gotters said:
You misunderstood me....
I was not referring to anything illegal. I meant that I was told that one can LEGALLY apply for a work permit and the grounds for CIC approving the work permit would be if someones CEC application is being processed - ie as opposed to having an LMO etc
I wanted to know if that was true
Officially, no, that is not true. Officially, "CEC applicants are not required to remain in Canada during processing." (I read a Q & A document where lawyers/immigration consultants were able to ask a CIC rep questions about the CEC program; one lawyer suggested that CEC applicants should be eligible for open work permits, the above quote was the response from the CIC rep). Therefore, no special work permit required, either.
However, it is true for Inland Family Class applicants - once the sponsor has been approved and (I think) medicals have been requested and received, an open work permit can be issued.
I will say I had this experience renewing my work permit at the border (I had an LMO). The VO issuing my work permit looked up my file and saw I had applied for PR and my medicals were on file. He told me I was eligible for an open work permit (but they don't do those at the border, only closed work permits at a POE). Fortunately I got my PR before needing to apply for a 4th work permit, so I didn't have the occasion to test his advice. And in any case, I think he was wrong - can't emphasize that enough - I think there's a tendency to confuse CEC applicants with "inland" applicants.
Others on this forum have applied to renew their permits without an LMO and have been refused, but I don't know if they actually applied for an open work permit (vs. applying to renew their closed permit without the required LMO). All I can say is, it's a $250 gamble that will likely fail, but for some who run out of options, it may be worth rolling...
