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Dilemma ..Spouse Open Work Permit Or TRV ..Please suggest

naveenr

Member
Oct 31, 2013
19
0
Hi,

I recently got my work permit approved and is valid till 2015 and under Skilled Category A. I am yet to travel to Canada and I am planning to travel in Jan 2014 .I applied in April and due to strike I got my Visa in October.I got married in may and now I want to take my wife with me and I am not sure whether to apply for TRV or for Open Work Permit.She is into IT industry and is having five years of experience

I have the following questions:

1)Can I apply for open work permit Outside Canada for my Spouse?

2)Do I need to be in Canada for my spouse to apply for OWP ?

3)What all documents needs to be submitted for OWP?

Thanks in advance
 

fkl

VIP Member
Apr 25, 2013
3,351
218
Canada
Visa Office......
Inland / Previously Pak
NOC Code......
2173/4
1. In any case you would apply for open work permit OUTSIDE of Canada because she is based in your home country and when she applies alone, she will be the applicant. Even if you submit application on her behalf online while being in Canada, it will still be treated as OUTSIDE of Canada and processed accordingly.

INSIDE Canada are those for which applicant themselves are present in Canada.

2. This one is a bit hazy i.e. normally either people apply together (principle applicant twp + dependent spouse owp + kids if any) OR the principal applicant is already in Canada and dependent spouse apply in home country. But i guess if you apply for her now EXPLAINING your exact time line i.e. you got married in May WHILE your case was in process, you should be good to go.

3. For open work permit, you would need all 3 forms (Work permit application, family information, schedule 1 etc.) along with your job offer and LMO etc. You would chose "Not applicable" for employer details and chose work permit type as "open" to clarify you are applying for a dependent spouse. Then marriage certificate, passport, identity cards, her degrees, experience letters, pay stubs etc. Police certificates probably if they are asked for in your country. Translation of any document not in english or french. Probably since your work permit is approved, evidence of that as well.
 

hyousafi

Newbie
Oct 26, 2013
8
0
fkl said:
1. In any case you would apply for open work permit OUTSIDE of Canada because she is based in your home country and when she applies alone, she will be the applicant. Even if you submit application on her behalf online while being in Canada, it will still be treated as OUTSIDE of Canada and processed accordingly.

INSIDE Canada are those for which applicant themselves are present in Canada.

2. This one is a bit hazy i.e. normally either people apply together (principle applicant twp + dependent spouse owp + kids if any) OR the principal applicant is already in Canada and dependent spouse apply in home country. But i guess if you apply for her now EXPLAINING your exact time line i.e. you got married in May WHILE your case was in process, you should be good to go.

3. For open work permit, you would need all 3 forms (Work permit application, family information, schedule 1 etc.) along with your job offer and LMO etc. You would chose "Not applicable" for employer details and chose work permit type as "open" to clarify you are applying for a dependent spouse. Then marriage certificate, passport, identity cards, her degrees, experience letters, pay stubs etc. Police certificates probably if they are asked for in your country. Translation of any document not in english or french. Probably since your work permit is approved, evidence of that as well.
Hello,

I am planning to apply OWP for my wife.

I have a Post Grad Work Permit (open), and currently working as Contractor but my job title is IT Consultant (NOC A).

Is It possible to get a OWP for my wife on current job status.

If it's possible:

Does my wife need to apply for TRV and OWP both as she is currently outside Canada?

What documents do I need to attach with her application?

Will she be a primary applicant?

Does she need to show ties back home as she is presently not working?

I would really appreciate your reply.

Thanks
 

fkl

VIP Member
Apr 25, 2013
3,351
218
Canada
Visa Office......
Inland / Previously Pak
NOC Code......
2173/4
Yes, since you are working on full time basis on a skilled job (NOC 0, A or B), you are eligible to apply for spousal open work permit.

An open work permit application uses the same forms as a work permit applicant i.e. work permit form, family information form and Schedule 1 form. This already implicitly means she is applying for a trv along and you don't need to apply separately for trv.

If successful, her visa would be stamped with a trv and she would receive a "letter of introduction" which is kind of approval from embassy for owp. The actual owp will be issued at the port of entry.

I am not sure if she would be primary applicant or not in this case. Generally i have seen people applying together (myself included) where i am primary applicant and family are dependents. In your case since you are not applying currently but she is still your dependent and applying on the basis of your job, i suspect she should still chose "dependent" i.e. NOT primary applicant. But you should confirm further.

The documents needed would mainly include your details i.e. your work permit, job and salary details. Also proofs of your relationship i.e. marriage certificate etc., her educational history and any ties back home property and stuff. However, if she is not working and does not have property it shouldn't count against that though since you are also on a temp work permit and there is no other way to bring her along. So chances are quite good for a successful case. Attaching any educational evidence, bank statements, past employment etc. might help.

hyousafi said:
Hello,

I am planning to apply OWP for my wife.

