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Changing visa from PGWP to Visitor visa while waiting for PR (Outside)

soohee

Member
Sep 14, 2015
16
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Hello,

I have applied for PR through Common-Law sponsorship (Outside) last month.

I am currently on PGWP visa and my common-law partner is Canadian citizen.

My PGWP will expire next year (Mar 2, 2016), so I am planning to apply for a Visitor visa while I am waiting for my PR to be approved.
But I've heard that many people get refused when applying for a visitor visa while waiting for PR.

I am planning on going to Korea to visit next February for about 2-3 months.

I am wondering if I should apply for a visitor visa before I leave Canada, or go visit Korea first and come back with return flight ticket so that the immigration officer would not think that I will be permanently living in Canada when my PR get rejected, and give me visitor visa.

Could you please give me some advices?

Thank you.
 

floomy

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Dec 17, 2012
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If you are going to Korea for months around time your PGWP would be expired, I would not even bother to apply for change of status.

1.even if you get approved and get a visitor visa, you would lose it when you leave Canada (don't think visitor visa would be allowed multiple entry )

When you talk to CBSA at the airport, show your proof of PR application and round ticket and tell that you are VISITING your partner and wanna wait for PR in Canada etc)

you would get 6 month at least.

P.S If I am wrong for any info, plz correct me.
 

soohee

Member
Sep 14, 2015
16
0
Oh, I have just found out that there are two types of visitor visa, which are a single entry visa and a multiple entry visa, according to CIC website.

It says..

Starting on February 6, 2014 (00:01 EST), all visa applicants will automatically be considered for a multiple entry visa. The visa officer reviewing your application may be able to give you this type of visa even if you applied for a single entry visa.

So I am thinking to apply for the visitor visa before going back to Korea to see if they deny my application or not. And to see how many months or years they will give me. I heard some people even get 1-2 years of visitor visa while waiting for PR. I am not sure if that would apply if I get a visitor visa at the airport when I am coming back to Canada.
 

canuck_in_uk

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May 4, 2012
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Koreans are visa-exempt, so you cannot apply for a TRV. If you travel after August 1st, 2016, you will need to apply for an eTA but this is entirely different than a TRV. If you travel before August 1st, 2016, you won't need to apply for anything.

If you are referring to visitor status, there is no point in applying to extend your status when you plan to leave the country. Upon re-entry, you will receive a new visitor status.
 

soohee

Member
Sep 14, 2015
16
0
Thanks for the reply.

I was thinking that there might be a more chance of me getting a visitor visa with longer period (like 1 or 2 years) if I apply for it before my PGWP expires while I am in Canada, because then I can send CIC various documents such as a proof of medical exam, proof of financial support, letter of explanation of my situation (waiting for PR), etc..

Will the chance of getting a visitor visa with longer period be the same even if I get it when I re-enter Canada after visiting Korea?
 

floomy

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Dec 17, 2012
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canuck_in_uk said:
there is no point in applying to extend your status when you plan to leave the country. Upon re-entry, you will receive a new visitor status.
Agreed.


When you come back to Canada , you will get a 6 month (stamp on your passport by CBSA)
Then you can renew your visitor visa - sent app with proof of your pr app. and a letter saying you wanna wait for your PR with your partner in Canada.
you would get a year or so
-I am from Korea and came to Canada as visitor (outland app). I renew my visitor visa and received a year without any problem.
 

canuck_in_uk

VIP Member
May 4, 2012
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soohee said:
I was thinking that there might be a more chance of me getting a visitor visa with longer period (like 1 or 2 years) if I apply for it before my PGWP expires while I am in Canada, because then I can send CIC various documents such as a proof of medical exam, proof of financial support, letter of explanation of my situation (waiting for PR), etc..

Will the chance of getting a visitor visa with longer period be the same even if I get it when I re-enter Canada after visiting Korea?
Again, as a Korean, you do not qualify for a visitor visa. If you want accurate answers on here, use the proper terminology. You are referring to visitor status; this is completely different from a visitor visa.

Again, there is no point in applying to extend your visitor status when you will be leaving the country. Your current status and any extensions you apply for are essentially void when you leave. When you re-enter, you will receive a new status.