Does change in Open Work permit process for Inland application change much?

[julia143]

On the CIC website it says:

"Effective December 22, 2014, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will commence issuing open work permits to certain spouse or common-law partner in Canada class (SCLPC) applicants before the approval in principle decision is made."

Articles regarding this change say that this may sway people to choose Inland over Outland. But this doesn't seem like a large change to me. It seems to just slightly speed up the process for getting an open work permit with Inland application. But does it speed up the Inland application process? And does it change the rule that the applicant is not allowed to leave Canada while the application is being processed?

I am from US and will likely be getting married to my Canadian fiancé in about a month. My impression is that the best option is to apply for PR through my spouse with an Outland application after we get married. I do not want to be restricted from going to the US at any point, as we are planning to hold an additional wedding ceremony there this year.

So, my main question is:
Does anyone have the link to an official source that says I would be restricted from leaving Canada while waiting for an Inland application? If I am not restricted, I might consider applying Inland so that I can get the open work permit.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Rob_TO]

Rules for leaving Canada with an inland app in progress would remain exactly the same. If for any reason you were denied entry back into Canada by CBSA, your inland app would be cancelled and would need to start again from scratch. Majority of US citizens have no problems when entering Canada, but there are always a few who run into issues. Whether to take the risk even if it's small, is up to you.

And I highly doubt this new program will speed up the general inland processing times. If anything it could slow them down as more people start applying inland. You should budget 2 years at least. Plus nobody has actually seen this new pilot program in action yet... so it's anyone's guess how long things will take.

Based on this: "SCLPC applicants whose permanent resident applications are received after December 22, 2014 will have their application for an open work permit processed within four months of receipt of their work permit application.
... it sounds like if they start processing OWP after AOR, that could be 4-6 months to AOR + 4 months to process OWP = 8-10 months from applying until you actually get OWP.

Seeing as many US citizens get PR in around 6 months flat OUTLAND through the CPC-Ottawa office, I would still advise any US citizen to apply OUTLAND.

 

[julia143]

Thank you for clarifying all of that! Very helpful. Yes, Outland still seems best. It looks like your whole process from application to landing was very fast! How did you manage that?

 

[Rob_TO]

Thank you for clarifying all of that! Very helpful. Yes, Outland still seems best. It looks like your whole process from application to landing was very fast! How did you manage that?

Mostly luck, and going through a visa office that no longer exists.

Many US applicants these days are getting through in similar times.

 

[julia143]

Glad it worked out so well for you. Thanks for paying it forward by helping people like me figure things out!