I have a Post Grad Work Permit (open), and currently working as Contractor but my job title is IT Consultant (NOC A).

Is It possible to get a OWP for my wife on current job status.

If it's possible:

Does my wife need to apply for TRV and OWP both as she is currently outside Canada?

What documents do I need to attach with her application?

Will she be a primary applicant?

Does she need to show ties back home as she is presently not working?

I would really appreciate your reply.

Thanks
 

hyousafi

Newbie
Oct 26, 2013
8
0
fkl said:
Yes, since you are working on full time basis on a skilled job (NOC 0, A or B), you are eligible to apply for spousal open work permit.

An open work permit application uses the same forms as a work permit applicant i.e. work permit form, family information form and Schedule 1 form. This already implicitly means she is applying for a trv along and you don't need to apply separately for trv.

If successful, her visa would be stamped with a trv and she would receive a "letter of introduction" which is kind of approval from embassy for owp. The actual owp will be issued at the port of entry.

I am not sure if she would be primary applicant or not in this case. Generally i have seen people applying together (myself included) where i am primary applicant and family are dependents. In your case since you are not applying currently but she is still your dependent and applying on the basis of your job, i suspect she should still chose "dependent" i.e. NOT primary applicant. But you should confirm further.

The documents needed would mainly include your details i.e. your work permit, job and salary details. Also proofs of your relationship i.e. marriage certificate etc., her educational history and any ties back home property and stuff. However, if she is not working and does not have property it shouldn't count against that though since you are also on a temp work permit and there is no other way to bring her along. So chances are quite good for a successful case. Attaching any educational evidence, bank statements, past employment etc. might help.
Thanks for the detailed answers.

One more question:

I have checked "Family Information" form, and it's asking for type of application with the following options:

Visitor
Worker
Student
Other

Will I select Worker or Other for my wife application?

Again, thanks for the details.
 

fkl

VIP Member
Apr 25, 2013
3,351
218
Canada
Visa Office......
Inland / Previously Pak
NOC Code......
2173/4
hyousafi said:
Thanks for the detailed answers.

One more question:

I have checked "Family Information" form, and it's asking for type of application with the following options:

Visitor
Worker
Student
Other

Will I select Worker or Other for my wife application?

Again, thanks for the details.
You are welcome. Yes you would chose "Worker" for your spouse assuming you are applying for open work permit for her.
 

hyousafi

Newbie
Oct 26, 2013
8
0
fkl said:
You are welcome. Yes you would chose "Worker" for your spouse assuming you are applying for open work permit for her.
Hi,
Can you please confirm me if she needs to submit the police certificate with OWP application?

Thanks
 

fkl

VIP Member
Apr 25, 2013
3,351
218
Canada
Visa Office......
Inland / Previously Pak
NOC Code......
2173/4
hyousafi said:
Hi,
Can you please confirm me if she needs to submit the police certificate with OWP application?

Thanks
Yeah, she does.
 

star101

Newbie
Jan 25, 2014
7
0
Hi,
I am a full time international student in Canada and wanna apply for owp for my spouse, incase of online application (Country Pakistan) the document check-list that comes up is as under.

1. Application for Work Permit Made Outside of Canada
2. Request for Medical Exam
3. Passport or Travel document
4. Digital Photo
5. Proof of Relationship

Optional:
1. Schedule 1 - Application for a Temporary Resident Visa Made Outside Canada

2. add letter of explanation????????????????

Now my question is,
Is this checklist enough to support that owp application?, as I see here on subject discussion folks are talking about some additional supporting documents such as (educational, police certificate, bank statement, home ties etc) ?

should we go for online application OR a paper based ? as paper based application has a comprehensive checklist if I am not wrong :/

If any one has applied via online please share your experience / checklist ?

Thanks!!!
 

subtain

Hero Member
Aug 12, 2013
388
32
Montreal, Canada
star101 said:
Hi,
I am a full time international student in Canada and wanna apply for owp for my spouse, incase of online application (Country Pakistan) the document check-list that comes up is as under.

1. Application for Work Permit Made Outside of Canada
2. Request for Medical Exam
3. Passport or Travel document
4. Digital Photo
5. Proof of Relationship

Optional:
1. Schedule 1 - Application for a Temporary Resident Visa Made Outside Canada

2. add letter of explanation????????????????

Now my question is,
Is this checklist enough to support that owp application?, as I see here on subject discussion folks are talking about some additional supporting documents such as (educational, police certificate, bank statement, home ties etc) ?

should we go for online application OR a paper based ? as paper based application has a comprehensive checklist if I am not wrong :/

If any one has applied via online please share your experience / checklist ?

