The application to extend has to be
received by CPC-Vegreville BEFORE the documented status expires. You also have to include proof of the original status - and some visa-exempt visitors don't get documented status on entry to Canada. I would assume, though, that your daughter-in-law, coming from Greece, would have at least gotten a stamp in her passport that showed her entry date. Her application to extend would have had to include a copy of that passport stamp, would have had to be received by CPC-Vegreville prior to six months past that date, AND would have had to include proof that an application for permanent residence was being (or had been) submitted, as well as proof that her husband has a job and funds to support her in the interim.
Considering the fact that the extension was refused because they said that her status had expired by the time the application was received, maybe there was some problem with them ascertaining when she entered the country. The dates you're talking about don't make sense to me because first you said:
AngieT said:
We had applied for an extension of my daughter-in-laws visitor visa as she had been here for longer than six months and it has been refused.
Or maybe, if you sent it by regular mail on July 27th, it wasn't received by CPC-V by August 3rd. Did you track the mailing and get delivery confirmation?
AngieT said:
August 3rd was the expiration date and we sent it July 27th by Express post as I was told to do by CIC themselves. In their refusal letter they state that her termporary resident status expired on October 20th 2010. I don't understand that date. She is from Greece and does not require a visa to enter Canada.
You're right, there is some misunderstanding with the Oct 20th date because it makes no sense if the extension was received in July and they're saying her status expired on Oct 20th, that's probably a typo.
What you have to get clear about is when she entered the country, what proof she has of that entry date, and the proof you have of when the application was received at CPC-Vegreville. For right now forget about the PR application and all of the "how can they do this to her?" stuff. IF you have proof that she entered the country on such and such date, and that the application to extend her status was received by CPC-Vegreville prior to 6 months later, GO TO YOUR MP and bring this to his/her attention so that they can contact CIC and advocate for you. If the extension application was received AFTER the six months were up - or you didn't include proof of the entry date with the extension application - you've no choice but to apply to restore status. BEFORE you do that, though, you've got to look at the submission of the PR application and how that's going to be affected.
If they were planning to apply via the inland process, they need to be very careful about the timing of this. In my unprofessional opinion, the restoration of status should not be included with the inland PR ap - and I'll tell you why. Because it's won't even be seen by anybody at CIC until 8-9 months after they receive it at CPC-V. And I think it's risky to submit an inland PR ap when there's still question about whether or not temporary status will be granted - if it's perceived that she doesn't have valid temporary status when they start to assess the PR application for first stage approval, they'll transfer it to the local office for processing and that can delay everything by up to two years! If a restoration application is necessary - submit that first and wait for a decision before submitting an inland PR ap. However, your son and daughter-in-law
should pay the PR application fees, and submit a copy of that receipt with the restoration application - to prove that they
are submitting a PR application,
and they should include proof of support and a copy of their marriage licence. If she applies inland and the restoration ap is not approved, she will have to leave - and that means the inland ap is forfeited. That's another reason that I think it's risky to apply inland without first establishing that she has valid temporary status again - whether that's through the restoration process, or through you going to the MP and having them work on your behalf to fix whatever mistake CPC-V may have made in processing the original extension application.
The other option is to submit an outland PR application. Processing of an outland ap is not dependent on where the applicant is staying or whether or not they have valid status there. So the outland application could be processing independent of the whole temporary status issue in Canada - and, if for some reason, the worst happened and the restoration was not approved, the processing of the outland ap would not be affected by her having to leave Canada. They would still need to submit proof of payment of the PR fees with the restoration (or extension) ap. The spousal
processing timeline for Greece, through Rome, is 6-13 months. Processing inland takes 12-18 months . . . 8-9 months just to get to first stage approval and then another 3-9 months or more to finalize - and that's only if issues regarding the temporary status are resolved.
I know it's a lot to think about - but, seriously, get this temporary thing resolved before moving forward on the PR ap - aside from paying the fees to be able to prove they're actually applying.