one-year pilot OWP for spouses and common-law partners

[dominokitty]

Hi, everyone! Just checking in again as our 4 month mark draws near. We're getting worried and as the call center is closed today, I figured I'd try here!

According to CIC, our inland sponsorship application (with OWP included) was received on Sept 11, 2015. The email I received makes no mention of the open work permit at all, and I can't find any information about it on ECAS either. Is that normal? They started processing our application and we finally got our UCI and application number on December 12. We've been checking the mailbox every day for the last month for that open work permit but nothing has arrived yet. In a week, we'll be past the 4 month mark. How worried should we be? I have heard nothing about the open work permit yet and time is quickly running out. I'm just hoping someone out there can ease my mind a bit? We definitely sent the correct forms and paid the right fees. I just can't find any info about that work permit at all - it's almost as if it doesn't exist, but I know for a fact that it was sent out with our application package for the pilot program. Can anyone offer some insight?

 

[ghelzkhie]

Hi domino kitty..

I am sept applicant too. .Cic received my app sept 10 2015 .Aor dec 10,2015 then we realized missed 155$ right away we paid and sent 155$ receipt thru case inquiry using sponsor uci .after 10 day's we received email from cic that they already attached the documents.

Hopefully next week we will get good news. .

 

[dominokitty]

Ah, date twins! Mind if I add you as a friend on here? I bet we'll get our approval within a few days of each other!

Fingers crossed that we get that good news we need soon. Did the email you got from CIC say anything about the work permit on it?

 

[ghelzkhie]

Sure you can add me. .it doesn't say anything about work permit. ..it show only uci and app number ..about ecas it show Application received. .

yeah , hopefully we will get our owp soon.

 

[hjoelle]

hey @dominokitty and @ghelzkhie! I have the same timeline as you both.. CIC received my application on September 10th and my husband received our AOR on December 9th. I hope we are next in line to get our work permits and let me know if you receive or hear anything.

Thanks

 

[ghelzkhie]

Hi hjoelle..yes I'm hoping we will get owp soon..coz my permit expired March 2016..let us know if you get your owp ..

anyway do you have plan to call cic next week?

 

[hjoelle]

Ill try to give them a call if I dont get anything by the 18th since Im sure the work permit is sent by regular mail which probably will take a week to be delivered.

 

[zen111]

Hello Everyone,

Happy New Year to All and wish you all have a good year.

I am a newbie and I did spend sometime to read throught 79 pages before I post my question. It helps me to answer some common questions. Still there are specific questions for my case, I hope you can help me to clear these

It is kind of complicated for my case so I will try to make it brief as below:

Phase 1

1. Studied and graduated in a University Quebec in 2011, got post work permit for 3 years.
2. Applied Federal skilled worked program, obtained a CSQ from Quebec (valid to May 2016) but withdraw PR application because inadmissible due to health grounds (Hep B cause excessive demand) before the final decision make
3. Renewed my work permit and obtained a new work permit (valid to May 2016).

Phase 2
Because I was inadmissible due to health ground, I apply PR again under sponsorship program. My wife is Canadian and she has stayed with me since 2011.

1. Application received on June 2014,
2. AOR on August 2014
3. Medical exam on Dec 2015

My Questions are

1. So far I haven’t received a letter saying that my application is AIP, is it normal to get Medical Exam before receiving the letter of AIP?

2. My work permit will be expiring on May 2016, I am going to apply Open work permit soon (will send before Jan 15 2016), Am I still able to work after May 2016 even if I don’t get any update from CIC?

3. As far as I understand, my status will be Implied status after May 2016 If I send Open work permit application now AND there is no answer from CIC, is it right?

4. In the document check list for Open work permit they asked for :
+ A copy of the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) provided by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), if applicable
+ Offer of Employment to a Foreign National Exempt from a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) IMM 5802 with proof of payment by the employer (receipt number). Your employer should provide it to you.
I think I don’t need to send these because I am applying under sponsorship program therefore we are exempted for these, am I correct?

5. For Quebec only, right now I have a valid CSQ (valid to May 2016) from FSWP application, I called Quebec and they said I should have canceled this because right now I am applying under sponsorship program, will it help to include the current CSQ (valid to May 2016) in the open work permit?
(Reason I asks is because I am so worry about the Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), my current employer won’t issue me one. A CSQ will help me exempt from this)


It is kind of long, thank you all for reading and very appreciate for your input.

 

[sophieee]

Hello Everyone,

Happy New Year to All and wish you all have a good year.

I am a newbie and I did spend sometime to read throught 79 pages before I post my question. It helps me to answer some common questions. Still there are specific questions for my case, I hope you can help me to clear these

It is kind of complicated for my case so I will try to make it brief as below:

Phase 1

1. Studied and graduated in a University Quebec in 2011, got post work permit for 3 years.
2. Applied Federal skilled worked program, obtained a CSQ from Quebec (valid to May 2016) but withdraw PR application because inadmissible due to health grounds (Hep B cause excessive demand) before the final decision make
3. Renewed my work permit and obtained a new work permit (valid to May 2016).

Phase 2
Because I was inadmissible due to health ground, I apply PR again under sponsorship program. My wife is Canadian and she has stayed with me since 2011.

1. Application received on June 2014,
2. AOR on August 2014
3. Medical exam on Dec 2015

My Questions are

1. So far I haven’t received a letter saying that my application is AIP, is it normal to get Medical Exam before receiving the letter of AIP?

2. My work permit will be expiring on May 2016, I am going to apply Open work permit soon (will send before Jan 15 2016), Am I still able to work after May 2016 even if I don’t get any update from CIC?

3. As far as I understand, my status will be Implied status after May 2016 If I send Open work permit application now AND there is no answer from CIC, is it right?

