Common-Law Sponsorship while on IEC Working Holiday Visa

[boredinwinterpeg]

Hi Everyone,

I am a Canadian citizen and my girlfriend is Polish. We have been long distance for a while (with me visiting her every month) and would like to bring our relationship to Canada. She has registered for the IEC Working Holiday pool for the 2017 season. The plan is for her to come to Canada for 3 months under her 90 day visa-exemption and move in with me, and then hopefully get approved for an IEC Working Holiday Visa. By the end of her IEC visa, we will have lived together for over 12 months, so we will then apply for Common-Law Permanent Resident Sponsorship. I have a couple questions about the process for transitioning from an IEC visa to PR sponsorship:

1) I understand that one of the conditions of the IEC Work Permit is that it cannot be extended... meaning that her right to live and work in Canada cannot be extended beyond the 1 year. If we apply for Common-Law PR Sponsorship, will she be able to live in Canada with me until her application is approved? I have been reading about implied status, and I'm wondering if she will receive this under common law sponsorship? I can support her so it is not important whether she can work or not, all that matters is whether she will be able to remain in Canada throughout the process.

2) As far as the Common-Law Sponsorship goes, I understand there are two options: Inland and Outland. I understand that Inland takes considerably longer, however she can get an OWP after 4 months, as opposed to Outland where she can't work. Since it is possible to apply for Outland while in Canada would she ever have to leave the country during the process? Again, it doesn't matter if she works or not during the application period as I can support her.

Thanks for the help. If anyone has any other ideas regarding the best way to get her to join me in Canada full-time, I'm glad to hear them!

 

[Bcboundboy]

Hi Everyone,

I am a Canadian citizen and my girlfriend is Polish. We have been long distance for a while (with me visiting her every month) and would like to bring our relationship to Canada. She has registered for the IEC Working Holiday pool for the 2017 season. The plan is for her to come to Canada for 3 months under her 90 day visa-exemption and move in with me, and then hopefully get approved for an IEC Working Holiday Visa. By the end of her IEC visa, we will have lived together for over 12 months, so we will then apply for Common-Law Permanent Resident Sponsorship. I have a couple questions about the process for transitioning from an IEC visa to PR sponsorship:

1) I understand that one of the conditions of the IEC Work Permit is that it cannot be extended... meaning that her right to live and work in Canada cannot be extended beyond the 1 year. If we apply for Common-Law PR Sponsorship, will she be able to live in Canada with me until her application is approved? I have been reading about implied status, and I'm wondering if she will receive this under common law sponsorship? I can support her so it is not important whether she can work or not, all that matters is whether she will be able to remain in Canada throughout the process.

2) As far as the Common-Law Sponsorship goes, I understand there are two options: Inland and Outland. I understand that Inland takes considerably longer, however she can get an OWP after 4 months, as opposed to Outland where she can't work. Since it is possible to apply for Outland while in Canada would she ever have to leave the country during the process? Again, it doesn't matter if she works or not during the application period as I can support her.

Thanks for the help. If anyone has any other ideas regarding the best way to get her to join me in Canada full-time, I'm glad to hear them!

1) Whilst an IEC cannot be extended, she can apply for new visitor status online. This will normally be granted. She can then stay in Canada as a visitor, supported by you, for as long as status is granted.

2) In theory, inland isn't going to take longer anymore - the idea of the new applications is that everyone should be done within about 12 months, inland or outland - but you're right she could apply for an OWP, whereas outland she couldn't. She will have no obligation to leave until she flagpoles (goes to the US border & back) to activate her PR. However, if she voluntarily leaves (eg visits family in Poland), then an inland application contains the risk that if she isn't allowed back in for whatever reason, the application can be deemed abandoned and you need to start over, while an outland application would continue.

 

[boredinwinterpeg]

Thanks for the informative response. So we start an application for Common-Law Sponsorship, she will not be allowed to live in Canada upon expiry of her 1 year IEC visa, UNLESS we apply for new visitor status? I was hoping that she would automatically be allowed to remain in Canada with me for the duration of the sponsorship process...

 

[Bcboundboy]

Thanks for the informative response. So we start an application for Common-Law Sponsorship, she will not be allowed to live in Canada upon expiry of her 1 year IEC visa, UNLESS we apply for new visitor status? I was hoping that she would automatically be allowed to remain in Canada with me for the duration of the sponsorship process...

If all you do is start a common law application, and do nothing with her, then when her IEC work permit expires, she will be out of status in Canada, and could be ordered to leave if they discover she's still there.

Applying for visitor status (which will almost certainly be approved, and even if it isn't, she gets implied visitor status while waiting for it to be) gives her legal status to remain in Canada with you.

Considering all the forms and proof you're gathering for the CL forms, the visitor app is a minor piece of additional paperwork (She could also get visitor status by flagpoling, but that contains an arguably higher risk of rejection, and immediate requirement to leave Canada if refused while the online app is very rarely refused, and gives her some time to leave if refused)

 

[boredinwinterpeg]

Thanks again! And I read that visitor status can be granted for 6-12 months eh?

 

[Bcboundboy]

That about bookends the normal timeframes to ask for. Visitor status in Canada is normally 6 months by default (eg if people from visa exempt countries arrive on vacation, a stamp with no handwritten date means 6 months), entirely common to ask for a year if applying for PR to cover how long it should take

 

[Rob_TO]

Thanks for the informative response. So we start an application for Common-Law Sponsorship, she will not be allowed to live in Canada upon expiry of her 1 year IEC visa, UNLESS we apply for new visitor status? I was hoping that she would automatically be allowed to remain in Canada with me for the duration of the sponsorship process...

If you reach the 12 months for common-law and manage to complete and submit an INLAND PR app along with OWP app before her IEC visa expires, then there would be no need to apply for visitor status. The OWP app would give her continued status in Canada beyond her IEC, and she would receive the OWP so could work again after approx 4 months. This would also ensure she can stay legally in Canada for duration of PR processing.

The key here is geting the PR/OWP apps in before IEC expires. If this isn't possible, then you would need to apply for her visitor status to bridge the time between IEC expiring and PR/OWP being submitted.

With the brand new family class packages, inland may not be as long as it was before compared to outland.

 

[boredinwinterpeg]

Great, thanks a lot! And I assume that the OWP would be valid for the duration of the PR process, correct? Also, if we have to apply for 6 month visitor status after her IEC expires in order to get 12 months common law, would she first have to leave the country and then return as a normal tourist? Or can she apply for a visitor extension from within the country?

 

[Bcboundboy]

Great, thanks a lot! And I assume that the OWP would be valid for the duration of the PR process, correct? Also, if we have to apply for 6 month visitor status after her IEC expires in order to get 12 months common law, would she first have to leave the country and then return as a normal tourist? Or can she apply for a visitor extension from within the country?

She can apply for visitor status online, in which case she won't need to leave the country ($100, implied status while waiting), or get it instantly and for free (assuming she isn't refused) at a border post (leave the country, however briefly).

 

[boredinwinterpeg]

Thanks to the both of you for the great answers, you've been a lot of help!