Questions about Visa Extension (Norway --> Canada)

[orbiting7]

Hi all,

I'm writing this on behalf of my fiancee, who is a Norwegian citizen living with me in Canada at the moment.

Given that Norway is a Visa-exempt country, he was able to freely enter Canada and stay for up to 6 months/180 days. As we are looking to extend his stay in Canada further, we have a few important questions about the application process.

1. We both plan to return to Norway on vacation for a month this summer, to visit our friends and his family who live there. On the day of our departure, he will have lived in Canada for 143 days this year. Just to be completely certain - does this mean that he can normally re-enter Canada for the remaining 37 days of his 6 month allotment without any hassle?

2. If we wish to extend his temporary resident status as a visitor - not a work nor student permit -, can he apply from within Canada? We would ideally like to apply within the next week (before the end of April for sure) just to ensure everything is settled before his 180 days are up.

(Bonus question: if granted, is there a trend or set number of days for which the extension is valid? If we intend to live in Canada for the next 2-3 years at most before settling in Norway permanently, is it most efficient and wise to keep extending his stay as a visitor or to, for instance, apply for an IEC? A work permit isn't really applicable as he works online with exclusively Norwegian companies.)

Any insight would be much appreciated - thanks in advance!

 

[scylla]

The fact he is visa exempt does not guarantee he can come and go freely. Whether he is allowed into Canada and for how long is entirely up to the border official. If it looks like he's using his visitor status to try to live in Canada - it's possible he could be refused entry or only allowed in for a short period of time.

1) Again, it's up to the border official. Since he's already been in Canada for close to six months - returning so soon as a visitor could potentially cause issues.
2) He can only apply to extend his stay from within Canada. However the extension is also only good as long as he remains in Canada - it does not allow him to re-enter Canada. If he's planning on leaving before his six months is up, there's absolutely no point applying for an extension.

It's unlikely he will be able to continue living in Canada for the next 2-3 years as a visitor. Sooner or later he can expect he'll run into issues at the border and be refused entry. If that's what he wants to do, he should definitely look into getting an IEC.

 

[orbiting7]

The fact he is visa exempt does not guarantee he can come and go freely. Whether he is allowed into Canada and for how long is entirely up to the border official. If it looks like he's using his visitor status to try to live in Canada - it's possible he could be refused entry or only allowed in for a short period of time.

1) Again, it's up to the border official. Since he's already been in Canada for close to six months - returning so soon as a visitor could potentially cause issues.
2) He can only apply to extend his stay from within Canada. However the extension is also only good as long as he remains in Canada - it does not allow him to re-enter Canada. If he's planning on leaving before his six months is up, there's absolutely no point applying for an extension.

It's unlikely he will be able to continue living in Canada for the next 2-3 years as a visitor. Sooner or later he can expect he'll run into issues at the border and be refused entry. If that's what he wants to do, he should definitely look into getting an IEC.

Thanks for your informative answer; you brought up some good points.

1. Really good but slightly worrying point. Would it help or hurt his case if we (I will be traveling back to Canada with him on the same flight) mention that he has submitted his application for IEC and is at that point awaiting either an invite to apply or for an application to be granted? And if not, should he buy a return ticket in advance to show that he clearly does not intend to surpass his 180 day limit?

2. Valid point, that makes sense. Neither of us are looking to 'cheat the system' or something, not by any stretch of the imagination, so we really just want to be thorough and choose the simplest yet most acceptable option. Which route would be most advisable to take then, in this case? An IEC can be held for a max. of 2 years at a time, as I understand it, so would that work? Can he apply from within Canada?

Sorry for as many questions - contrary to what it may seem like, we've tried to research this on our own, but have run into some conflicting information and really just want to be on the right path.

Thanks again!

 

[scylla]

1. It's not about overstaying the six months. It's about using a visitor visa to live in Canada (you're only supposed to visit temporarily on a visitor visa - you can't live in Canada on a visitor visa). Typically a visitor spends more time outside of Canada than inside of Canada in a given year. So if he's been in Canada for five months already, leaves for a month, and then returns for another six month visit - even if he has a return flight, it's going to be pretty clear he's trying to live in Canada as a visitor. He could get lucky and could breeze in without issues. Or he could run into a border official who has a real problem with what he's doing and possibly deny him entry and send him home. Impossible to say. Once piece of advice I would give you now is to teach yourself to stop saying that your fiancee is "living" with you in Canada. Both of you need to avoid this language since he's not allowed to live in Canada and you don't want this word to accidentally slip out if you are ever being questioned at the border.

2. Yes - he can apply for an IEC from within Canada. I would apply for the IEC now and hopefully he may even be approved by the time he's returning. Note that he can only hold a 1 year working holiday visa once. After that he would have to apply for a young professional or international co-op 1 year visa (both require him to have a job in Canada with an employer in Canada).

 

[orbiting7]

1. It's not about overstaying the six months. It's about using a visitor visa to live in Canada (you're only supposed to visit temporarily on a visitor visa - you can't live in Canada on a visitor visa). Typically a visitor spends more time outside of Canada than inside of Canada in a given year. So if he's been in Canada for five months already, leaves for a month, and then returns for another six month visit - even if he has a return flight, it's going to be pretty clear he's trying to live in Canada as a visitor. He could get lucky and could breeze in without issues. Or he could run into a border official who has a real problem with what he's doing and possibly deny him entry and send him home. Impossible to say. Once piece of advice I would give you now is to teach yourself to stop saying that your fiancee is "living" with you in Canada. Both of you need to avoid this language since he's not allowed to live in Canada and you don't want this word to accidentally slip out if you are ever being questioned at the border.

Good point, thank you - he's only visiting, not living in Canada. Our intentions are good, so it would be really unfortunate to cause concern because of thoughtless phrasing. The only thing I don't quite understand here is why an official might have an issue with him returning for the last 37 days. My understanding is that if you're permitted to stay in the country for six months, it's up to you how you'd like to section out that time, right? If you're visiting your fiancee, and then want to go back and visit your parents with her while she has a month off work, shouldn't you get to see the full 180 days through as if it were a 6 month visit? I absolutely understand what you mean, and we've entirely scraped the Visitor visa idea for future stays, but it seems unfair for him to seemingly only get 143 days if he can't return after the month-long trip to Norway.

2. Yes - he can apply for an IEC from within Canada. I would apply for the IEC now and hopefully he may even be approved by the time he's returning. Note that he can only hold a 1 year working holiday visa once. After that he would have to apply for a young professional or international co-op 1 year visa (both require him to have a job in Canada with an employer in Canada).

Ultimately, should he buy a refundable ticket just to show he has intentions to go home in August and then hope IEC gets approved before that (without mentioning IEC to the official) or should he just say he has applied for IEC and will return to Norway in August if he doesn't get approved? I don't want to sound any unnecessary alarm bells by what I think is a legitimate question -- I myself visited Norway for a few months in 2014, saw that I genuinely loved the country and wanted to live there further, so I returned in 2015 on a Working Holiday visa. I'd really also love to ask if you know how long the processing time for an IEC is/whether invitations to apply are completely randomly selected from the applicant pool, but maybe that's really expecting you to have all the answers ;-)