which method use to apply for permanent residency?

[darxider]

hi all,

i am a post-doc in Canada (Quebec, to be more specific), having completed a year of full-time appointment as of three months ago. i am considering applying for permanent residency in Canada, but I'm not sure which method is the best.

i got a PhD in physics from USA, and moved to Canada to do a post-doc in genetics. my knowledge of english is excellent, but my french is currently basic (i took 3 semesters of french while in the US, and took a mini-course to freshen things up while in Canada, but i haven't taken any official french language tests).

considering that i can't apply using CEC since i live in Quebec (is that true?), and that i won't be eligible for PEQ since my knowledge of french is not strong enough, i currently have two options: (1) regular skilled worker, (2) spousal sponsorship. which one would be the best/fastest?

about the first option (skilled worker): am i eligible to apply through the federal skilled worker program even though i currently live in Quebec (so basically, from an eligibility perspective, is it like CEC or not)? given the recently announced changes to the Quebec skilled worker program, i think i am eligible to apply through that (have to confirm), but i don't know the difference between that and the federal one. anybody can enlighten me?

about the second option (sponsorship): how long will that take usually? my partner (who is Canadian) and i have been together for a long time now (and have enough documents to prove that), so i don't think there is a possibility of our case being rejected, but i'm concerned about the time-frame.

i'd really appreciate any and all help. cheers.

 

[Lammawitch]

To me, spousal sponsorship is a "no-brainer" in your situation . No worrying about application caps, language requirements and uncertain processing times.

 

[darxider]

thanks lammawitch. do you have a rough guess of the processing time for the sponsorship cases? i know it really varies case by case, but just a guess, in case you've heard/seen anything here or elsewhere.

 

[Rob_TO]

thanks lammawitch. do you have a rough guess of the processing time for the sponsorship cases? i know it really varies case by case, but just a guess, in case you've heard/seen anything here or elsewhere.

Of course you must be married or common-law (having lived together 12 consecutive months) with your partner before you would be eligible for sponsorship under family class.

If you did an outland application and were processed based on your Canadian residency at CPC-Ottawa, then you would most likely get PR in less than 1 year. However if you are processed based on your citizenship, the time would depend on what country you're a citizen of. It's up to CIC what outland visa office would process your app.

 

[Lammawitch]

An unscientific survey of fora and a couple of spreadsheets leads me to think it is likely that the OP's PR application would be processed in Ottawa, as per CIC. Of course, there are always exceptions .

http://www.cic.gc.ca/ENGLISH/information/offices/

 

[Rob_TO]

An unscientific survey of fora and a couple of spreadsheets leads me to think it is likely that the OP's PR application would be processed in Ottawa, as per CIC. Of course, there are always exceptions .

http://www.cic.gc.ca/ENGLISH/information/offices/

Only if they process it based on residency. But from previous posts he is not a US citizen, so if CIC processes it based on citizenship it will be in whatever visa office that happens to be and not CPC-O.

 

[darxider]

thanks all. i really appreciate your help.

my partner and i have been living together way more than 12 months, and we're married too!
i'm not a US citizen, and i'm in Canada on a work permit.

what's the difference between "outland" and "inland" application?

i'm guessing from your arguments that my case won't then be processed in CIC-Ottawa if i do an "outland" application (whatever that is!). how would i know if they're going to process it based on "residency" versus "citizenship"? is it completely up to them or is there anything in the forms/documents i'm going to send that will determine the outcome?

also what about an "inland" application? what does that mean actually? am i eligible for that?

 

[Rob_TO]

i'm not a US citizen, and i'm in Canada on a work permit.

What passport do you hold?

i'm guessing from your arguments that my case won't then be processed in CIC-Ottawa if i do an "outland" application (whatever that is!). how would i know if they're going to process it based on "residency" versus "citizenship"? is it completely up to them or is there anything in the forms/documents i'm going to send that will determine the outcome?

"Usually", if you have a long established history in US/Canada, and if you have valid status here for at least 1 year, then CIC should choose to process your application in CPC-Ottawa if you did an OUTLAND application. However as i mentioned the choice is really up to CIC.

You can always write a cover letter on your PR app explaining your desire to be processed as a Canadian resident at CPC-Ottawa and for any potential interview to be in Canada... but again there's no guarantees. Depending on what your citizenship is, being processed based on that could be good or bad.

If you apply INLAND, then your app is guaranteed to be processed only in Canada. However the bad thing here is that the inland process takes over 2 years, and during that entire time it is a risk each time you wanted to leave Canada so you are basically stuck here. The advantage to inland is you get an OWP with the process, but sounds like you don't even need that. So in your case OUTLAND is probably better.

 

[darxider]

i am a citizen of Iran. i guess if they move my case out of Canada, it'll be processed in Turkey, right?

i was a student in the US for a long time, and then i moved to Canada as a post-doc (i've been living out of Iran since 2003). i do have a work permit, but i have to renew it every year, as my contract is renewed year-by-year by my supervisor. my work permit allows me to only work in the current university in which i'm working (it's not an open work permit).

for the inland process, am i allowed to stay in Canada while they're processing my case, even after my post-doc appointment is over? i'm just worried that if they move my case to some other visa office, it'll take even longer than two years.

 

[Rob_TO]

i am a citizen of Iran. i guess if they move my case out of Canada, it'll be processed in Turkey, right?

Yes, but Ankara seems like a very quick office with only a 10 month posted processing time. Usually apps are processed quicker than posted times for outland applications.

for the inland process, am i allowed to stay in Canada while they're processing my case, even after my post-doc appointment is over? i'm just worried that if they move my case to some other visa office, it'll take even longer than two years.

Yes since you are not visa-exempt to Canada then not only are you allowed to stay in Canada for entire 2+ years of inland processing under implied status, but you are basically stuck in Canada for 2+ years and shouldn't leave for any reason whatsoever.

If you applied inland you would get an Open Work Permit sometime after 4+ months, which would then allow you to work wherever you want and not rely on your current closed work permit.

 

[darxider]

thanks a lot. i really appreciate your help.

do you happen to know, if i go with the sponsorship through my partner, given that we live in Quebec, should i go through Quebec immigration first (like, for example, the PEQ and CEC cases based on living in Quebec versus rest of Canada)?

 

[Lammawitch]

Here's a very concise list of the steps for spousal sponsorship in Qc


1. Sponsor submits sponsorship application to CIC (make sure to read the guide carefully where it mention Quebec applicants - the process is slightly different)

2. When sponsor receives approval, s/he fills out the 'undertaking' application (Qc), the applicant fills out the request for a selection certificate(Qc) and you send these together to MIDI, along with the confirmation of sponsorship approval from CIC.

3. Once CSQ is issued, applicant sends off PR application to CIC

Start here:
Immigration, Diversité et Inclusion Québec - Apply to sponsor a close relative

And take a look at the family class board here, loads of excellent information!

Bienvenue au Québec

 

[darxider]

i see; it was a bit confusing with this Quebec/rest of Canada thing! seems like when you live in Quebec, there is an extra step involved for everything.

i actually looked at the Family Class board here, but the search functionality on this site is not working properly (or, maybe, i can't use it very well!), so it was showing me posts which are 4/5 years old.

merci