Spouse Open Work permit

[momars09]

I am a pharmacist by profession and has work experince aswell..i have applied for pg biotechnology..we are married since two yrz and no kids yet.our main aim is to get settled in canada
My husband has a masterz degree frm australia and he had been working in saudi arabia till last july.we have strong ties here for eg.property..
So could u advice what exactly we should do?
He is not working since he came as we run our lifes n property..

 

[Caimi]

Re: Extension of SOWP in case I find an employement .....

You are most welcome.

1. It is a pretty complex thing and involves paying a fee (earlier was lower - recently proposed to be raised significantly) as well as proving to the government that they could not hire a Canadian for the particular position. Add to that the waiting times and uncertainty of approval and latter liabilities of bringing a temp foreign worker. Some of these could be relaxed a bit if you are already in Canada on another work permit and have worked for the same employer. But i can't say for sure to what level.

2. I don't know of any such provisions. The general thing is that if you have already applied for an extension (after getting LMO) BEFORE EXPIRY of your current wp, you can continue working till a decision is made which is implied status. The other possibilities are that you are eligible for some sort of PR program, have applied and gotten through first stage of approval and then apply for a Bridging open work permit.

Thanks a ton fkl. That's helpful. I am sorry I am raising another query here....

I can see a possibility of applying for PR under FSWP (I would be eligible from points standing) which I believe would be in full flow for this year and by the time I write ILETS and bring together other documentation, the quota for this year would be over.

So if I apply for PR in those circumstances, do I have any chance of being eligible for Bridge OWP ? What exactly is the meaning of 'getting through the first state of PR approval?'

I see less of a possibility of LMO so this seems to be only possible option.

After posting the above query, I read the below article on FSW 2014 for this year:

Applicants under the FSW program will be assessed according to the same criteria as 2013. Applicants are assessed on a points grid that takes into account important factors such as education, language skills, work experience, age, and adaptability to Canada. All applicants must meet minimum language requirements in either English or French.

In addition to skilled workers, the FSW program includes streams for PhD holders and individuals who have received eligible job offers from Canadian employers. A maximum of 500 PhD applicants will be accepted under the upcoming program. Applicants who hold valid job offers are not subject to any intake caps.

Does this mean that If I have a valid job offer (under SOWP), I can go ahead and apply for PR under FSW (by fulfilling the required criterion) and by the time my SOWP is about to expire, I would be eligible to get extension under Bridge OWP (hoping first stage of PR is done)........

goshhhhh...........that sounds very complex but seems logical........

fkl...... really need to your expert inputs...

Thanks again.
Caimi

 

[fkl]

Re: Extension of SOWP in case I find an employement .....

No problem. I am glad to be of some help. Every PR program has a first phase in which they send you a formal initial approval which confirms that you meet the requirements of the program and your application is accepted for further processing. In CEC, this is called AOR (acknowledgement of receipt), FSW has another name which i cant remember at the moment. But once you have that, you are eligible to apply for BOWP

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/notices/2012-12-17.asp
http://moving2canada.com/immigration-to-canada/bridging-visa-canada/

For CEC this takes usually 2-3 months to come. In exceptional circumstances, i have read of people who were near wp expiry, and were expecting to receive AOR pretty soon (with in a month) and applied for BOWP without AOR and CIC did process them. I don't know how long it takes in case of FSW. But general perception is that it might take longer than CEC since net processing time of FSW is much longer.

I have not checked but FSW's for this year were announced pretty recently so i don't think caps would be up that fast. Irrespective, FSW has categories and those with job offers are not subject to caps (called FSW2). Plus government intends to introduce "express entry" from Jan 2015 which basically is changing the existing PR process to get people with confirmed jobs much faster. So i have a good expectation that FSW's for this year would be processed some what faster to cover pending applications by the end of this year.

So from the way i see it, you should take IELTS asap and put your application for FSW with in the next 15 days or so and you might have a chance to get BOWP.

Thanks a ton fkl. That's helpful. I am sorry I am raising another query here....

I can see a possibility of applying for PR under FSWP (I would be eligible from points standing) which I believe would be in full flow for this year and by the time I write ILETS and bring together other documentation, the quota for this year would be over.

So if I apply for PR in those circumstances, do I have any chance of being eligible for Bridge OWP ? What exactly is the meaning of 'getting through the first state of PR approval?'

I see less of a possibility of LMO so this seems to be only possible option.

