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inland vs outland

warrenthegreat

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Sep 8, 2009
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What are the advantages and disadvantages of inland vs outland apps. Best as i can figure inland takes a little longer but the medical is cheaper in Canada. And inland the interview if needed will be local whereas if you apply outland and move to Canada in the interim you may need to return to country where app was filed for interview. And of course there's getting into Canada in the first instance to make an inland app. And I guess an inland app. would need to provide for they're own medical/dental while on a tourist visa. Is that right and can you think of anything else? I'm Canadian sponsoring UK wife of 12 years with two dual nationality children in tow. Is it true my wife can just keep re applying for tourist visa every 6 months until pr is ok'd provided she does so in good time before the previous visa expires. Can she do that for say 2 years if need be. Thanks. Good website. Should be government funded.
 

sbwv09

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A couple of things to consider:

1-You can get your medical in Canada as a visitor and apply outland.
2-A 'little' faster is usually not accurate. If it is transferred to a local office sometimes the wait is several years, as opposed to months for most outland cases. If your case is straight forward, it's likely you won't have an interview at all.
3-As a visa exempt person, your wife can keep renewing her visitor's status as an outland applicant.

It's rare that a person from a visa exempt country such as the UK is better off with an inland application. Also keep in mind two very big disadvantages to the inland application: you can't leave Canada during the entire process (which could mean years before your wife can see her family, etc) and there is no appeals process. Even if they make a simple mistake on her application and she is denied, too bad, because inland applicants aren't allowed to appeal the case.
 

kkim604

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Apr 27, 2010
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one thing that scares me for inland application is that you can't not file an appeal
what if by slim chance, dumb mistake on the application form or something and I get a reject(knock on wood)? what would I do then, divorce? lol
 

RobsLuv

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kkim604 said:
one thing that scares me for inland application is that you can't not file an appeal
what if by slim chance, dumb mistake on the application form or something and I get a reject(knock on wood)? what would I do then, divorce? lol
No - no divorce. You'd have to start all over again with an outland application AND you'd not be allowed to remain in Canada. If you have a visitor visa or something, it would not be renewed, and if you didn't have any status, they'd demand that you leave immediately.

warrenthegreat said:
What are the advantages and disadvantages of inland vs outland apps. Best as i can figure inland takes a little longer but the medical is cheaper in Canada. And inland the interview if needed will be local whereas if you apply outland and move to Canada in the interim you may need to return to country where app was filed for interview. And of course there's getting into Canada in the first instance to make an inland app. And I guess an inland app. would need to provide for they're own medical/dental while on a tourist visa. Is that right and can you think of anything else? I'm Canadian sponsoring UK wife of 12 years with two dual nationality children in tow. Is it true my wife can just keep re applying for tourist visa every 6 months until pr is ok'd provided she does so in good time before the previous visa expires. Can she do that for say 2 years if need be. Thanks. Good website. Should be government funded.
sbwv09 answered your thread very well but I wanted to add a couple of points. You can still get a medical done in Canada, even if you intend to apply via an outland application. If you applied outland, that would not mean that your wife couldn't be in Canada, it would just mean that you'd need to continue to extend her temporary status (separately from the PR ap) while waiting for the PR ap to be finalized. She would not be able to work or go to school in Canada while waiting for PR, and she wouldn't be eligible for medical benefits - but neither of those are "givens" with the inland process either . . . at least not until after first stage approval. What most people don't realize about first stage approval and an inland PR ap is that it takes at least 6-7 months to get to that stage. The majority of overseas visa offices can finalize an outland PR application in about the same amount of time - some, like London, are even faster than that. So if you were to apply outland, it's likely your wife would have a finalized PR visa in less time than it would take just to get to first stage with the inland process. Really, in your situation - absolutely no benefit to applying inland. You shouldn't even consider it, especially if she's not even in Canada at the moment. Get that outland ap in process now and if you want to bring her to Canada in the interim, to wait out processing, then you accompany her into the country, prove your valid marriage to the officer at the port of entry, and ask for her to have status to stay with you while her PR ap is in process. You should have proof that you have submitted a PR ap for her and that you can support her so they don't worry that she'll work illegally.
 

QCSunshine

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I am brand new posting to this forum but have been reading it for months and appreciate all that I have learned from here. I am an American woman married to a man from Quebec. We got married last fall in Quebec and are currently living in Quebec. I have a work permit valid until Dec. 31, 2010 allowing me to be in Canada to work on a specific unpaid project at a university. (I can not work elsewhere with this permit.) I have prepared almost everything for an inland application for permanent residence but have not yet submitted it. I did not know until this summer that outland was a possibility for me since I am living in Canada, but apparently it is, and I have been debating this decision since then. It is not helped by the fact that I have already almost finished preparing my inland application and could have it in the mail in a week.

