Spain. Wife Canadian. Work permit. Inland or outland?

[sorianito]

Hello everybody,

I am Spanish and my wife is Torontonian. We met 2 and half years ago, and lived together for the last 14 months. We got married in Spain a few weeks ago. We both want to relocate to Canada to work for a couple of years and then we would come back to Europe. We have been reading all the information stated on the CIC website . If we apply from Europe (the Canadian Embassy for Spain is the one in Paris), the processing time takes approximately 10 months: 2 months (step 1) + 8 months (step 2). Apparently, if we apply for the visa within Canada the process is much longer so starting the process from Canada doesn't seem an alternative to speed up the whole thing.

My question is the following: once she is approved as a sponsor (2 months aprox), could I apply for a work permit or someting? We just want to work and do not want to get a permanent resident visa. Perhaps my question is stupid, but does anyone can help, please? I did some research in the forum but I could find anything regarding my question.

Thank you you much for your help and patience.

Carlos.

 

[computergeek]

My question is the following: once she is approved as a sponsor (2 months aprox), could I apply for a work permit or someting? We just want to work and do not want to get a permanent resident visa. Perhaps my question is stupid, but does anyone can help, please? I did some research in the forum but I could find anything regarding my question.

You can apply for a work permit at any point in time, but there is no preference for an outland application at any point in the process. Of course, once you have been granted permanent residency, you can then work anywhere you want without a work permit. To obtain a work permit you must find an employer willing to obtain an LMO (or hire you into a work category where an LMO is not required, or under a Canadian treaty granting special status.) With an LMO and offer letter from an employer, you can obtain a work permit.

Only the inland process grants an "open work permit" prior to completion of the entire application. Since it takes 11 months just to GET to the point where you get an open work permit, most people who are allowed to do so just do the outland process (since 10 months for the entire PR process is still less than 11 months just to get to the AIP stage where you can obtain the OWP.)

 

[Victorfoxtrot]

As I see it, you have two options. Obviously your wife, as a Canadian citizen, doesn't need a visa to work in Canada. You do. How old are you? If you are aged between 18-35 you could apply for a working holiday visa. http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/spain-espagne/experience_canada_experience/index.aspx?view=d
This allows you one year, and I believe there is an option to extend it by one more year. This could suit you very well if you only are looking to go there for a couple of years.

If you are over the age limit then you'll have to apply via the Spousal route. It will give you permanent residency, and even though you don't intend to stay more than a few years, you will still be able to maintain your PR provided you are still living with your wife - anywhere in the world. It is worth checking this forum to see if there is a Paris thread, because you will likely find that the 8 month estimate for the second half of the application, is actually considerably lower. For example, I recently completed my outland application via London in less than 5 months - for both stages 1 & 2.

There is a 3rd option - you could go out to Canada with your wife, start looking for jobs, and if you are successful you will then have to convince an employer to apply for an LMO (labour market opinion) - this is then approved (or not) by the government and then you can get a work permit. But I personally found this route to be very difficult indeed. Most employers ran a mile as soon as I mentioned it. They didn't want the hassle.

 

[NBaker]

"We both want to relocate to Canada to work for a couple of years and then we would come back to Europe."

This statement clearly indicates no desire to be a permanent resident of Canada. Applying for anything other than a work permit appears to be inapporpriate in the circumstances since there is no clear indication of a desire to remain on a permanent basis in Canada. As such the direction of applying a work permit form outside Canada to enable you to work in Canada during the couple of years here would be the avenue to pursue.

You can find information about work permits here:

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

 

[sorianito]

Thanks everyone for your comments!!!

@Victorfoxtrot. I am 34 and I already knew about the WHV for Spain. Thanks anyway The point is that the web is not clear about when they will open the program. Additionaly, the number of visas is very limited. Last year only 450 were granted and they lasted very few days. With our current unemployment rate, I bet this year the visas will last less than a week. I could wait and try it but who knows when they will open the IEC 2012. Regarding the possibility of getting a job offer from a Canadian Employer, I think I will dismiss it. It is too stressful.

Therefore, I think a family class would be a safer bet. I think I will post a message on the "Paris visa office" in order to find out which the actual average processing time is. It would be great if it was only 5 months!

Anyway, thank you guys for your help and patience.

Take care!