doing given the fact that we would like her to stay in the country and start working/studying ASAP, that if we were to leave the country in about 9 months time for a wedding back in macedonia, we shouldnt have problems being allowed back in, especially if we have a photocopy of the sponsorship application and a copy of the work/permit visa as well as the marriage certificate. What kind of officer would deny you entry, it just doesnt make sense. any thoughts?

An Outland application can in fact be submitted from within Canada. The applicant needs to extend their status (if needed) while the application is being processed.

The Outland application doesn't do anything to improve the chances of being allowed to re-enter Canada. It is only an Inland application that is jeopardized if the applicant is refused re-entry, because the applicant must remain in Canada for the processing. If an Outland applicant is denied re-entry, their application continues to be processed. Even an Open Work Permit doesn't guarantee re-entry, because most (if not all of them) have `Does not guarantee re-entry' written on them as well.

 

[mmarkovs]

Thanks Ponga.

So for our situation, given that she would like to start working/studying here ASAP, it would definitely still make sense to go the inland route. That way, if I am correct, within about 2 months, she will receive the open work permit if we include it with the inland sponsorship application.

Applying outland would not have any affect on her being allowed to re-enter if we let for the wedding. IT would just ensure her application doesnt get thrown away if she were to be denied entry by chance.

Thank you

 

[Aquakitty]

Thanks Ponga.

So for our situation, given that she would like to start working/studying here ASAP, it would definitely still make sense to go the inland route. That way, if I am correct, within about 2 months, she will receive the open work permit if we include it with the inland sponsorship application.

Applying outland would not have any affect on her being allowed to re-enter if we let for the wedding. IT would just ensure her application doesnt get thrown away if she were to be denied entry by chance.

Thank you

4-5 months, not 2 months, on average. The work permit won't allow her to study though, just to work. The second part is pretty much correct in your case.

 

[mmarkovs]

Thanks. 4-5 months is fine too, obviously the faster the better but what can you do. Im still at a loss as to how they will have any groudns to reject her coming back into the country if we have proof of application as well as marriage certificates and everything. Whats the problkem with going back home for a wedding with your family? DOesnt that make the relationship even more "legitmate" which seems ot be their only concern?

 

[Ponga]

Im still at a loss as to how they will have any groudns to reject her coming back into the country if we have proof of application as well as marriage certificates and everything.

It's simple. They [CBSA] could be concerned that if the application for PR is NOT approved, she may not leave Canada.