[new question] That Is Inland Spousal Sponsorship in Canada, +Questions

[jerjer_22]

Hello everyone - I post here as I do not have anywhere else I care to turn. A brief history of where I am at, currently:

I am a Canadian citizen, born/raised; my S/O and I met while she was on a student/work visa.

After a year of co-habitation, my S/O and I applied for within Canada PR sponsorship. Her work permit was extended as our application was submitted with request to extend prior to it's expiration. She is working here full time.

My fiancee and I will be married this coming Sunday in Canada; we also have a 2 week stay in South Korea upcoming for our Korean wedding ceremony.

Our application was received at the start of February, 2014; confirmation email received mid-June, 2014. By current numbers, we can expect our stage 1 approval to wrap up next February (ideally - does anyone know of a situation where application delays actually get SHORTER, not longer..?) and she can have PR.

Upon calling the CIC hotline for info on processing times (I couldn't get the website to load a result page - 30 minutes on hold, by the way), I was told that it would be 'risky' to leave Canada at any time during an inland application. We understood that her legal work status would be terminated until the application was approved, but this 'risk' of CIC cancelling our application was news to me. So, a few things I guess to note:

a) What can we do to minimize 'risk' when re-entering Canada? The call center worker wanted nothing more then to get me off of the line and send me an email which gives a vague description of what I already knew - will having documents/pictures/copy of our application help with re-entry? We even state in our application our intent to have a Korean wedding, and gave the date.

b) How does someone at immigration assess any of this? Like..is it case by case basis? My fiancee is from South Korea.

Anyone who can provide guidance would be appreciated. It is absolutely absurd the lengths we have to go to just to live here; myself, always a proud Canadian, cannot believe the absolute song and dance (not to mention costs) associated with this whole process. Thank you all for your time.

 

[scylla]

Re: The Absolute Circus That Is Inland Spousal Sponsorship in Canada, +Questions

a) There's not too much you can do to minimize this risk. Definitely carry proof that you have an application in progress. That should help. Since your S/O is visa exempt, the chances of refusal are low.

b) Yes - it's a case by case basis. The decision is entirely up to the immigration officer(s) you encounter when you enter Canada.

The risk to your application is that if for some reason your S/O isn't allowed back into Canada, the application will effectively be canceled and you'll have to start again from scratch.

It's a pity you didn't apply outland - that would certainly have been the faster / better route. But that's water under the bridge at this point.

 

[Rob_TO]

Re: The Absolute Circus That Is Inland Spousal Sponsorship in Canada, +Questions

What kind of work visa did she initially have? Assumed she is now working on "implied" work status based on submitting an OWP app along with the inland PR app?

Note that as soon as she leaves Canada, any "implied" status she is currently on allowing her to work, ends. She would re-enter Canada as a visitor only and not able to work anymore until receiving stage 1 approval and OWP. According to current times, PR approval (stage 2) would then be 8 months after that.

As long as she brings proof of the application and doesn't stay outside Canada too long (like more than a couple of weeks), she should be ok. Inland requirements state the applicant and sponsor must live together in Canada during entire processing, so the longer she remains outside of Canada the greater chance CIC will think she has left for good, and will simply cancel the app altogether. 2 weeks should be fine though.

When returning to Canada, chance of being denied entry is incredibly small. Just make sure to show proof of the PR app in progress.

 

[jerjer_22]

Re: The Absolute Circus That Is Inland Spousal Sponsorship in Canada, +Questions

Thank you, both, very much for your thoughtful replies. They are indeed appreciated.

Rob, when you mention 'CIC may think she left for good' - how is that determined? Like, what sort of criteria is used to assess this - does CIC recieve notification and/or keep tabs of every applicant who leaves and then returns?

We do indeed understand the expiration of her implied status for this and have secured other means of support dring the time her application is processing. Thank you both, again.

 

[Rob_TO]

Re: The Absolute Circus That Is Inland Spousal Sponsorship in Canada, +Questions

Thank you, both, very much for your thoughtful replies. They are indeed appreciated.

Rob, when you mention 'CIC may think she left for good' - how is that determined? Like, what sort of criteria is used to assess this - does CIC recieve notification and/or keep tabs of every applicant who leaves and then returns?

We do indeed understand the expiration of her implied status for this and have secured other means of support dring the time her application is processing. Thank you both, again.

I mean if she left for a couple months and CIC was made aware of it somehow, that could be trouble.

What kind of original work permit was she on before submitting the inland app??

 

[jerjer_22]

Re: The Absolute Circus That Is Inland Spousal Sponsorship in Canada, +Questions

I see - so something like being unprepared at the border and somehow being denied re-entry would be something to alert CIC, that kind of thing.

