Visitor visa and open work permit - spouse having PR

[meandmyson]

Hi All,

My wife is a Permanent Resident of Canada and currently residing there. I am in India and have work permit, however I have not got my dates yet to travel from my company.

I understand that my wife can sponsor me and I too come as a PR but it will take around 10 months for me to come to Canada and be with her.

However, is it possible for me to come on Visitor visa and apply for an open work permit? If yes, please guide me.
After I apply for work permit and get a job, can she apply through inland for my PR?

Please let me know if this is possible.

Regards

 

[amikety]

There is no realistic way for you to come into Canada and get an open work permit without her sponsoring you. Getting a job offer doesn't give an open work permit - those are closed WP and only for that employer. You can try to come to Canada and search for an employer - but there are no guarantees. If you aren't activating your work permit and your wife is in Canada, you could be turned away at the border even if you possess a TRV. If you try to enter on your work permit, CIC may verify you've been transferred. In the event you're caught lying to the IO, you will be removed and probably banned for 2 years. So you need to decide if you want to risk that. It would probably be best to try to enter on the TRV and accept you may not get into Canada. (Just to clarify, if you're banned for two years, your wife has to wait until that is over before she can sponsor you - so do not lie to CIC!)

If she applies Inland, then yes, you can get an open work permit. You must include the application with your PR application and pay the additional fee for the work permit. After you are approved in priniciple (AIP), you may get the OWP. AIP takes 6 months right now for Inland.

It is also possible your wife can apply to NDVO since she is in Canada. NDVO is very fast. 10 months on CIC's website means 80% of applicants are processed in 10 months or less. It's very possible you can get your PR visa faster than 10 months. 10 months is not even the average! I would check the NDVO thread to see how fast most people are getting through. (For example, my VO is Ottawa. Ottawa posts times of 12 months. Most people I know are done in 7 months.)

 

[meandmyson]

Thanks Amikety,

I saw another post where a Husband is on a work permit and wife had come on visitor visa to Canada. She applied for an open work permit and got it. Why isnt this applicable to me? Since my wife is a PR - don't I have chances of getting Visitor visa and then apply for open work permit?

Regards

 

[amikety]

Thanks Amikety,

I saw another post where a Husband is on a work permit and wife had come on visitor visa to Canada. She applied for an open work permit and got it. Why isnt this applicable to me? Since my wife is a PR - don't I have chances of getting Visitor visa and then apply for open work permit?

Regards

There are no options for a PR or citizen to get their spouse an open work permit (other than Inland sponsorship). I'm married to a Canadian citizen and I'm not allowed a work permit. I went through the ringer with CIC over this one - but there is no option.

If your spouse is a student with a valid study permit or foreign worker in skilled jobs (NOC codes A, B, or 0) on a work permit, then you can sponsor your spouse for an open work permit.

I'm not going to tell you my opinion of this. :'(

Since your wife is a PR, you have a low chance of getting a visitor's visa. Then you would still have to find an employer to get a LMO for you to apply for a closed work permit - only for that employer. Competition for LMO jobs is fierce. Many employers won't even consider LMOs.

 

[meandmyson]

Thanks Amikety for your reply.

The only way for me to come to Canada then is either through my company or through Sponsorship (Inland or Outland).

If she applies through Outland then I will have to submit my Passport to NDVO by which I will cut down my chances of coming on work permit through my company as my passport will not be there with me for travel and if she has to apply through Inland then I gotta be there in Canada.

Regards