Notice- work permit for spouses & common- law partners living in Canada

[ashleycass30]

Hi fellow inladers,

Just wanna share what i had read earlier this morning. This is truly a good news for all us but ofcourse I am praying & hoping that they will issue open permit to all inlanders ( with or without status )....

December 20, 2014- Eligible spouses or common-law partner will now have the opportunity to work in Canada while they wait for permanent residence to be processed. CIC will issue open work permits to certain spouses or common-law partners who are applying for permanent residence from inside Canada, before the approval in principle decision is made. Effective December 22, 2014, as a part of a one-year pilot, CIC will begin issuing open permits to eligible applicants in the current inventory. More information and instructions on this pilot program will be available on Monday December 22, 2014...


happy holidays to all...

 

[Ponga]

It looks like those that are out of status will NOT be eligible:

UPDATE FROM CIC 5:00 PM ET Saturday: All people with existing spousal sponsorship will be eligible for OWP under the pilot EXCEPT those who applied without status (out of status people). There will be some basic screening to detect frauds.

 

[rhcohen2014]

It looks like those that are out of status will NOT be eligible:

UPDATE FROM CIC 5:00 PM ET Saturday: All people with existing spousal sponsorship will be eligible for OWP under the pilot EXCEPT those who applied without status (out of status people). There will be some basic screening to detect frauds.

doesn't the way they word it suggest the applicant must have ben in status when they APPLIED for sponsorship? in that case, it wouldn't matter what the applicant's CURRENT status is, as long as they were IN status when the application was received. only time will tell...

 

[Ponga]

doesn't the way they word it suggest the applicant must have ben in status when they APPLIED for sponsorship? in that case, it wouldn't matter what the applicant's CURRENT status is, as long as they were IN status when the application was received. only time will tell...

Well, I don't see how (or why) a person that was out of status when they applied could have regained status, unless they filed a Restoration of Status application within 90 days of losing their status. I suspect that most Inland applicants may not have done this, since legal status was not a requirement.

The way that it's worded seems to exclude those that were out of status when they APPLIED.
This is likely to mean more than a handful of active applicants will not benefit from this.

Still, no matter what is officially announced, it will be a huge step forward...but the number of Inland applications could skyrocket!

 

[rhcohen2014]

Still, no matter what is officially announced, it will be a huge step forward...but the number of Inland applications could skyrocket!

it will be interesting to see how it all plays out, and how long it takes to get inland back to "normal".

 

[w1104]

This sounds like really great news for my wife. I hope it works out for us. They would have received our inland application the beginning of this month.

 

[NorthDakota22]

doesn't the way they word it suggest the applicant must have ben in status when they APPLIED for sponsorship? in that case, it wouldn't matter what the applicant's CURRENT status is, as long as they were IN status when the application was received. only time will tell...

I really, sincerely hope that this is the case, and that people who applied when they were in status can get an OWP now, even if they have since fallen out of status. This is the case with my partner and I - we applied 12 months ago and my partner has been out of status for 10 months. Not only is she going crazy with nothing to do since she can't work or study, we are afraid to go out because of the recent immigration raids in Toronto. I am not a religious person, but I am praying that CIC officials have a bit of humanity and allow applicants who have fallen out of status to get a work permit.

 

[Rob_TO]

I really, sincerely hope that this is the case, and that people who applied when they were in status can get an OWP now, even if they have since fallen out of status. This is the case with my partner and I - we applied 12 months ago and my partner has been out of status for 10 months. Not only is she going crazy with nothing to do since she can't work or study, we are afraid to go out because of the recent immigration raids in Toronto. I am not a religious person, but I am praying that CIC officials have a bit of humanity and allow applicants who have fallen out of status to get a work permit.

If you were in-status at time of application and submitted OWP along with inland app, then under implied status you would still be considered in-status today.

 

[NorthDakota22]

If you were in-status at time of application and submitted OWP along with inland app, then under implied status you would still be considered in-status today.

