Outland or inland is determined by the forms you fill out, and the address you send it to, not by where you are located.
Since you are sending the application when you are outside of Canada, it must be outland. When you return to Canada, you simply update CIC with your new address, and the processing continues as outland.
When you say resident, do you mean you are a PR sponsoring your spouse? If so, you must reside in Canada in order to do so, so you could not send the application while you are not in Canada.