Waiting for PR in Canada - visitor visa?

[MaggieRoo]

Hi all,

I posted this also on the Canadian Experience Class, sorry for the duplication, bu I'm really trying to catch some advice from anyone in the same situation as me....This is for folks already in Canada.

I've been working in Canada for the last 3 years on a temporary work permit. I applied to Buffalo for PR April 2008 while I still had a year's visa left, and before the CEC class and Nov '08 NOC list rules were announced.

Now my job is finishing up in two months, but no sign of the PR (though it did get moved from Buffalo to Seattle 4 months ago, good sign i hope?). If I leave when my temp work permit expires, I presume that makes my PR null and void.?? Do I stay here as a visitor, or go home and have my PR cancelled?

My plan is to apply for a temporary visitor visa, show funds to support myself (6 months or up to a year, which I can support), and explain that I want to travel/skibum/live it up as a tourist in Canada, which I fully want and intend to do. However, this may be seen as dual intent and may be held against me.

My questions are:

1. Should I be honest and mention my PR application in my visitor visa application, gut feeling is to do this.

2. In case getting a visitor visa when one has dual intent is not likely or a safe option, should I delay applying for the visitor visa until say 1 month before the work permit expires, so that the approx 95 day processing time buys me implied status time in Canada while waiting for PR? (Got that idea from one of Hero member Leon's posts! thank you!)

3. Is there a certain amount of money they require to issue a year's visitor visa?

4. I don't see a form to match exactly my situation, TWP to visitor, will I just use a change of conditions work permit extension form?

5. Also, does phoning the CIC/in my case it'll be Seattle, for additional information as to how your PR doing really delay the process, do they put you back in the pile a bit, or is this a myth?

Thank you very very much to anyone who reads this and has some input or experience,
Maggie

Applied FSW Buffalo without lawyer April 2008
Rec'd AOR file no. July 2008
File moved to Seattle Jan 2009
Temporary work permit expires July 2009!!!!

 

[jckdry]

this is just a wild guess
have u thought about getting on a student visa until u get yr PR, doing some cheap college wouldnt hurt
Also, have u thought about getting a visitor visa to US from Canada and staying in US until u get yr PR and doing Address change @ seattle office

 

[professional 1]

i will give you my advice ; your work permit will be expired within few months and you will not be able to renew it so you will have to change your status in canada from a worker to another category. you want to change it to a visitor, in my opinion, don't do that ,change it to a student rather than visitor to be able to extend as long as you are a student in canada.

you asked about the way, it is very simple, you can't change your status from within canada it means that you can't transfer from a a worker to a student or a visitor by sending an application to the immigration department.

you will have to fill in the application form for the visitor or student (outside canada) and not the application for extending your stay here in canada. after that you will have to prepare all of the required documents such as the financial support, the acceptance letter from the educational institution (let us say for example to study english language) and try to get the acceptance letter for a long period of time in order to get study permit for a long time, after you fill the application form for the study permit send it with all of the required documents ( passport photocopy, your current work permit photocopy, financial support,acceptance letter,that is it. and send all of them to visa office in buffalo,NY. they will process your application within 2 months or less if everything is ok in your documents they will ask you to send your passport to them in buffalo to stamp the visa and send it back to you and when you receive the passport with the student visa you will have to at least go to the us border to get your study permit on the port of entry my friend had done the same and changed from a visitor to a student from within canada and he got a study permit for 4 years and his visiting visa was only 6 months,the whole process doesn't take more than two months if you have all of your documents ready.

use the application forms on this link :


http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/student.asp

 

[MaggieRoo]

Thank very much for your input people!

A study permit had not occurred to me - that is totally possible, and in fact, I can apply for a study permit from within Canada, as long as I have a valid work permit which I do for the next two months. It might be last minute to find something suitable. The US isn't really an option for me though.

But you are right, it does seem that you can't change from worker to visitor using any of their forms, and the CIC states that the first TRV you have must be gotten from outside of Canada.

Professional1, your friend was from the US, entered on a visitor visa and straight away applied for a study permit through Buffalo.

Can I apply for a visitor visa from London (the correct office for me) from inside Canada, without leaving the country?

Ideally i want go from worker to visitor without leaving the country - hard to believe there's no one out there who has been in the same situation...

Thank you for your input all the same, I'll think about the study option,
cheers!

 

[professional 1]

hi MaggieRoo

my friend was from saudi arabia he has never been in the USA , he got his visitor visa for six months from saudi arabia and after he had arrived by one month he sent an application to buffalo NY and got his student visa for 18 moths and when he went to the borders they issued study permit for him for 4 years same as his acceptance letter. but he was a visitor not worker maybe for workers who want to get a study permit it is different am not sure about it.

i have another friend at the same school who had the same situation but he made a mistake when he sent the application to the immigration department inside canada because they refused his application and asked him to send an application outside canada then he had to leave canada because of the time limit for the expiry date of his current legal status in canada to apply again from his country. that is why am pretty sure about it.

good luck and wish the best for you