Thanks!!!
Hey did u get the answers? I am in a similar situation and I need advice. Thanks
 

fkl

VIP Member
Apr 25, 2013
3,351
218
Canada
Visa Office......
Inland / Previously Pak
NOC Code......
2173/4
You guys should apply online adding all the documents that are mentioned in the paper application as well.

Where you do not have enough space to upload, assemble those all into a single pdf, with a cover page listing what documents are included for what purpose.

Additional docs always help. The minimum checklist for online application is not enough, plain and simple
 

Akhiabhinav

Newbie
Nov 7, 2014
1
0
I am a full time student in McGill university, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I completed my 3rd year of PhD in August 2014. My student visa will expire by August 31, 2015 and i plan to finish my PhD by that date. I came to India on Sept 26th for my wedding. I got married and i wish to invite my wife to stay with me in Montreal, Canada on a visitors visa for 6 months, starting from January 1st. I was feeling very lonely staying in Canada and it would be depressing if i will not be able to take my wife to Canada to stay with me. As i mentioned, I will be completing my PhD after 2 months of her return (in June 2015) to India and do not intend to stay back in Canada. I understand that the spouse of a full time student in Canada can apply for visitors visa for maximum 6 months or an open work permit. But since my student visa will expire by August 31st 2015, i do not know if the open work permit application will be accepted. So we applied for a visitors visa for her last week but it got rejected. The Canadian visa office cited the following points.
1) insufficient funds ( although we submitted liquid cash of 46,000 CAD plus my ( husband) present bank deposit of 5500 CAD plus proof of fellowship amounts i will be receiving in 2014-15.
2) In sufficient proof that she will return back to India at the end of visa period.
3) purpose of visit

We are planning to reapply. I will provide a solid invitation letter for her. We can easily cover the financial part showing much higher amount of assets, property, liquid cash etc from our side. This was a negligence from our side during the first application. but the challenging part is the 2nd and 3rd points, especially 2nd. We got her passport back with the rejection letter. However no visa rejection has been stamped in her passport. She had a job in India but she had to resign as it was a private company and there was no provision for extended leave.

Can anyone please suggest what would be the best option for her visa application? What can be cited as the best reasons she will return back to India and reasons for her visit to Canada in our situation? Thanks.
 

subtain

Hero Member
Aug 12, 2013
388
32
Montreal, Canada
Hey guys,

I am currently working and am on a post graduate work permit and we have received AOR for our immigration.
My wife is last year under grad student. Will they issue her work permit as my dependent, knowing she is still a student?

Thanks,

- Subtain
 

fkl

VIP Member
Apr 25, 2013
3,351
218
Canada
Visa Office......
Inland / Previously Pak
NOC Code......
2173/4
subtain said:
Hey guys,

I am currently working and am on a post graduate work permit and we have received AOR for our immigration.
My wife is last year under grad student. Will they issue her work permit as my dependent, knowing she is still a student?

Thanks,

- Subtain
Don't know - Spousal qualification of any level is not a requirement for some body who has a skilled job. Assuming you submit enough proof of your job being NOC 0, A or B (it is tricky since your permit does not prove it - so you need a detailed letter from employer showing your full job responsibilities closely matching the NOC you claim to hold), you should not have a problem. But i think if a visa officer raises objection, one would never know.

More importantly, would you be willing to leave her almost finishing degree? I guess a visa officer CAN wonder about the same though.
 

fkl

VIP Member
Apr 25, 2013
3,351
218
Canada
Visa Office......
Inland / Previously Pak
NOC Code......
2173/4
@Akhiabhinav

Sorry to hear about your situation. But you seem to be not knowing a few things clearly.

Firstly, a spouse (or a child) of a student or skilled worker CAN get a trv with much longer visitor record i.e. valid for as long as the principal applicant stays in Canada. I had the choice to apply for that for my spouse, and two of my kids have trvs with longer visitor records - 2+ years (according to validity of my work permit).

Then, amount of cash is not the only factor - Source of its availability often is i.e. when you show a very large amount and not show a good source of getting it, VO might doubt that you actually have it on your disposal. Even if you do, the second concern they often have is that a person have too much money might find it convenient to overstay even illegally.

So basically it is never advised to show too much money than required. You would have been better off showing enough money for a year's expense of you both - plus some more.

Proving her chances of returning to home country is always tricky. If she doesn't own property or stuff but has good qualifications and hold a decent job in home country, showing that serve as a strong tie.

There is no concept of "Invitation letter" for a student or worker. You are not a PR or a citizen who could have the right to invite people. A spouse is a relationship living with whom is a basic requirement. Hence SOWP does not have any invitational letter need as per my understanding (I never submitted for any of my wife or kids).

Purpose of visit is a concern in your case because your degree might be near expiry. Probably you should explain your situation in a cover letter that you recently got married and wish to live together for this period of time in Canada.

Still as a bottom line, i think you should apply and get gcms notes first to see the details of refusal, cover those and then apply.