KEEPING LEGAL STATUS AFTER POST GRADUATE WORK PERMIT EXPIRES

[Loulounic]

Under Family Class Sponsorhip and sponsored by my Canadian wife, have applied for PR last January but did not send in the application for an Open Work Permit at the time.  I already had a Post-Graduate Work Permit which I thought could be extended and did not realize the importance of requesting an OWP at the time.  My P-G work permit will expire mid-September and I may lose my job if I have to stop working for awhile.

After calling for information on how to extend my P-G work permit, I was told it would not be possible and the agent asked if I had submitted an application for Open Work Permit at the time of my original PR application.  I explained that I was working at the time of my application and thought I could extend the P-G work permit. The agent at the Call Center suggested that I send in my application for an Open Work Permit and ask that it be attached to my PR application with a letter explaining why it had not been sent back in January, but he could not guarantee it would be accepted.  I sent in the request 2 weeks ago with a letter and paid the $150 fee for this work permit.  Can someone tell me if they were successful in a similar situation ?

Last week, I got my CSQ from Quebec and now hope to receive the AIP letter from CIC soon as it is normally mailed about a month after the CSQ is issued.  As my work permit expires soon, I filled in another application (IMM 1249) in order to keep my legal status in Canada, but am wondering which box should I check, ie., Extend my stay in Canada as Visitor or Request a change of status from worker to visitor ? Thanks for the advice.

[Leon]

So I guess it is not an option for the employer to apply for an LMO for you in order for you to be able to get a regular work permit?  Have you talked to Service Canada about that option?

Other than that, yes, you can apply to change your status to visitor if you just want to stay and not work.

Trying to add an application for an open work permit to an already existing sponsorship application doesn't always work but you can apply for the open work permit after you get your first stage approval.