jomz said:
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If you have now been in Canada for more than 90 days since the initial six months without first extending your status as per above, you cannot restore your status and you will need to leave Canada.
If the above is the case, I think that you may want to discuss the situation with an immigration lawyer. If you are overstaying, you could face deportation.
Thank you for your reply, but I believe that my Inland application means that I do NOT need to leave Canada, as per the revised policy from Feb 2008:
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GOOD NEWS FOR OUT OF STATUS SPOUSES AND COMMON LAW PARTNERS
In a previous article, we mentioned that the new federal minister of immigration was likely to change immigration rules. It appears that the Honourable Joe Volpe, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has not wasted much time in his new position.
Effectively immediately, spouses and common-law partners in a genuine relationship with a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, regardless of status, are able to apply for permanent residence.
Under the previous laws, those who were married to Canadians were only able to apply if they had valid immigration status in Canada. As of today, that has changed and those who are in hiding and married to Canadians or residents can come out and formally apply for permanent residence. This is really good news and a step in the right direction.
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As I stated in the original post, I have consulted with an immigration attorney when I/we first started this whole process and was told that I should apply Inland, if I wanted to remain during the approval process. This was confirmed by several other experts, not the least of which has been the very kind members in this very forum. The ONLY person that said anything to the contrary, was the first person that I spoke with this afternoon.
I do concur that calling CIC is a bit of a crap shoot in getting a straight answer.