OWP AFTER PR Application? + Medical question

[Boilon]

Hello everyone,

Been a little while since I have posted here, but ran in to a conundrum that maybe someone on here can help with.

1) Me and my partner (PA) applied for PR commonlaw WITHOUT the Open Work Permit, and this is because my partner is on the IEC Visa, but this expires Jan 31 2020 next yr in about 2 months. Now we are kinda regretting not applying for it anyways to bridge the gap between the end of the IEC and when my partner would get PR. Is it possible to apply for the open work permit after the fact or are we shit out of luck? It isn't a huge deal if there is a couple months of sitting about, but obviously would be helpful to possibly have it. Alongside the same notion, I read further back in this thread but do we need to get a visitor visa extension for Jan 31 for when the IEC visa expires or does implied status kick in at that point?

2) We are also going to be away for 4 weeks in mid December to early January abroad visiting family. A bit concerned if we get the medical request while we are away, does anyone know if this can be done outside of Canada if our application is within Canada? We are going to Scotland, and there are certified medical offices in Glasgow, but I don't know if we have to do it in Canada since that is where we filed our application.

Grateful for any suggestions, comments or answers

 

[simoneleah]

1. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/notices/open-work-permit-pilot-extension.html
See: "If you have already submitted an application for permanent residence but have not yet applied for an open work permit, you can complete the work permit application. Send your completed application, along with the appropriate fee, to..."
You can fill the OWP out in paper and mail it but it can take several months. You may not get the OWP before the IEC expires but once it's received (your partner can link the OWP to their account they used for the IEC visa), as long as it's not sent back, you would have "implied status."

2. You have to do the medical exam by a doctor who is part of the immigration panel of approved doctors. Not sure if it has to be in Canada if you are inland but...Well, you probably already know that it's a bit of a risk to travel if you're applying inland, so it might not be a big deal to get it outside of Canada. Obviously, you don't want to miss your 30 day window and it's not like it's against some rules to be outside of the country (so long as the sponsor is a citizen). Bring all the possible information you might need on your trip and prepare to do the medical exam abroad. If you have time and are unsure, you can also do it when you return, so long as it's in the 30 days.

 

[Boilon]

1. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/notices/open-work-permit-pilot-extension.html
See: "If you have already submitted an application for permanent residence but have not yet applied for an open work permit, you can complete the work permit application. Send your completed application, along with the appropriate fee, to..."
You can fill the OWP out in paper and mail it but it can take several months. You may not get the OWP before the IEC expires but once it's received (your partner can link the OWP to their account they used for the IEC visa), as long as it's not sent back, you would have "implied status."

2. You have to do the medical exam by a doctor who is part of the immigration panel of approved doctors. Not sure if it has to be in Canada if you are inland but...Well, you probably already know that it's a bit of a risk to travel if you're applying inland, so it might not be a big deal to get it outside of Canada. Obviously, you don't want to miss your 30 day window and it's not like it's against some rules to be outside of the country (so long as the sponsor is a citizen). Bring all the possible information you might need on your trip and prepare to do the medical exam abroad. If you have time and are unsure, you can also do it when you return, so long as it's in the 30 days.

To pt 1 - Would my partner still be able to work if we do the OWP soon-ish and send it in, as in continue working the same job that they are in now, past the Jan 31 deadline of the IEC? Just wondering if it is worth it at this point if the OWP will take a handful of months.

2 - Why would you say it is a risk traveling? My partner has a valid IEC visa and we have traveled on it before outside of Canada. But, the reason we are traveling now is visiting my partners family before it expires on Jan 31 which at that point I presume would need to stay in Canada until the PR finishes / gets approved. We are only away for just under 4 weeks so there is time to do the medical exam when we get back. Based on other timelines I am sort of expecting to get the request while we are away at some point... maybe we should just try to get it done in Canada instead though. I just thought that it would speed things up if we did things sooner.

 

[simoneleah]

To pt 1 - Would my partner still be able to work if we do the OWP soon-ish and send it in, as in continue working the same job that they are in now, past the Jan 31 deadline of the IEC? Just wondering if it is worth it at this point if the OWP will take a handful of months.

2 - Why would you say it is a risk traveling? My partner has a valid IEC visa and we have traveled on it before outside of Canada. But, the reason we are traveling now is visiting my partners family before it expires on Jan 31 which at that point I presume would need to stay in Canada until the PR finishes / gets approved. We are only away for just under 4 weeks so there is time to do the medical exam when we get back. Based on other timelines I am sort of expecting to get the request while we are away at some point... maybe we should just try to get it done in Canada instead though. I just thought that it would speed things up if we did things sooner.

1. Yes, IEC permits now have implied status, so if you applied for an OWP in paper via that link I sent, your partner could still work until that permit is approved. It's very uncommon for permits not to be approved - you would just want to make sure you sign all the paperwork and send all the documents so it doesn't get sent back. OWP is currently estimated to take about 8 weeks so your partner would probably receive theirs in early February, at my estimate?

2. When I say it's a risk to travel, I just mean that it's not normally recommended to travel while you have an inland PR app in process. I am not suggesting that you don't - having the IEC visa mean you're very unlikely to be rejected entry. But if your partner was, for some reason, not allowed back into Canada - the inland app would be considered abandoned, and you two would have to start from scratch. It's just something to think about. Unfortunately I haven't done my medical request so I'm not sure what the exact rules are. You might want to contact IRCC, though I doubt they'd be much help. I don't see anything barring it, so...Eh, might be worth it!

 

[Boilon]

1. Yes, IEC permits now have implied status, so if you applied for an OWP in paper via that link I sent, your partner could still work until that permit is approved. It's very uncommon for permits not to be approved - you would just want to make sure you sign all the paperwork and send all the documents so it doesn't get sent back. OWP is currently estimated to take about 8 weeks so your partner would probably receive theirs in early February, at my estimate?

2. When I say it's a risk to travel, I just mean that it's not normally recommended to travel while you have an inland PR app in process. I am not suggesting that you don't - having the IEC visa mean you're very unlikely to be rejected entry. But if your partner was, for some reason, not allowed back into Canada - the inland app would be considered abandoned, and you two would have to start from scratch. It's just something to think about. Unfortunately I haven't done my medical request so I'm not sure what the exact rules are. You might want to contact IRCC, though I doubt they'd be much help. I don't see anything barring it, so...Eh, might be worth it!

Thanks for the reply! I think we will get on the OWP application to send off early this week. Just to clarify though, if my partner has a job right now, and we send off the OWP then they can continue working for the same employer with the presumption the OWP will be confirmed? And if for some reason it did not then they would need to stop working with that employer? The IEC ends on Jan 31, and if it takes 8 weeks for OWP its possible that it might not come back to us before then. Thanks for the rest though, not sure why we didn't do the OWP up front but I think my partner wanted to just sit about after Jan 31 and well minds were changed lol.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thanks for the reply! I think we will get on the OWP application to send off early this week. Just to clarify though, if my partner has a job right now, and we send off the OWP then they can continue working for the same employer with the presumption the OWP will be confirmed? And if for some reason it did not then they would need to stop working with that employer? The IEC ends on Jan 31, and if it takes 8 weeks for OWP its possible that it might not come back to us before then. Thanks for the rest though, not sure why we didn't do the OWP up front but I think my partner wanted to just sit about after Jan 31 and well minds were changed lol.

The OWP takes 3-4 months. She can continue to work after Jan 31 on Implied Status while waiting on the OWP answer.