After posting the above query, I read the below article on FSW 2014 for this year:

Applicants under the FSW program will be assessed according to the same criteria as 2013. Applicants are assessed on a points grid that takes into account important factors such as education, language skills, work experience, age, and adaptability to Canada. All applicants must meet minimum language requirements in either English or French.

In addition to skilled workers, the FSW program includes streams for PhD holders and individuals who have received eligible job offers from Canadian employers. A maximum of 500 PhD applicants will be accepted under the upcoming program. Applicants who hold valid job offers are not subject to any intake caps.

Does this mean that If I have a valid job offer (under SOWP), I can go ahead and apply for PR under FSW (by fulfilling the required criterion) and by the time my SOWP is about to expire, I would be eligible to get extension under Bridge OWP (hoping first stage of PR is done)........

goshhhhh...........that sounds very complex but seems logical........

fkl...... really need to your expert inputs...

Thanks again.
Caimi

 

[fkl]

I am a pharmacist by profession and has work experince aswell..i have applied for pg biotechnology..we are married since two yrz and no kids yet.our main aim is to get settled in canada
My husband has a masterz degree frm australia and he had been working in saudi arabia till last july.we have strong ties here for eg.property..
So could u advice what exactly we should do?
He is not working since he came as we run our lifes n property..

It is hard to make a suggestion on this much info. If you plan to settle in Canada ultimately and are willing to risk the situation that say you come here alone and say for e.g. your spouse is refused for SOWP but then whenever latter when you apply for PR, you include him and ultimately get that, then it might be worth. But this might also mean living without your spouse for even 3-4 years.

Since your husband is educated in Australia and has worked in SA, it might play a positive role in SOWP - so would owning property back home. However, not being currently employed as spouse of a prospective student is a negative thing.

Individual circumstances weigh in heavily. For me as well as most of my colleagues - almost none of our wives were working back home. Neither any of us own any properties or much funds. But again we were going for highly skilled well paid jobs. So we neither needed to show funds for stay - nor it mattered if our spouses worked. Being well employed in our area of expertise in home country with good income is a strong tie to home country. It means you can return to your home country and can easily get a well paid job when ever / if needed.

So you have to decide for yourself. I just laid down pros and cons of both. All the best.

 

[momars09]

thanks will update what decision we have taken..

 

[iceprincess]

Hi fkl,

As you are aware that my husband, currently residing in Canada, is looking for an employment. and recently my TRV got rejected for the first time. He is of the view that once he gets his job, I should apply for TRV again (since the processing time is faster than that of SOWP) whereas I think I should go for SOWP (since it seems to be a safer bet than TRV). What are your views on this?

Also, where is the list of documents required for SOWP mentioned clearly? Could you provide me the link/list?

Thanks in advance

 

[Caimi]

Re: Extension of SOWP in case I find an employement .....

No problem. I am glad to be of some help. Every PR program has a first phase in which they send you a formal initial approval which confirms that you meet the requirements of the program and your application is accepted for further processing. In CEC, this is called AOR (acknowledgement of receipt), FSW has another name which i cant remember at the moment. But once you have that, you are eligible to apply for BOWP

For CEC this takes usually 2-3 months to come. In exceptional circumstances, i have read of people who were near wp expiry, and were expecting to receive AOR pretty soon (with in a month) and applied for BOWP without AOR and CIC did process them. I don't know how long it takes in case of FSW. But general perception is that it might take longer than CEC since net processing time of FSW is much longer.

I have not checked but FSW's for this year were announced pretty recently so i don't think caps would be up that fast. Irrespective, FSW has categories and those with job offers are not subject to caps (called FSW2). Plus government intends to introduce "express entry" from Jan 2015 which basically is changing the existing PR process to get people with confirmed jobs much faster. So i have a good expectation that FSW's for this year would be processed some what faster to cover pending applications by the end of this year.

So from the way i see it, you should take IELTS asap and put your application for FSW with in the next 15 days or so and you might have a chance to get BOWP.

Hi fkl,

Not sure if my circumstances will enable me to apply so quickly but nevertheless, Thanks again for showing me some light at the end of the tunnel.

One last query on this topic .......

I believe the rule says that I need to have a permanent full time offer of employment to be eligible to apply for FSW without LMO

Incase, I have a Full time contract job (say for 1 year)..... does it mean that I would not be eligible to apply for FSW without LMO ?

Is it possible to get an official response on this query from CIC if I call up their call centre?

