At the risk of confusing things further:
It is a
regulatory requirement that an applicant for permanent residence in Canada must be in status in Canada. The H&C process may provide an exception to this requirement, for example. Other processes also provide exceptions, notably the refugee system.
As a matter of
public policy it is permitted for an out-of-status spouse to be sponsored for permanent residency as part of the "spouse/partner in Canada class". This is
very clearly spelled out in IP 8 "Spouse or Common-law Partner in Canada Class" (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/ip/ip08-eng.pdf) Appendix H.
This means that spouses or common-law partners in Canada, regardless of their immigration
status, are now able to apply for permanent residence from within Canada in accordance with the
same criteria as members of the Spouse or Common-law Partner in Canada class. This
facilitative policy applies only to relationships in which undertakings of support have been
submitted.
and
The effect of the policy is to exempt applicants from the requirement under
R124(b) to be in status and the requirements under A21(1) and R72(1)(e)(i) to not be
inadmissible due to a lack of status; however, all other requirements of the class apply and
applicants will be processed based on guidelines in IP2 and IP8.
Note that CBSA will generally respect this public policy unless there are other specific reasons for not permitting same. In other cases I've read on this forum the usual thing for people already in trouble with CBSA is that CBSA will hold their passport until AIP (e.g., if they are deferring enforcement of a removal order). In the case of the OP there is no removal order - there is just an issue of status.
The Canada Border Services Agency has agreed to grant a temporary administrative deferral of
removal to applicants who qualify under this public policy.
Thus, there is no issue for the OP not being in status. Once AIP is granted, the OP should apply for a status document (which will normally be granted) if one was not requested with the original PR application. Once the OP has a temporary status document for Canada the status issue has effectively been forgiven and the OP returns to status.
Inland applicants may not land at a Port of Entry - they must be examined by an inland CIC office (This is the "landing interview" and is normally just a formality). The purpose is to make certain the applicant is still living in Canada with the sponsor, that the sponsor does wish to continue the sponsorship and that the applicant has complied with the requirements (e.g., initial the COPR to indicate no undeclared criminality issues or undeclared dependents). Once done, the applicant's legal status in Canada becomes that of a "permanent resident" rather than a "foreign national".