4. In the document check list for Open work permit they asked for :
+ A copy of the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) provided by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), if applicable
+ Offer of Employment to a Foreign National Exempt from a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) IMM 5802 with proof of payment by the employer (receipt number). Your employer should provide it to you.
I think I don’t need to send these because I am applying under sponsorship program therefore we are exempted for these, am I correct?

5. For Quebec only, right now I have a valid CSQ (valid to May 2016) from FSWP application, I called Quebec and they said I should have canceled this because right now I am applying under sponsorship program, will it help to include the current CSQ (valid to May 2016) in the open work permit?
(Reason I asks is because I am so worry about the Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), my current employer won’t issue me one. A CSQ will help me exempt from this)


It is kind of long, thank you all for reading and very appreciate for your input.

1. There is a link in my signature for the inlanders timeline, you can check it out. Not all of the June applicants received AIP, although you should receive it soon.
2-3. Implied status depends on your current work permit: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1exVjDW_qTVuCdi9Fnd5pKlOSA-XJ82Z4JDUZkUtQrE8/edit#heading=h.6wm36y6y7l8y
4. You don't have to send any of those. Follow these instructions, only you have check the extension of work permit instead of the initial wp
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1exVjDW_qTVuCdi9Fnd5pKlOSA-XJ82Z4JDUZkUtQrE8/edit#heading=h.cx2nya2ln410

+1: Once you receive your AIP, you can apply online for your work permit extension which would be faster.

 

[Lizzy1987]

Hi everyone- this is my first post on this forum.. I'm getting a little discouraged with the waiting time for my OWP and I'm hoping any of you have insights or similar experinces. My husband is a Canadian citizen, I am from the U.S. We applied for inland PR sponsorship in August, 2015. We sent in (via lawyer) an OWP at the same time, and paid $255 up front. In November we received AOR saying that our app was received on August 24, 2015 and that the first part of the sponsorship application (?) started being processed on November 17, 2015.

We were advised by CIC call centre agents to call back if we hadn't heard anything on the OWP by December 24th (4 months). We have now called twice since then and have been told that the OWP app has been sent to a second officer to "simply be further verified", but since it's past 4 months, they can't give us any kind of timeline.

What does this mean!? Has anyone gotten this response and then received their OWP shortly after? Thank you for any input you guys might have!

 

[zen111]

Thanks sophieee for the excellent guide. I wish I knew these guide before applying. It would help a lot.
After reading some article on CIC website, I found the rule “4 year max rule”:
“Most people can come to Canada to work for a maximum of four years. If you are currently working or plan to work in Canada, you should keep track of the total time you have worked and plan to work in Canada. After you have worked temporarily for four years in Canada, you will not be eligible to work in Canada again until another period of four years has passed.”
I hope you can give me some light for these questions:
1. Does this rule apply in this program? (I have a work permit since 2011 and I am afraid that I am not eligible to extend my work permit).
2. I still wait for the first stage approve principal, it has been 18 months for my application and I should receive it soon (if there is nothing wrong with my application). However I don’t know how long it takes to get that AIP letter. Should I apply OWP right now, OR wait a few months (2 months MAX) to get that letter?
Any thought will be appreciate
Thanks

 

[MrJanevski]

Hello,
This week I sent my OWP application to Vegreville and now I check the processing time and I'm little confused.

1) For work permit processing time is 1 month
2) For work permit extension ( same employer) is 120 days
3) For work permit extension ( new employer) is 120 days

In which category we are?

 

[dominokitty]

Hi everyone- this is my first post on this forum.. I'm getting a little discouraged with the waiting time for my OWP and I'm hoping any of you have insights or similar experinces. My husband is a Canadian citizen, I am from the U.S. We applied for inland PR sponsorship in August, 2015. We sent in (via lawyer) an OWP at the same time, and paid $255 up front. In November we received AOR saying that our app was received on August 24, 2015 and that the first part of the sponsorship application (?) started being processed on November 17, 2015.

We were advised by CIC call centre agents to call back if we hadn't heard anything on the OWP by December 24th (4 months). We have now called twice since then and have been told that the OWP app has been sent to a second officer to "simply be further verified", but since it's past 4 months, they can't give us any kind of timeline.

What does this mean!? Has anyone gotten this response and then received their OWP shortly after? Thank you for any input you guys might have!

If it hasn't arrived in the next 3 weeks (so 5 months total time - it could be that it's hung up in the mail due to the holiday season), you should have your husband call your local MP. Explain that you've paid your fees, sent all of the correct forms, and allowed time for processing, but your work permit hasn't arrived as promised. He should be able to make some calls and check on things for you at the very least.

 

[dominokitty]

Hello,
This week I sent my OWP application to Vegreville and now I check the processing time and I'm little confused.

1) For work permit processing time is 1 month
2) For work permit extension ( same employer) is 120 days
3) For work permit extension ( new employer) is 120 days

In which category we are?

Did you send out a work permit only, or are you also applying for family sponsorship?
We have to wait 4 months - it's a program specifically for spouses of Canadian citizens who are applying for permanent residence from within Canada. Here's the page for it!

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/updates/2014/2014-12-22.asp

 

[canuck_in_uk]

1. Does this rule apply in this program? (I have a work permit since 2011 and I am afraid that I am not eligible to extend my work permit).
2. I still wait for the first stage approve principal, it has been 18 months for my application and I should receive it soon (if there is nothing wrong with my application). However I don’t know how long it takes to get that AIP letter. Should I apply OWP right now, OR wait a few months (2 months MAX) to get that letter?

1. That rule doesn't apply.

2. There is no point in waiting. If you apply now, you should have your OWP before your PGWP expires. If you wait, you most likely won't get the OWP in time and will have to stop working after your PGWP expires.