Thanks.
Caimi

 

[Viky]

Hello All,

My S-OWP application submitted on Jan 27, paper based (New Delhi CHC) along with pre medical and passport.
Additional documents (marriage pics) submitted as per request on March 24.
Got medical request today by mail.
Any idea why medical being requested again?

Regards,
Viky

 

[fkl]

Hello All,

My S-OWP application submitted on Jan 27, paper based (New Delhi CHC) along with pre medical and passport.
Additional documents (marriage pics) submitted as per request on March 24.
Got medical request today by mail.
Any idea why medical being requested again?

Regards,
Viky

You need to ensure they got your first medicals. Getting record numbers from where ever you gotten it done and forwarding to CIC is your job. It often happens that people with medicals done already do get these requests. This is a common mistake. Try to convey the information. In very rare cases you might have some issue with medicals and might be asked for another one. But chances of this are far less compared to simply they not having the records.

 

[fkl]

Hi fkl,

As you are aware that my husband, currently residing in Canada, is looking for an employment. and recently my TRV got rejected for the first time. He is of the view that once he gets his job, I should apply for TRV again (since the processing time is faster than that of SOWP) whereas I think I should go for SOWP (since it seems to be a safer bet than TRV). What are your views on this?

Also, where is the list of documents required for SOWP mentioned clearly? Could you provide me the link/list?

Thanks in advance

hi iceprincess,

I am always against applying for trv for a spouse. It sounds funny that a spouse intends to visit her husband only for a month or two and come back. Even if it is true - it is hard to prove that intent. Besides getting one refusal this way sounds like you are trying to get a faster way just to be allowed to get into Canada once. So if you ask me - i would never apply for TRV - period.

There is no official separate list for SOWP. You use the same forms as those used for standard work permit and the same check list is used. I know of these because i was told by my employer's lawyer in Canada to submit all those. Plus as i knew of a lot of cases in local embassy or embassy asking people to submit docs or refusing and citing absence of some docs in GCMS notes.

 

[fkl]

Re: Extension of SOWP in case I find an employement .....

Hi fkl,

Not sure if my circumstances will enable me to apply so quickly but nevertheless, Thanks again for showing me some light at the end of the tunnel.

One last query on this topic .......

I believe the rule says that I need to have a permanent full time offer of employment to be eligible to apply for FSW without LMO

Incase, I have a Full time contract job (say for 1 year)..... does it mean that I would not be eligible to apply for FSW without LMO ?

Is it possible to get an official response on this query from CIC if I call up their call centre?

Thanks.
Caimi

As far as i know - a one year contractual job won't be good for FSW. CIC is very particular of this. You can sure ask the helpline of CIC. But keep in mind that knowledge of a call center attendant wouldn't be some official wording. Sure they would know the common procedures - but they are not visa officers. I have heard of people calling at different times and getting different response from CIC call center agents on the same issue too. So don't count too much on it.

 

[Caimi]

Re: Extension of SOWP in case I find an employement .....

As far as i know - a one year contractual job won't be good for FSW. CIC is very particular of this. You can sure ask the helpline of CIC. But keep in mind that knowledge of a call center attendant wouldn't be some official wording. Sure they would know the common procedures - but they are not visa officers. I have heard of people calling at different times and getting different response from CIC call center agents on the same issue too. So don't count too much on it.

Thank you.

 

[jobin007ae]

Hi all, I have submitted my application online on May 5th , 2014

is there anyone who applied in april

plz share ur current status and informations regarding this...

once my application has been refused,and I reapplied now.....so I am very much tensed....

guys plz....share urs

 

[fkl]

Hi all, I have submitted my application online on May 5th , 2014

is there anyone who applied in april

plz share ur current status and informations regarding this...

once my application has been refused,and I reapplied now.....so I am very much tensed....

guys plz....share urs

Hi jobin007ae,

Applied online "from where" is the key. Applying online doesn't mean your application is processed as those who applied INSIDE Canada.

Your application will still (most likely) be processed at the same visa office as your country of residence. So processing times from the same embassy would apply.

 

[Rajan Grover]

Hi all, I have submitted my application online on May 5th , 2014

is there anyone who applied in april

plz share ur current status and informations regarding this...

once my application has been refused,and I reapplied now.....so I am very much tensed....

guys plz....share urs

Hey mate,

Share your experience once you have refused and what was the reasons??

This time what are the extra documents you have attached now..

Share your timelines.

Rajan