Spouse Sponsorship and Work Permit

[Commercialvancouver]

Currently my husband holds a temporary residential status that expired on May 30,2011.     He has applied for an extension on May 30,2011 and has not heard back yet .    The reason for the extension was that we were getting married and did get married on September 24,2011.    Our question is can he get a temporary open work permit while we are in the process on applying for Permanent Resident.   Is there anyway he can travel outside of the country while we are waiting and return.    Hopefully someone can help us with our questions and thank you very much.

[Angus]

Where is your spouse from? If they need to travel, it may be best to apply outland

[scylla]

If you apply inland, he will qualify for an open work permit approximately 10-11 months after you submit the application.

If you apply outland, no open work permit is available. He will be able to work only once his PR status is granted and he lands in Canada.

[Commercialvancouver]

Thanks for your reply.   He is from India.  Should he apply for the work permit before, after or at the same time as he is applying for PR?  He is in Canada...what is the quickest way for him to be able to work here?  Thank you again.

[scylla]

If he is in Canada and you decide to apply inland, then you must submit the Open Work Permit with the Inland Sponsorship application. He will be able to work 10-11 months after you submit the application.

If you apply outland, then he will have to wait until the application is approved and he lands before he can work. Outland processing times are currently about 2 months (Mississauga) + 6 months (New Delhi).

The alternative is to find an employer in Canada who is willing to hire him and willing to complete a Labour Market Opinion.

[scylla]

One more thing...

If he applies inland, he should not leave the country until his application has been approved. The approximately processing time for inland applications is 18 months.

[pinklady]

Also, he can be in canada and apply outland, so long as he has status in canada. He will be able to leave canada without it effecting the application.
New Dehli has been known to process spouse visas fairly quickly. I would definately recommend the outland option.