I have spoken to two immigration lawyers about my situation and both seemed pretty reluctant to even make a recommendation either way regarding the matter or which route would be "better" in my situation. However, when pressed, both recommended I apply inland because it would allow me to work sooner. They said there are pros and cons to both routes.

I have concerns about my availability to leave the country during this process due to being an only child of two aging parents in the U.S. The lawyers seems to think there is no reason at all to be concerned about my ability to come and go from Canada, whether I apply inland or outland. (I think because I am American and married to a Canadian?) But from reading posts here, I am quite apprehensive to even think of leaving Canada (either way I apply!), unless it were an absolute emergency.

One of the lawyers suggested since I live in Quebec now, it is more straightforward to apply inland. I do not have any major ties back in the United States...no job, apartment, or other major ties. He felt like it made sense since I live here and want to continue living here without interruption with my husband during this process.

I have already done my medical exam which I think got sent to the inland processing office already. I used the form for the inland medical exams, which is likely a different form than the outland and sent to a different place. Anyone know?

We also already paid the fees and included the fee for the OWP. I assume that would be lost if I applied outland? OR is there some other extension I would need to apply for?

I would love an perspective on this matter of inland vs. outland in my situation, and if anyone knows if many (or none?) of the forms from both applications are the same, or if I would have to start completely over if I switched to outland. Thank you in advance!

Also, I have prepared my application in French. If it goes through outland, is that a negative thing?
 

canadianwoman

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Your application can be in French or English - it should not matter at all. If anyone at CIC has a problem, you can and should complain.

Since the inland app is ready to go... Usually for Americans, the advice is to do an outland application, because they have no problem getting into Canada to visit. But on the other hand, you should have no problem leaving Canada for a short time, and then coming back in, so your inland app won't be rejected simply because you couldn't get back in.
Outland is faster, though. If you could get the outland application ready in a week or so, I would go with outland.
 

QCSunshine

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canadianwoman, thank you so much for your response! I have decided to apply outland and just re-do the preparation process. Thank you!
 

maja22

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QCSunshine said:
canadianwoman, thank you so much for your response! I have decided to apply outland and just re-do the preparation process. Thank you!

QSSunshine, I know you probably already applied outland, but just FYI (maybe for other who read) medical exam form is different outland from inland, but it's still ok to switch the application from one to another. You just need to attach a letter saying that you decided to apply from outside canada and you want to medical to be sent to misissauga.
 

QCSunshine

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Thanks for the tip. I was thinking that might be the case. Similarly, I paid part of my fees as "inland" and part as "outland" and they got that all sorted out and reimbursed me for what I overpaid (because I had initially paid for an Open Work Permit too.) So, I am hoping the medical results will also sort out easily. But if not, I will certainly follow up before waiting too long.
 

coldgirl

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QCsunshine, I am thinking about applying outland, even though I have already applied inland. Can you please tell me what all you had to do, especially with medicals and such. Thanks for your help.
 

maja22

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Hello,

I am not an expert but I think if you've already applied inland, it might be not a good idea to apply one more time.

Outland medical is just different form (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp ) but you have to do same tests. Application forms slightly different but fees are the same.
 

coldgirl

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thanks, i weighed out the pros and cons, and figured i would just stick w/ inland, really dont wanna leave my husband incase i have to go for interview, plus gathering all paperwork again didnt seem too appealing. just had a moment of doubt(esp w/ all the outland approvals). But thank you guys for all the help :)
 

QCSunshine

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Coldgirl, I am sorry I didn't reply earlier to you, I only just now saw your comment.

It sounds like you decided to stick with inland though. Regardless, I hadn't actually submitted my inland application so I would not know how to proceed if you did want to cancel an inland one and then apply outland. Though I think there is someone on this forum that did that this year because I remember reading about that person's process in a thread somewhere.

Good luck with your process and I hope it goes smoothly!
 

KSCM

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if you get married outside of canada can your spouse come to canada with you with out a TVR and apply for inland? Also can the same thing happen if you apply for outland but the spouse stay in canada with you?
 

coldgirl

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Thanks Qcsunshine, yeah i decided to just wait it out rather than start the whole process again. Hopefully i will hear or see something online, in a month or two. Hopefully everything will go smoothly for me and everyone else on here. Thanks for the reply. :)