Permanent Residents Visa

[chucho]

We need help!  We have my common partner's permanent residence visa from in Canada ready to send and are running out of time on her tourist visa.  The problem is I am the sponsor and my income tax is not current.  I need to file 2008 and 2009.  I have requested the Option C  print out from 2007 but it may not arrive in time.  My question is, should I apply with the available financial information I have including letter from work, T 4's etc or should we wait until all info is available?  This would mean she would have to leave the country.

[Leon]

Apply for a visitor status extension for your partner based on your plans to apply for sponsorship as soon as you get all the documents.

[chucho]

Thank you Leon.  I really appreciate your help.  We are looking into extension but may be too late.  Her visa expires Oct 20. We are thinking about having her take a trip to visit my sister in the United States and then re-enter and apply.  I am keeping my fingers crossed.  Thanks again for your help.

[Leon]

You are supposed to apply for a visit extension 30 days before her status expired but as long as it is in their hands before the expiry, I don't think it is a big deal.  She can not apply for a restoration of status for example until it's already expired.  If you do the extension of status application and courier it to them, it should be fine.  She will then have a couple of months of implied status until she hears back.  However, if she is going to the US anyway, she might as well do that and try to re-enter.  Re-entering is a hit and miss.  If they believe that she is living in Canada on visitor status and suspect that she may work illegally or overstay, they will not let her in.

[chucho]

Thank you again Leon! We have the Application to Extend My Stay and have started to fill it out.  Under "My Request"  we are stating that we want to extend the stay because we are applying for sponsorship as common law partners and need a little more time to get all the documents in place. Do you think it is appropriate to ask for six months or should we ask for less?  Your help has been amazing.  Thanks again.

[Leon]

Ask for 6 months.

[AllisonVSC]

...and pay the fees for your PR app and include a copy with your extension application. It shows that you are committed to the PR process even if you haven't actually submitted your paperwork yet.