Advice on this situation

[ldissrh]

My girlfriend and I have lived together for 1 year. I am a Canadian citizen and she is from Argentina. We want to apply for PR but are unsure of a couple things.

1) 6 of the months we spent together was in Argentina. We can only substantiate this through letters from a school i attended, our landlord, friends, family, emails... is this enough?

2) If we were to apply now, and submit an open-work permit along with the application, how long would it be until the open-work permit would become activated? In addition, what sort of jobs does the open-work permit allow her to work?

3) If we apply now and the PR is rejected because we didn't substantiate the first 6 months enough, what then is our option? Does she have to leave? How do we reapply? How many times can one reapply?

4) Is it recommended to seek the advice of a lawyer? I am quite capable of learning about this on my own but what scares me is if I don't consider all the possibilities and make it harder than it has to be.

5) What is the waiting time for stage 1 of the PR visa to be activated? Is an open work permit generally always guaranteed if the first stage is successful


If you guys could answer my questions below each one of them that would be great. Thanks a lot. I really appreciate the advice on this forum and how quickly it moves.

 

[CharlieD10]

1) Yes. Enough attestation from different sources is what you need.

2) Does this mean you are planning on an Inland application? You do realise that means it is recommended that she not leave Canada until the application is finalised, and that stage 1 takes 10+ months currently, with stage 2 requiring possibly another 9-18 months? An OWP is granted with first stage approval, so 10-11 months. An OWP has no restrictions on the type of work that can be obtained, that is why it is "open".

3) If you apply Inland and it is rejected, yes, she would have to leave the country and you would have to apply again Outland. You may apply once Inland, there is no appeal if the application is rejected. You may appeal a rejected Outland application, but if the appeal fails, subsequent applications are not likely to succeed.

4) Lawyers are usually best consulted if one has a complicated or legal aspect to their application. Most straightforward applications can be done by the applicants themselves. For insurance, you may have your completed application reviewed before submission by an immigration lawyer or consultant.

5) Wait time for stage one of an Inland application is 10-11 months currently. Yes, an OWP is usually approved if the applicant gets approval in principle.

Note: Please consider doing an Outland application. She can remain in Canada even while it is processing in Argentina, and if she has to leave Canada for any reason, the application processing continues regardless. Additionally, Argentina's 80% average processing time is 10 months. Which means that she could be a PR in the time it takes for her to get first stage approval, or maybe even less.

 

[ldissrh]

Wow thanks for the advice.

So, what are the benefits of applying inland if one can apply outland while still staying in Canada?

Seems like it would be quite obvious for one to pursue the outland route if it is faster?