Partner Visa - working while waiting?

[rush]

Hi,

We are new to this site, I took a look though the site to see if I could find some other posts about this but no luck. My Japanese girlfriend and I (Canadian) will be living together in June and are opening a bank account in our name, having bills sent to our address that we share.

We will apply for a partner visa after one year of living together.

Can she work while we wait for partner visa to be approved?

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Leon]

No, she can not work without a work permit. If she is coming to live with you on a visit visa, make sure that she applies to extend it before it expires to stay legal. She can not work on a visit visa. After 1 year when you apply for spousal sponsorship as common law partners, if you apply inland, you can apply for a work permit at the same time to be issued when she gets first stage approval. You can expect that in about 6-7 months after applying. If you apply outland, she would go straight to PR.

 

[rush]

Hey Leon,

Thanks for the quick reply!

Now she is on a WHV and will change that after it expires, so I guess the best course of action is to, as you said, apply for the partner and the work visa at the same time and we can expect that after first stage approval.

Any tips on other stuff we can do to secure the partner visa more?

Cheers!

 

[rush]

I have also a question about re-entry permits for this case, after she gets her working visa (while waiting for her Partner Visa) can she just get a re-entry permit for visiting japan and then coming back here?

 

[Leon]

She's on a working holiday visa? When it expires, she needs to file change status to go to visit status. If she has a valid status when she travels, she should not have a problem to re-enter but if she is in the process of changing status or has implied status, it could be a problem. Keep in mind that people are NOT advised to travel while applying for partner inland. If she is denied entry for any reason, the inland application is automatically cancelled.

If she really needs to be able to travel to Japan and back or anywhere else, it would be better to apply outland. The Tokyo visa office is not listed for how long their processing time is so you would have to ask them. In some visa offices, the average spouse application is going through in 4-5 months, in others it's longer. Since she is working in Canada, you could also opt to have the application go through the US. If you did, the average there is 5 months plus a month for sponsor approval and she would go straight to PR, wait a month for PR card and then travel all she wants. With inland, you are talking 6-7 months for first stage approval and work permit but 1-2 years for PR.

To make your application stronger, send records of your relationship, emails, phone bills, chat logs, pictures of you together, evidence of trips taken together, joint account and utilities info, joint lease etc. etc. The most common reason for a sponsorship to be refused is that immigration does not believe that the relationship is real.

 

[rush]

Hey Leon,

Thanks a lot, your a gold mine of this info. I have a few questions:

- What is "implied status" - temp visa status?
- If we applied through the states how would that work?

For clairification, if we apply though Canada she can work after 6-7 months (first stage approval) and if we go though the states it will take 6 months and she would get her PR directly?

I was living in Japan for about 4 years and was told by the embassy, the application goes though the Manila office and takes 6-12 months. I was told this is faster than Canada, it seems that all other offices are faster. Why would anyone go through Canada?

Cheers!

 

[lisa_joanne_uk]

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

They are the forms you would need to apply outland, make sure you choose the correct region at the bottom. The site can also help you out with other questions, sometimes you have trouble finding what you're looking for though so using the search box is advised
I guess people apply inland as if there is an interview needed they can't travel back for it (if you applied through the US and needed an interview you'd go there but if you applied through the Japan office you'd have to go there for the interview...) Plus some offices aren't quicker and can take longer than inland does. I guess it all depends on the persons situation at the time. I'll be in Canada with my hubby but applying outland through London as it's the quickest and easiest route, even if i need to go back to the UK for an interview. I hope the site helps though

 

[Leon]

Implied status is if you are in the process of changing your status or if you are on a visit visa and you have applied to extend it but are still waiting for an answer. Changing status can take long enough that the old visa is already expired before you even get an answer. During that time, it would not be smart to travel. It happened to one of my former coworkers that he was sent on a business trip while waiting for his work permit renewal and he had problems getting back in because he did not have a valid work permit at that time although he was under implied status since he'd applied to extend it.

There are no time guarantees with anything with immigration. If you apply inland, the time they give for first stage approval is 6-7 months. If they have a problem with the application, it may be much much longer. Getting the PR can take as little as 10 months and up to 2 years through inland. If you apply outland through the US, 5-10 months to get PR but the average is 6.

People who apply inland do it like lisa_joanne said, because they don't want to leave Canada for a possible interview because it's too far or too expensive for them to go home or in many cases they do it because they didn't research their options and don't know they can apply outland and don't know that inland usually takes longer.

The way you ask for it to go through the US, in this form: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM1344EA.pdf under section C, question 6, under a) list the address in Canada and under b) and c) say Yes to both. If you say Yes and No to b) and c) it would go through Japan. If you say No to b) it will also go through Japan. This form and other forms you need for outland are here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

 

[rush]

Thanks Leon and Lisa!

 

[rush]

Re: Partner Visa - working while waiting? - Update

Ok so we went to an immigation lawyer last week, got some good info and confirmed what was said here. Thanks again!

Again my gf will change her work holiday to a tourist visa so we can meet the 12 months living together, however her tourist visa (6 mths total) will be finished in August.

What will happen with her visa status after that?
(By this time we will have applied for for a family visa under the common law status)

Thanks!

 

[rjessome]

She would have to apply for another extension and let them know that she has a PR application in process. Are you going to apply inland or outland?

 

[rush]

thanks for the reply,

We would be applying inland so she can work while we wait, but that may change as we get closer to the big day.

Do these extensions applied for in this situation go through most of the time?

 

[rjessome]

If she applies for the extension after you have submitted the inland application, I have never seen one of these extensions refused but that doesn't mean it can't happen. Just that the chances are good that it will be approved.

You realize that she cannot work in Canada right away. First, they approve you as a sponsor and then they may or may not give her Approval in Principal if they do not have any issues with your application. Then she needs to apply for an Open Work Permit. Actually, she can send the application for the OWP with the inland sponsorship application. It takes 6 months or more to receive AIP (approval in principal) so you still have a wait ahead of you.

 

[Leon]

thanks for the reply,

We would be applying inland so she can work while we wait, but that may change as we get closer to the big day.

Do these extensions applied for in this situation go through most of the time?

Like I said before, you can not really work while you wait with inland. You need to wait for the first stage approval to get the work permit. It can take 6-7 months. If you were to apply outland through the US, she would probably already have her PR in 6-7 months. Of course.. it's up to you. When you send in your inland application, also send a visit visa extension and an application for open work permit. That way, they will link her visit visa extension to her PR application so she will not go out of status. Write on the work permit application that you ask for it to be issued when she reaches first stage approval. It saves you a little time sending it all together.