Inland PR application for Japanese wife + work permit

[dutchct]

Hi there,

My wife (a Japanese citizen) and I (Canadian citizen) are about to submit our PR application. We are planning to go the inland route.

She is currently on a working holiday visa which expires July 17, 2015. We are planning to use this program to extend or renew her visa before the "approval in principle decision".

One Year Pilot – Issuance of open work permits to applicants for permanent residence under the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class

cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/updates/2014/2014-12-22.asp

Will this work?

 

[dutchct]

Just wanna bump this up again, hoping someone one who knows will see it.

A secondary question. Should we submit the work permit application with the pr application? I fear that the envelope will sit unopened until they get to it.

 

[canadianwoman]

Yes, you send in the work permit application with the inland application.

Applicants from Japan are usually advised to apply outland. She can stay in Canada while waiting. The thinking is that she will get her PR visa outland long before she'd get it inland, and even with the new program, the work permits are not given out right away. The downside of inland is that it can take a long time and she is not supposed to leave Canada during that time.

 

[dutchct]

I think our issue is that if we apply outland it will be more difficult for her to get a work visa in the mean time. Is this correct?

 

[Rob_TO]

I think our issue is that if we apply outland it will be more difficult for her to get a work visa in the mean time. Is this correct?

There are pros and cons to each way.

Inland
Pro is that under new pilot program, if you submit PR + OWP app in Feb she should have OWP sometime in June/July (if CIC sticks to it's 4 months projection).
Con is that she will be waiting 2+ years to get her PR status, during which she is supposed to not leave Canada for any reason.

Outland
Con is that there is no OWP in this case, so once her WHV expires she needs to stop working. She can't work again until she gets PR status.
Pro is that through Manila office she should have her full PR in around 1 year or even quicker. CIC may even process her in CPC-Ottawa. Total time to PR is much quicker vs inland, and she is free to leave/re-enter Canada without fear of it affecting her PR app.

IMO, I would do outland simply due to quicker processing time. But you have to determine for yourself if being able to work beyond July for a few more months is worth the significantly longer wait until actually getting PR.

 

[Kayaker]

Also, you should bear in mind that most Inland applicants are afraid to leave Canada because there is no guarantee of re-entry, and if by any chance she is denied re-entry, her application will be cancelled, without the right of appeal. That could potentially mean 2+ years of not not being able to go on vacation outside Canada, not being able to visit friends and family, missing weddings, funerals, emergencies...

Manila is processing most Japanese citizens' applications in well under a year. My case was done in 7 months, even though we wasted a couple of months because we had to send in additional documents. If waiting a few months without working (after her working holiday visa expires) is not a huge issue and she wants to be able to go to Japan in case of emergencies, she should apply Outland.