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canadalife1234

Hero Member
Jan 3, 2016
280
132
Hey, I'm posting here to hopefully gain some insight into a pretty tricky situation.

I have lived and worked in Canada for almost 3 years now. I came over on a Working Holiday Visa in July 2013. I met and began dating someone, we moved in together pretty quickly. We have lived together since Jan 2014.

Around July last year, my working holiday visa was due to expire, and not seeing many options we went to see an immigration lawyer. The lawyer noted that, despite my experience in Canada, basically the best way for me to stay was to apply for PR based on Spousal Sponsorship. Despite being a little uneasy about it we went through the whole process, and I received a bridging work permit in October 2015.

Our relationship has not been without it's issues, though, and I feel like we are heading in a very negative direction so I want to understand what my options are. I don't have PR yet, can I withdraw this family sponsorship application and submit another application based on Express Entry or CEC? I don't want us to stay together for the wrong reasons and despite both of us wanting to work on the relationship we also want to understand the full context of our situation.

To add some more context, he has not been working since July, he is receiving EI and I have been the sole provider. Does this make a difference?

If we break up, do I have any options?
 
I'm sorry to hear about the situation you are in. It sounds like you applied inland, as there are no "bridging" work permits in the spousal category, but there is a work permit for inland applicants. Yes you can withdraw your application and apply through another stream, but this will void your current work permit. You can probably stay in Canada if you apply to change the conditions of your stay (you can do this online) but you won't be able to work.

You should check out the other forums for your options regarding the skilled and/or provincial streams.