Unfortunately we didn't apply for an OWP at the time, we were advised by our lawyer to wait until we received AIP. So my partner is definitely out of status.

 

[Ponga]

Unfortunately we didn't apply for an OWP at the time, we were advised by our lawyer to wait until we received AIP. So my partner is definitely out of status.

But the fact that you were IN STATUS when you applied, is the criteria apparently.

There will be quite a few that are not as fortunate and will certainly be very disappointed.

 

[Jamesdavid3]

Any Updates on this

I am hoping they post something soon

I really hope they put a Priority on people who already submitted a Work permit with their applications as its the only fair thing to do but I don't know how they are going to tell who did that as its still inside a box with our application....

I dont want someone whos just been waiting 4 Months to get it before me as I have been waiting 12 months now, its only fair.

 

[NorthDakota22]

CIC just posted the instructions. Check the thread called "one-year pilot OWP for spouses and common-law partners" or the CIC notice section for updates.

The good news is people that filed with OWPs will start to be processed now. The bad news is that applicants without status are not eligible for this program.

It looks like the processing time for the OWP is 4 months.

 

[chris1302]

CIC just posted the instructions. Check the thread called "one-year pilot OWP for spouses and common-law partners" or the CIC notice section for updates.

The good news is people that filed with OWPs will start to be processed now. The bad news is that applicants without status are not eligible for this program.

It looks like the processing time for the OWP is 4 months.

So what does "without status mean".
I will explain my situation. I am a canadian citizen, my husband is croatia,his visitor visa expired Dec 17/14. November 15th we sent for a visitor extension visa, explaning that we will be applying for spousal sponsorship (at the time was unsure how we were gonna apply outland or inland). Since then the pilot program was realeased for OWP and we will be applying inland. All the paper work is almost done, just have to send the application.
The problem is he still has not heard back regarding the visa extension,we are now worried what to do, to send the application or not, I do not know what his status is, and if he is illegal, then he will not be approved for the OWP. we don't mind waiting for the PR, he just really wants to start working.

Any advice ?

thanks

 

[rhcohen2014]

So what does "without status mean".
I will explain my situation. I am a canadian citizen, my husband is croatia,his visitor visa expired Dec 17/14. November 15th we sent for a visitor extension visa, explaning that we will be applying for spousal sponsorship (at the time was unsure how we were gonna apply outland or inland). Since then the pilot program was realeased for OWP and we will be applying inland. All the paper work is almost done, just have to send the application.
The problem is he still has not heard back regarding the visa extension,we are now worried what to do, to send the application or not, I do not know what his status is, and if he is illegal, then he will not be approved for the OWP. we don't mind waiting for the PR, he just really wants to start working.

Any advice ?

thanks

if he sent in an application to extend his visitor's status, then he is on implied status until he hears a determination. likewise, if he sends in an OWP application with his PR application, he will also have implied status. either way, right now he is not "out of status". If he is rejected an extension and doesn't send in his OWP before that decision is received THEN he loses his status. I am not sure how it works if the 2 applications that allow implied statuses overlap.

 

[CindyBeau]

So what does "without status mean".
I will explain my situation. I am a canadian citizen, my husband is croatia,his visitor visa expired Dec 17/14. November 15th we sent for a visitor extension visa, explaning that we will be applying for spousal sponsorship (at the time was unsure how we were gonna apply outland or inland). Since then the pilot program was realeased for OWP and we will be applying inland. All the paper work is almost done, just have to send the application.
The problem is he still has not heard back regarding the visa extension,we are now worried what to do, to send the application or not, I do not know what his status is, and if he is illegal, then he will not be approved for the OWP. we don't mind waiting for the PR, he just really wants to start working.

Any advice ?

thanks

I was in the same situation. Your husband is under implied status now, and you can apply for the sponsorship now, even though you haven´t had any response for the visa extension. The exact same thing happened to me. All you do is send together with your sponsorship application a letter, explaining when and how you requested the extension of the previous visa. "Implied status" is 100% legal, so he is not illegal in the country.