Spouse in Canada Immigration- Help!

[tow75]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on this forum...bear with me if I'm a little confused! My husband and I have been married for over a year (November 12th 2010) and we submitted our application for spouse in canada immigration(?) on October 25th 2011 through a consultant. We live in Montreal, Quebec. I am a Canadian citizen and he is Moroccan who came here on a study permit which expired November 2010 . We have been dating since May 2010 and decided to get married before he knew his study permit would expire. 

We're both really confused about the process and the wait times because the consultants weren't very clear! When we signed everything we were told that the process would take 9 months, but online it says that the initial assessment takes 11-12 months. We also aren't clear about exactly what my husband will be getting when our application is approved. He wants to apply for university in September 2012. The consultant told us it would take 9 months which is why we planned on this. Does this sound realistic at all?

My husband's study permit expired about a year before we submitted our application (yeah I know we slacked off on our application!!!!)...will this affect how long it takes for the visa/CSQ to arrive? We provided more than enough proof of our relationship even before the wedding e.g. photos with family, trips etc. I read through another thread on here and for most people it seems to take about 1 year. Are  there ever any exceptions to this? My husband has never worked cash or anything like that, he hasn't been doing much except some volunteering here and there. The wait is already driving us nuts!!!!!

Any help I could get on what to expect would be amazing!

[scylla]

Did you apply inland or outland? If you're not sure, is there any way you can confirm? Was your application package sent to Mississauga, ON or Vegreville, AB?

[tow75]

Hi,

It was definitely Alberta. Thanks!!

[scylla]

OK - so you applied inland.

Inland has two stages. The first stage (AIP) is currently taking 11-12 months to complete (assuming there are no complications with the file). Don't expect this stage to be completed sooner.

The processing time for the second stage is officially listed as 8 months. However some get through in just a few weeks or months (a small number event receive second stage approval at the same time as first stage). Of course there are also some applications that take longer than 8 months for stage 2.

Hope this helps somewhat.

[tow75]

Ok, this is definitely longer than we thought and what we were told by the consultant...too bad we believed him! However, with regards to getting a study permit/work permit of some kind, will my husband receive this after the 11-12 months? He was really hoping to be able to go back into University in September, but I guess this can wait until January 2013 as well.

Does anyone have experience with this, and do you guys think he'll be able to have a study permit by then?

[scylla]

I know you can qualify for an open work permit once you have AIP (first stage approval). I don't know about the study permit. Hopefully someone will drop into this thread and let you know. Alternatively, you can look for and post this question in one of the inland threads.

[AmericaninQuebec]

Your consultant should have had him fill out his application for an open work permit to send with everything at the beginning, because from what I've read once sponsorship is approved inland they'll issue the open work permit if they already have the application in hand. If you haven't done that yet then he'll have to send it as soon as your sponsorship is approved. I don't know how long it takes to get an open work permit approved, but it looks like regular work permits are taking between 13 to 32 days (depending on if you apply online or by mail).

[scylla]

I believe the OP is looking to have her husband attend school as a domestic student with domestic student fees (not work under an OWP). Not sure if you can do this once you have AIP or if you have to wait until the file has been fully approved.

[AmericaninQuebec]

I believe the OP is looking to have her husband attend school as a domestic student with domestic student fees (not work under an OWP). Not sure if you can do this once you have AIP or if you have to wait until the file has been fully approved.

The OP did ask when the OP's spouse would receive a study or work permit of some kind. I was just explaining that to get the OWP they will have to send in the proper application once he becomes eligible at the time of sponsorship approval.

I can't find any information on Immigration Canada that says someone may study full time on a work visa, so I can only assume the OP's spouse will have to apply for a study visa instead in order to study full time while awaiting PR.