You bet. "Too long", like the rest is in quotes. There is no published suggestion. Though from the forum, it seems no more than a month. I would personally suggest no longer than a week or two (if at all -- the risk is pretty high).
Public Policy is a means for people to still have their application's processed, providing they are only out-of-status. Meaning, if a person overstays, and submits an inland PR application, providing they are only out-of-status, they will still have their PR application processed with the rest of the group.
From CIC processing guide IP-8 (see: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/ip/ip08-eng.pdf pg 31, 32):
"5.27 Lawful temporary resident status in Canada
Under the current Regulations, applicants in this spouse or common-law partner in Canada class must have a valid temporary resident status on the date of application and on the date they receive permanent resident status to be eligible to become members of the class.
However, applicants who lack status as defined under the spousal public policy (see Appendix A) may be granted permanent residence so long as they meet all the other requirements of the class, i.e., they are not inadmissible for reasons other than "lack of status".
Applicants who do not have temporary resident status and who cannot be granted positive consideration under the spousal public policy can be removed at any time. Further, the spousal policy does not change the requirement to seek necessary authorization to visit Canada or to work or study here.
If the applicant cannot be exempted from the legal temporary resident status requirement under the spousal public policy (Appendix A) and request an exemption from the requirement to have temporary resident status in Canada based on H&C consideration, please refer to Section 15.
What is “lack of status” under the public policy?
For the purposes of the spousal public policy (see Appendix A), persons with a “lack of status” refers to those in the following situations:
- persons who have overstayed a visa, visitor record, work permit, study permit or temporary resident permit;
- persons who have worked or studied without being authorized to do so as prescribed by the Act;
- persons who have entered Canada without a visa or other document required by the Regulations;
- persons who have entered Canada without a valid passport or travel document (provided valid documents are acquired by the time CIC seeks to grant permanent residence);
- persons who elude examination upon entry to Canada. In these cases, officers should assess the bona fides of the relationship. If it is deemed to be a relationship of
convenience, the application should be refused. If the relationship is deemed bona fide, the application should not be refused on the grounds that the person did not present himself at the port of entry for examination upon entry.
Note: Lack of status may also refer to persons who have overstayed a temporary resident permit.
"Lack of status" for the purposes of the spousal public policy (Appendix A), does not refer to any other inadmissibilities including, but not limited to:
- failure to obtain authorization to return to Canada, where required, after removal or after a removal order has been otherwise enforced;
- persons who have entered Canada with a fraudulent or improperly obtained passport, travel document or visa and who have used the document for misrepresentation under
IRPA. For greater certainty, persons will be excluded from being granted permanent residence under this public policy:
- if they used a fraudulent or improperly obtained passport, travel document or visa to gain entry into Canada; and
- if this document was not surrendered or seized upon arrival; and
- if the applicant subsequently used these fraudulent or improperly obtained documents to acquire temporary or permanent resident status.
Other cases may be refused for misrepresentation if there is clear evidence of misrepresentation under IRPA, in accordance with the Department's guidelines. "
And the full text of the regulation for Public Policy can be found in the same document, in Pg 64 - 79.