USA Citizen Study Permit Expired

[SatNight]

This is for a friend of a friend. He is a USA citizen and his study permit expired more than 90 days ago.

Is he required to leave Canada, since USA citizens don't need any visa to be in Canada?

And to apply for a new study permit, he was told he had to do that from his home country (in this case, USA) - is there a way to do that on the border?

 

[scylla]

This is for a friend of a friend. He is a USA citizen and his study permit expired more than 90 days ago.

Is he required to leave Canada, since USA citizens don't need any visa to be in Canada?

And to apply for a new study permit, he was told he had to do that from his home country (in this case, USA) - is there a way to do that on the border?

Yes, he is required to leave Canada.

USA citizens don't need a visa to ENTER Canada however they are still required to have legal status while Canada. Being from the USA doesn't entitle someone to overstay in Canada.

It is not a good idea to flagpole since he is out of status. How long has he been out of status?

 

[SatNight]

Not sure how long, but more than 90 days.

How does USA citizen maintain status in Canada? As in, is it possible to just visit without a visa? He lost his status as a student, but if he wants to turn it to visitor, what must he do? (Those who need visas have to apply for a new visa, but he doesn't need one).

He also wants to know is it possible to apply from the USA and then come back to Canada immediately or does he have to wait to get study permit.

 

[scylla]

Not sure how long, but more than 90 days.

How does USA citizen maintain status in Canada? As in, is it possible to just visit without a visa? He lost his status as a student, but if he wants to turn it to visitor, what must he do? (Those who need visas have to apply for a new visa, but he doesn't need one).

He also wants to know is it possible to apply from the USA and then come back to Canada immediately or does he have to wait to get study permit.

A USA citizen maintains status in Canada just like anyone else. He should have applied to change is status to visitor before his study permit expired or should have applied to restore his status in Canada within the 90 days. It's too late for all of that.

It's hard to comment further without knowing how long he has been in Canada without status. However generally speaking, the advice would be to leave Canada for a while and then remain outside of Canada for a bit before returning. He can't restart his studies until January at the earliest at this point. So ideally he would leave now and spend some time outside of Canada. He can then apply for a new study permit at the border once it's time to return in December.

Just because he's from the USA doesn't mean he has a free pass to overstay in Canada. This is still a bad situation.

 

[SatNight]

Thank you. I will ask when he lost status and why (there was some mixup with documents I believe). He is a graduate student so I don't think he has specific dates where he continues studies or not.

He is in a common law partnership with a Canadian citizen.

 

[SatNight]

I asked on his behalf because nobody could tell him how he overstayed his status and what to do to turn it into a visitor. Everyone keep mentioning a new visitor visa, but that doesn't apply to him.

 

[scylla]

I asked on his behalf because nobody could tell him how he overstayed his status and what to do to turn it into a visitor. Everyone keep mentioning a new visitor visa, but that doesn't apply to him.

He should have applied for a visitor record before his study permit expired. This is the same process anyone else would follow in Canada no matter what country they are from. US citizens follow the same process as anyone else.

When he didn't do the above and fell out of status, he should have applied to restore his status within 90 days to a visitor record. Once again, this is the same process anyone from any other country would have followed. US citizens follow the same process as anyone else.

This was honestly an extremely straight fowrard situation and there's really no excuse for falling out of status. If he was confused about what to do, then should have hired a lawyer to help him.

Is there a reason why he didn't apply for a PGWP after he completed his studies?

Of course if he's in a common law relationship with a Canadian citizen and that Canadian is willing to sponsor him for PR, then another option is to remain in Canada without status and submit the sponsorship application. Of course he can't be working right now since he's in Canada illegally (hopefully he isn't working) and it will be quite some time before he's able to work in Canada through spousal sponsorship. This is an option if he's willing to remain in Canada a long time without working and his partner is willing to financially support him through this period.

 

[SatNight]

He did not complete his studies. He has his thesis to complete but no courses. This is why I said there are no specific dates for continuing studies (like January).

Ah, now I get it- it's visitor record that is required, not visitor visa.

And no, he's not working.

 

[scylla]

He did not complete his studies. He has his thesis to complete but no courses. This is why I said there are no specific dates for continuing studies (like January).

Ah, now I get it- it's visitor record that is required, not visitor visa.

And no, he's not working.

Ah - got it on the PGWP now. That's a shame.

In that case getting a new study permit is going to be a bit tricky. He didn't complete his studies in Canada, then fell out of status, then didn't restore his status and has now remained in Canada without status. I'm sure you can appreciate why that could be an issue for CBSA / IRCC. Being an American doesn't get him a free pass to ignore the rules.

If he wants to get a new study permit, then I really think he would need to return to the US and be there for a few months before trying for a new study permit.

Maybe time to hire an immigration lawyer to help him since he seems to be struggling in doing this himself. It was honestly extremely easy for him not to end up in this situation and he will be held responsible for failing to take the right actions to keep himself in status.

 

[SatNight]

Thank you for your help. I believe there were some personal issues at play that I am not privy to.

One more question: if they decide to do the common law spouse sponsorship, does he have to leave Canada?

 

[scylla]

Thank you for your help. I believe there were some personal issues at play that I am not privy to.

One more question: if they decide to do the common law spouse sponsorship, does he have to leave Canada?

He can remain in Canada without status while they do the common law sponsorship application. Note that this technically doesn't prevent him from being removed from Canada by CBSA. However chances are on the lower end that he would be removed.

He needs to be 100% honest about his immigration history in the application including being out of status and, if applicable, any work he did without authorization after dropping out of school. Depending on how long ago he dropped out of school and other details, it is possible the common law application may be reviewed more closely to make sure the relationship is genuine.

 

[SatNight]

I believe he arrived in Canada in the first place to be with his now common law spouse. I think he enrolled at the university but they lived together since day one. Their relationship was a few years old at that point. I hope it would not be difficult to prove the relationship.

He didn't work with the expired permit. He might have worked on his thesis but did not attend classes.

 

[canuck78]

I believe he arrived in Canada in the first place to be with his now common law spouse. I think he enrolled at the university but they lived together since day one. Their relationship was a few years old at that point. I hope it would not be difficult to prove the relationship.

He didn't work with the expired permit. He might have worked on his thesis but did not attend classes.

He can’t legally work on his thesis either. That would be considered studying without a permit