IEC Visa Expires Oct 2nd. Cannot return to Australia due boarder restrictions. What do I do?!?!?!

[stronpants]

Hi,

I'm at the tail end of an IEC visa which expires October 2nd. Living with my Canadian citizen girlfriend and her family. At the moment Australia is only allowing approximately 1,800 people to enter the country per week & flight prices are around $24,000 for 2 people one-way. There is a high likelihood that even if we could justify spending that extortion level amount on a single flight that it would be cancelled anyway and we'd then have to wait up to 6 months to get a refund. Needless to say that is not a transaction we can afford to make over and over again. We tried booking flights in June but they were cancelled after only a few days & we have not received our refund.

SO! I applied for a visitor visa in July, well before my current visa expires. Hoping to buy ourselves more time for the situation in Australia to settle down and for the government to allow more of its own citizens to return home.

My questions are:
1. What is the likelihood that my visitor visa will be approved so that I can stay for potentially a few more months after my IEC visa expires?

2. What on earth am I supposed to do if my visitor visa is denied but my own country won't allow us to enter? I don't want to ruin my status in Canada as my partner and I need to be able to visit regularly in the future to see her family...

Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Scott

 

[scylla]

Hi,

I'm at the tail end of an IEC visa which expires October 2nd. Living with my Canadian citizen girlfriend and her family. At the moment Australia is only allowing approximately 1,800 people to enter the country per week & flight prices are around $24,000 for 2 people one-way. There is a high likelihood that even if we could justify spending that extortion level amount on a single flight that it would be cancelled anyway and we'd then have to wait up to 6 months to get a refund. Needless to say that is not a transaction we can afford to make over and over again. We tried booking flights in June but they were cancelled after only a few days & we have not received our refund.

SO! I applied for a visitor visa in July, well before my current visa expires. Hoping to buy ourselves more time for the situation in Australia to settle down and for the government to allow more of its own citizens to return home.

My questions are:
1. What is the likelihood that my visitor visa will be approved so that I can stay for potentially a few more months after my IEC visa expires?

2. What on earth am I supposed to do if my visitor visa is denied but my own country won't allow us to enter? I don't want to ruin my status in Canada as my partner and I need to be able to visit regularly in the future to see her family...

Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Scott

1. There's a very high likelihood of approval. Just make sure IRCC receives the application to change your status to visitor before the IEC expires.
2. Again, chances of refusal are very low. If for some reason the application is refused, then you can apply to restore your status and remain in Canada.

 

[stronpants]

1. There's a very high likelihood of approval. Just make sure IRCC receives the application to change your status to visitor before the IEC expires.
2. Again, chances of refusal are very low. If for some reason the application is refused, then you can apply to restore your status and remain in Canada.

Thanks so much for the response! This has given me hope. Much appreciated.

If I may, I don't suppose you know whether I am able to stay in the country beyond the expiry of my IEC visa if I don't hear back about my Visitor visa before the IEC visa expires? Like, does it work the same way with Visitor visas as with permanent residency etc where if my application is still being processed I can stay in Canada until I get an answer?

Thanks so much.

 

[scylla]

Thanks so much for the response! This has given me hope. Much appreciated.

If I may, I don't suppose you know whether I am able to stay in the country beyond the expiry of my IEC visa if I don't hear back about my Visitor visa before the IEC visa expires? Like, does it work the same way with Visitor visas as with permanent residency etc where if my application is still being processed I can stay in Canada until I get an answer?

Thanks so much.

Yes, it works the same way. You will have implied status and will be able to stay in Canada (of course you'll need to stop working as soon as the IEC expires).