Thanks. This is what I had thought and I guess you have given a proper answer.You must be in Canada and apply for PR inland to qualify for an open work permit. You cannot apply from India. SOWPs are for situations where the spouse is in Canada on a temporary work permit or international student visa - so this situation doesn't apply to you.
Yes - it's possible you may have issues getting a visitor visa. To be approved, you want to show that you have strong ties to your home country and have no plans on remaining in Canada long term.
But this is the biggest challenge. They mention I have to be in Canada on temporary resident visa and then apply for inland PR and SOWP. If this is the case then there should have been an exception in such cases for visitor visa
