Leaving and Returning to Canada during an Inland Application

[dominokitty]

On the CIC website, I found this in the FAQ:

Can I go on vacation while my application for permanent residence is being processed?

Taking a vacation outside of Canada should not affect your application for permanent residence. However, if you leave Canada while your application is being processed, you may not be allowed to come back into Canada. Each time you come back, you must meet all the rules for entering the country.

If you leave Canada and want to return, you must have:

a valid passport or other travel documents;
a valid work permit, if you are returning to work in Canada; and
a valid temporary resident visa, if you are a citizen of a country for which Canada requires one

My husband comes from a visa exempt country. We are trying to figure out whether applying inland is better for us or not - it would definitely allow us to close the gap between us faster with this new 4 month OWP pilot program. We are concerned however with what would happen if he had to leave Canada for a family emergency or something during the time that we are waiting for our application to process.

The CIC website says this:

To visit Canada, you must:

have a valid travel document, such as a passport,
be in good health,
convince an immigration officer that you have ties—such as a job, home, financial assets or family—that will take you back to your home country,
convince an immigration officer that you will leave Canada at the end of your visit, and
have enough money for your stay. (The amount of money you will need can vary. it depends on things like how long you will stay, and whether you will stay in a hotel or with friends or relatives.)

I bolded the part that is concerning me. If we applied inland and he stayed for a while on implied status with his open work permit, but had to return to Austria for a family emergency before AIP was granted, wouldn't it be obvious when he returned with his open work permit and an inland application for PR in progress that he was not planning on returning to Austria and instead awaiting approval of his inland application (for which residency in Canada is a requirement)? Would they deny him entry into Canada if he was honest about the reason for his stay here? Do they want him to say he is "just visiting" anyway??

It almost seems like these two things in combination are almost encouraging people to lie to the border control people. How can people even come to Canada to apply inland without lying to them (which is illegal!)?? What is that all about?? Can anyone clear this up for me? I am so confused.

 

[mazleen]

It's all depends on the border officer right either to let him in or not. So to be on the safe side, don't go out but if you must then i guess just pray that they'll let him in. The good thing is he's from visa exempt country so maybe there's no problem.