She held I believe an 'Open' work permit, which expired end of November - however, an application to extend it was submitted; prior to us receiving a denial request due to the position, we submitted our app for PR. Her work permit allowed her to work in the field which was directly related to her studies here; I am not sure of the technical designation for it, my apologies.

 

[Rob_TO]

Re: The Absolute Circus That Is Inland Spousal Sponsorship in Canada, +Questions

I see - so something like being unprepared at the border and somehow being denied re-entry would be something to alert CIC, that kind of thing.

Well if she's denied re-entry, the entire inland app is automatically cancelled basically on the spot. But again the chance for denial is low. Best to be prepared though.

She held I believe an 'Open' work permit, which expired end of November - however, an application to extend it was submitted; prior to us receiving a denial request due to the position, we submitted our app for PR. Her work permit allowed her to work in the field which was directly related to her studies here; I am not sure of the technical designation for it, my apologies.

Sounds like she had a PGWP - Post Grad Work Permit.

In order to get "implied" status with an inland PR app, you MUST submit a general Open Work Permit app along with the PR app. It's the OWP app that actually gives implied status as it's not processed until stage 1 approval. If she submitted a request to extend her PGWP before applying for inland PR, then submitted inland PR app with no OWP app, then actually received a denial of the initial work permit extension request... unfortunately that would cause he not just to be currently working illegally, but also to be out-of-status right now.

And to be able to continue to work under "implied" status, the work permit you had must be naturally extendable. Work permits that are not by nature extendable (such as IEC working holiday work permit) don't benefit from implied status. I'm not sure how PGWPs fit into this criteria.

To be safe when returning to Canada, I would not volunteer ANY info about her working on implied status. Make sure to stress that she is entering Canada as a VISITOR only with no intentions to work until an OWP is received.

 

[jerjer_22]

Re: The Absolute Circus That Is Inland Spousal Sponsorship in Canada, +Questions

Hello again Rob,

indeed, we definitely submitted it along with the PR app. Your advice still resonates and we will be sure to heed it when the time comes, thank you.

 

[jerjer_22]

Sorry, one more question:

Would their be any reason NOT to do the following:

Have our Korean wedding. Return to Canada with my wife as a visitor, with the intent to await our PR decision.

Given at least 6 more months wait time for inland, cancel that application, receive whatever refunds we can, and re-apply outland (Korea is under 60 days).

Any thoughts on this is greatly appreciated - it may make a lot more sense. We would like to start a family, get things moving..but want this PR cleared up before anything else.

 

[Rob_TO]

Given at least 6 more months wait time for inland, cancel that application, receive whatever refunds we can, and re-apply outland (Korea is under 60 days).

For Korean OUTLAND apps, stage 1 sponsor approval takes around 2 months, then stage 2 processing is done in Manila, and takes additional 8-12 months.

At least with the inland app, you will get stage 1 approval around February so will then have a full OWP and can also apply for provincial healthcare. You will be waiting much longer for both of these if you cancel and re-apply outland. If it was me, I would just stick with the inland app already in progress.

 

[scylla]

For Korean OUTLAND apps, stage 1 sponsor approval takes around 2 months, then stage 2 processing is done in Manila, and takes additional 8-12 months.

At least with the inland app, you will get stage 1 approval around February so will then have a full OWP and can also apply for provincial healthcare. You will be waiting much longer for both of these if you cancel and re-apply outland. If it was me, I would just stick with the inland app already in progress.

Agreed. I would stick with inland at this point.

If you had applied outland from the start - there's a good chance the entire process would have been completed in under a year (possibly well under a year). But at this point I wouldn't switch.

 

[jerjer_22]

Thank you once again Rob for your reply, if there was a way to buy you wine and send it to you online I would do so. If I may ask, why is a work permit granted for the Inlands stage one approval, but it wouldn't be granted for the stage one approval in the Outland scenario?

 

[jerjer_22]

Damn it. Ugh. Looked it up myself..that sucks.

 

[Rob_TO]

Thank you once again Rob for your reply, if there was a way to buy you wine and send it to you online I would do so. If I may ask, why is a work permit granted for the Inlands stage one approval, but it wouldn't be granted for the stage one approval in the Outland scenario?

That's just the way CIC set up the inland/outland options to work. With outland the applicant isn't eligible to work until getting full PR approval, and there is no implied status. But in general outland is the must quicker way to PR. CIC even recommends in the inland guide, to apply outland instead to take advantage of quicker processing.

I'll send you my address for the wine... any cabernet red will do