Lena said:
Would having some ammunition like this clause from the enforcement manual ENF04 section 13.2 help my case?
"temporary residents seeking re-entry to Canada from the U.S. or St. Pierre and Miquelon, after applying to renew their status, remain under their original status until a decision is made and they are notified [R183(5)]). These people are considered to have implied status."
Finally, what is the worst case scenario. If they deny me entry and cancel my residency application, can I not just enter Canada again as a visitor and start my application again (but this time from *outside* of Canada like I should have done to begin with!) ?
I have asked the same question about this part of ENF04 - the problem is that it's not clear what it's supposed to mean. And, if the officer assessing you isn't considering it, what are you going to do about it? You're the only one with something to lose and, in my experience, officers at ports of entry do not like it when you try to tell them what you're allowed and not allowed to do. Getting one of them angry at you is not something you want.
So, this is a tough call. Generally, inland applicants are advised not to leave the country during processing. That's because the inland process requires that you be resident with your sponsor in Canada in order to be approved and, because all parts of the process happen within Canada (including the landing interview). If you're not here, you can't be finalized. It's not like CIC is going to find out you left the country and punish you by running your application through the shredder!
If you can get back in, your inland PR ap will continue to process. In fact, your application would continue processing even if you can't get back in - until your sponsor has to withdraw it in order to apply again outland.
So "can't I just enter Canada again as a visitor and submit a new (outland) application?" doesn't make sense. If you are denied re-entry, the potential is there that you'll be separated from your partner until you get PR - and that means after he has withdrawn the inland ap, gotten confirmation, and you've started all over again with new medicals, new processing fees, new criminal clearances and a new outland application. If you're allowed back in, your inland PR ap goes on like nothing ever happened - because they'll never know you left. So, the real gamble is not them "cancelling" your application because you leave - it's that the officer assessing your re-entry to Canada does not (ever) have to let you in. Even visa-exempt foreign nationals have to demonstrate that they intend only to stay temporarily. When you are in relationship with a Canadian, and especially when you have a PR ap in process, you can't prove that you don't intend to stay in Canada
permanently - and that gives the officer assessing you the right to refuse you entry. If you were non-visa-exempt, you'd never get a TRV after applying for PR - however, being visa-exempt does give you a bit of an advantage. It's still possible, if your sponsor is accompanying you, that you'd be allowed to re-enter Canada after visiting your father. Not because he's ill, not because you have a PR ap in process, not because you have any right to enter Canada just because you're married to a Canadian. If they find out you have a PR ap in process you'll be sent to secondary. And if they let you back in, it will only be because your
sponsor asks them to.
You're in a really tough spot - I know because I've been there. I've had to sit tight knowing my son was in the hospital with a broken leg, I missed my aunt's funeral, and last year when my 84 year old mother fell and broke her hip, I couldn't go. She was in bad shape, but I
knew I would not get back into Canada if I left (because our refusal was still under appeal). Unlimited long distance is not like being there - but sometimes it's all you've got and it has to do. Fortunately my Mom recovered . . . still can't say whether the same can be said of my relationship with my sons.
The bottom line is that none of us can tell you for sure that you will be allowed back into the country. Even if you had applied outland you would not be assured of being able to come back. The only difference would be that the outland PR application processing would not be affected by your not being able to come back. Between now and when you get PR, leaving Canada means possible separation from your partner until your PR is finalized. You have to decide if that's a gamble you're willing/able to take. If you can't, you can't go - no matter what happens at home. I wish you the best.
