Inland sponsorship and maintaining status - Advice Needed!

[torontosm]

Hi, a friend of mine (Canadian citizen living in Canada) got married over the summer to a girl (from a non-visa exempt country) who was then studying at a local university on a student visa. After the wedding, they completed and submitted an inland sponsorship application, but did not submit the application for a OWP, and received confirmation of receipt. They are now waiting for the Phase 1 approval.

Following submission of the sponsorship application, the girl stopped attending school for financial reasons. She is not working but I believe that since she is no longer studying, her student visa is no longer valid and she is out of status.

I wanted to see if anyone should help me understand:
- Whether she is actually out of status
- What impact this may have on their sponsorship application
- What is the best course of action, if any, to restore her status.

Also, if anyone could provide a link to the relevant CIC manual that addresses such an issue, i would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Rob_TO]

Hi, a friend of mine (Canadian citizen living in Canada) got married over the summer to a girl (from a non-visa exempt country) who was then studying at a local university on a student visa. After the wedding, they completed and submitted an inland sponsorship application, but did not submit the application for a OWP, and received confirmation of receipt. They are now waiting for the Phase 1 approval.

Following submission of the sponsorship application, the girl stopped attending school for financial reasons. She is not working but I believe that since she is no longer studying, her student visa is no longer valid and she is out of status.

I wanted to see if anyone should help me understand:
- Whether she is actually out of status
- What impact this may have on their sponsorship application
- What is the best course of action, if any, to restore her status.

Also, if anyone could provide a link to the relevant CIC manual that addresses such an issue, i would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/ip/ip06-eng.pdf
5.6 Inland applications for permanent residence
In situations where an applicant who has visitor status submits an application for permanent residence to Vegreville and at the same time submits an application for a work permit (pursuant to R207(b)), the visitor may be considered to have requested an extension of their TR status (in accordance with R183(5)). They are considered to have implied status as a visitor, until a decision is made on their WP application.
When no application for a work or study permit is received with the application for permanent residence, the applicant is obliged to apply to extend their visitor status.

It's the OWP application that gives implied status, not the inland PR app itself. So if her study permit expired and she hasn't applied for any extension, then she is currently out of status and in Canada illegally.

I believe she can send an application to restore status within so many days (90?) of her previous visa expiring. Or she could submit the OWP app immediately and have them join it with her inland app. Others will need to advise which is the better option.

 

[torontosm]

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/ip/ip06-eng.pdf

It's the OWP application that gives implied status, not the inland PR app itself. So if her study permit expired and she hasn't applied for any extension, then she is currently out of status and in Canada illegally.

I believe she can send an application to restore status within so many days (90?) of her previous visa expiring. Or she could submit the OWP app immediately and have them join it with her inland app. Others will need to advise which is the better option.

Rob_TO....thanks so much for the quick reply! My understanding is that her actual visa is still valid, as it was a 2 year student visa of which only 1 year has elapsed. However, I was unsure about whether her not being enrolled in university this summer nullifies her status. If it doesn't, then that's great news and she can submit the OWP application immediately. Thanks again!

 

[screech339]

Rob_TO....thanks so much for the quick reply! My understanding is that her actual visa is still valid, as it was a 2 year student visa of which only 1 year has elapsed. However, I was unsure about whether her not being enrolled in university this summer nullifies her status. If it doesn't, then that's great news and she can submit the OWP application immediately. Thanks again!

That is a good question to ask for study permits. Is it valid regardless if she attended school or valid only while she maintains her studies. I am leaning on that the study visa is valid for the entire time she is in Canada regardless if she is attending school or not. If her visa is good for 2 years, she can stay for 2 years.

Screech339

 

[torontosm]

That is a good question to ask for study permits. Is is valid regardless if she attended school or valid only while she maintains her studies. I am leaning on that the study visa is valid for the entire time she is in Canada regardless if she is attending school or not. If her visa is good for 2 years, she can stay for 2 years.

Screech339

Thanks Screech. I actually just called her to check and it turns out that her student visa expired in September. I guess she can still restore it because its within the 90 day window, but as she is not in school anymore, I'm not sure whether this will be possible. Could she restore it to a visitor status instead? will this raise any red flags with CIC for the spousal sponsorship? Thanks!

 

[guri3577]

That is a good question to ask for study permits. Is it valid regardless if she attended school or valid only while she maintains her studies. I am leaning on that the study visa is valid for the entire time she is in Canada regardless if she is attending school or not. If her visa is good for 2 years, she can stay for 2 years.

Screech339

Yeah, Screech you are right, it is valid until the applicant has the permit for; but the school authorities can call immigration if the student doesn't show up for a couple of semesters without any notice or reason which can lead to cancellation of the permit ( happened to someone I know).

 

[screech339]

Yeah, Screech you are right, it is valid until the applicant has the permit for; but the school authorities can call immigration if the student doesn't show up for a couple of semesters without any notice or reason which can lead to cancellation of the permit ( happened to someone I know).

I had an inkling that I was going to be wrong in that she can stay as long as her study visa lasts regardless if she attended school or not. So the study visa is dependent on her maintaining her studies in Canada. If she stopped attending, she loses her study visa. Which makes sense. Her purpose was to come in and study. Not to hang around as a visitor, a different status.

So I suggest you quickly get the restoration as visitor however I am concerned that since she is from a non-visa exempt country, she doesn't have a valid visitor TRV in her passport. So how can she get visitor status if she doesn't have a TRV to begin with. If she does have a canadian TRV in her passport, then she can apply to restore her status as a visitor. If she doesn't have a TRV, she cannot restore as a visitor. She has to leave.

Screech339

 

[canuck_in_uk]

So I suggest you quickly get the restoration as visitor however I am concerned that since she is from a non-visa exempt country, she doesn't have a valid visitor TRV in her passport. So how can she get visitor status if she doesn't have a TRV to begin with. If she does have a canadian TRV in her passport, then she can apply to restore her status as a visitor. If she doesn't have a TRV, she cannot restore as a visitor. She has to leave.

A TRV is needed for entry into the country. A TRV is not needed to extend a person's status within Canada. There are many visitors, workers and students who have expired TRVs or entered on single entry TRVs that are no longer valid; they can continue to extend their status in Canada without a vaild TRV. They would only need to apply for another TRV if they intended to leave and then re-enter Canada.

She can apply for restoration and change of status to visitor within the 90 day window of her study permit expiry.

 

[screech339]

A TRV is needed for entry into the country. A TRV is not needed to extend a person's status within Canada. There are many visitors, workers and students who have expired TRVs or entered on single entry TRVs that are no longer valid; they can continue to extend their status in Canada without a vaild TRV. They would only need to apply for another TRV if they intended to leave and then re-enter Canada.

She can apply for restoration and change of status to visitor within the 90 day window of her study permit expiry.

Thanks for enlightening me on the situation. I learn something new everyday.

Screech339

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thanks for enlightening me on the situation. I learn something new everyday.

Screech339

You're welcome. I always try to learn something new everyday