Previous Canadian PR. Re applying for work permit

[Abyan]

Hello,

My partner is a South African citizen. She used to be a Canadian Permanent resident, but due to time out of the country she had to renounce her PR card to apply for a visitors visa to enter Canada in time for a vacation this last summer.

Now we have decided to move back to Canada together. I am a Canadian citizen, as of recently her parents have become citizens as well. They re located to Canada a few years ago, hence why she previously held a PR. She lived in Canada for 3 years before where she studied and graduated two courses (with a study permit before becoming a permanent resident).

She has applied for a work permit through CIC. But because of the new changes to the application process in South Africa, a third party company called VFS has taken over. They are difficult to communicate with and having taking 3 months to just file the application with CIC.

She currently holds a South Africa passport with a valid Canadian visitors visa, and a valid America visitors visa.

Now the work permit is finally in process, but still can take a few months to get approved. We are now waiting in limbo in South Africa, eager to get to Canada.

My question is, can she enter Canada now, before her work permit is approved? If so is there a way to secure her entry? I've read on CIC's website that it isn't recommended and is up to the discretion of the boarder officer. But her situation is a bit different, I can't find any literate to help us.

If anyone has any suggestions and experience stories, we would be very grateful.

Thank you.

 

[Lammawitch]

That's all a bit confusing.

What work permit has she applied for?

As the wife of a CDN citizen, the fastest and simplest way to PR is via Outland spousal sponsorship, as you state you intend to return to live in Canada.

Your wife would be eligible to enter Canada on her visitor visa.

 

[Abyan]

She has applied for a open work permit. Once we are set in Canada then we will start the spousal PR sponsorship application. I have been living outside of Canada for a couple years, so i will have to be back in Canada to start that process. So she has applied for an open work permit, which is in progress. We would just like to know if theres a way to secure her entry into Canada on her visitors visa. All CIC says on their site is it is up to the boarder officer. There has to be a way to ensure her entry. Would be awful if we flew all the way to Canada to be turned around because one of the border officers was in a bad mood.

 

[Lammawitch]

1. Under what stream/what basis has she applied for an OWP? Given the information you have provided, I don't see how she's eligible for one?

2. You do not have to be in Canada to start the spousal sponsorship process. You can apply inland or Outland. You can even apply Outland while physically present *in* canada (people often do this because Outland applications are generally processed faster).

3. She wouldn't be refused entry to Canada on a visitor visa because a CBSA official was "in a bad mood".

 

[Abyan]

She has applied for a working holiday visa. Fairly common for a person under the age of 31 from a country that has relations with Canada to apply for.The duration varies, i believe she will be granted one year.

I was unaware that i could apply for an outland sponsorship. I've been outside of Canada for so long that i do not have a valid Canadian passport, address, etc. So figured it would be much easier to apply once I am set up in Canada again. Seeing how her Work permit is already in process now, a sponsorship will be unnecessary for the time being.

My main questions is about her entry now. The only information I can find, says before a Letter of Introduction is given to the person, their entry is based on the discretion of the border officer. With all of her ties to Canada, chances are that she will pass through custom with a Visitors Visa no problem. But like CIC's website say's. If the officer see's any problem, hence in a " bad mood" which isn't a rarity for CBSA officers. They could potential not allow entry and even go as far as black listing her entry. Don't want to leave anything to chance and would like to know if there is anyway to guarantee entry.

 

[Lammawitch]

Thanks for the clarifications . I was not aware that South Africa was one of the countries eligible for IEC.

As far as entering Canada on a visitor visa is concerned, her ties to her home country are actually more important than "ties to Canada". The latter could be a negative in some cases.

 

[PMM]

Hi

Thanks for the clarifications . I was not aware that South Africa was one of the countries eligible for IEC.

As far as entering Canada on a visitor visa is concerned, her ties to her home country are actually more important than "ties to Canada". The latter could be a negative in some cases.

1. You are correct, South African citizens are not eligible for IEC Canada.

 

[scylla]

Did she perhaps accidentally apply for an open work permit without being eligible for one?

Based on the information you have provided, she would only qualify for a work permit if she had a full time employment offer from a Canadian employer accompanied by an approved LMIA (in this case she would qualify to apply for a closed work permit). If that's not what she applied for - she's going to be refused.

 

[Lammawitch]

Hi


1. You are correct, South African citizens are not eligible for IEC Canada.

Thanks for confirming that.

Did she perhaps accidentally apply for an open work permit without being eligible for one?

Based on the information you have provided, she would only qualify for a work permit if she had a full time employment offer from a Canadian employer accompanied by an approved LMIA (in this case she would qualify to apply for a closed work permit). If that's not what she applied for - she's going to be refused.

OP, I agree with Scylla. Unfortunately you & your partner both seem to have misunderstood the visa/work permit options available.

It's absolutely possible for you to apply Outland to sponsor her as your spouse. While she wouldn't be able to work until her PR came through (unless she finds an employer willing to apply for an LMIA) she probably wouldn't have a problem being admitted to Canada as a visitor while the application is processing. Once in Canada, she could then apply to extend her visitor status while waiting for approval of the spouse visa.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

 

[Quink]

As far as entering Canada on a visitors visa, the question that will be in the mind of the border officer is whether your partner will be able to support herself without working, and whether she intends to stay in Canada permanently. The support question should be easy enough provided you have enough money for a six month stay and can show that. The intention to stay in Canada might be tricky, as technically a visitor needs to have ties to somewhere else outside Canada that they can return to once their visit is done. If she has family in South Africa you could potentially claim to them that even though you do ultimately intend to stay in Canada and will be applying for permanent residence, if it doesn't work out she has a backup plan. This should hopefully satisfy the officer that she won't be likely to overstay her visitors visa. Demonstrating a good understanding of your obligations will go a long way towards convincing the border officer to let her in to Canada.

As far as guaranteeing it though, there's no way to do that. The only people with a right to enter Canada are citizens and permanent residents - everyone else is subject to the discretion of the officer on arrival.

And a disclaimer to the above advice - I'm not a lawyer and none of what I said should be taken as absolute truth, just an opinion. You need to decide for yourself if you think the risk is worth it. When I was going though a situation where I was on a visitor permit in Canada waiting for a work permit, I chose not to risk crossing the border until it was sorted out. My logic was that I shouldn't make anything harder than it needs to be, and avoided all situations where someone had to make a decision. If you can find a way to get her status properly arranged without entering as a visitor, that would be preferable IMO.