INLAND Sponsorship Appl. Sent, but Forgot to Include OWP Appl.

[cbstyle87]

Hello. First time poster here.

Long story short, I submitted inland spousal sponsorship application in mid November for my wife. I just realized that I should have included OWP application with it. Of course I haven't paid the OWP application fee of 255? dollars yet, either.

My wife is here under study permit until 2016 July. She has been in Canada since 2011 but she hasn't been in school since 2012. Will she be eligible to apply regardless of her current situation since it is a pilot program "open work permit?"

If I want to send in OWP application filled out, paid, and sent separately at this point, which address do I send my application to? The Mississauga ON case processing center? Or do I send it to Vegreville AB case processing center?

Need some insight..getting a little paranoid at this point. I wonder if there's anyone here who have made similar / same mistake like myself?

Thanks in advance folks.

 

[Aquakitty]

If she hasn't been in school, then her study permit is no longer valid and she's without status, so I don't think the OWP will go through. It's possible they overlook this somehow knowing CIC's confusion. I just hope you didn't misrepresent anything on your application.

 

[scylla]

If she hasn't been in school, then her study permit is no longer valid and she's without status, so I don't think the OWP will go through. It's possible they overlook this somehow knowing CIC's confusion. I just hope you didn't misrepresent anything on your application.

Agreed. Your wife has no status in Canada and consequently doesn't qualify for the Open Work Permit pilot. The earliest she'll qualify for an open work permit is once the application has first stage approval/AIP at around the 17 month mark.

 

[Ponga]

The rules changed on June 1, 2014 that require a person that is holding a valid study permit to continue their studies:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/study-changes.asp

It looks like she has been out of status for about 18 months now.

Being in Canada without status, even with an Inland application submitted, is not a good place to be. She needs to do everything she can to NOT attract attention to herself. Even something as seemingly harmless as a routine traffic stop, or police road block, could open up a Pandora's box.

*Edit*

Since she cannot restore her status, nor qualify for an OWP for another ~ 17 months, you might consider withdrawing the Inland application and submitting an Outland application instead. This way, if she is removed from Canada, the application would continue to be processed. It's also possible that the processing time will be shorter than the estimated 28 months (total) for Inland, depending on where her country of origin is, of course.

Good luck!

 

[cbstyle87]

Thank you for all your replies and concerns.


As for her study permit not being valid anymore, I did my research prior to considering inland application and fortunately found out that she is exempt from this new regulation that kicked in June, 2014 because her study permit was renewed "prior to" the new regulation.

I will quote the paragraph in regards to this from the cic archive website for others who are looking for similar information.

(Under the Archive titled "Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations")

Transitional provisions

Those foreign nationals whose application for a study permit was received prior to the coming-into-force date of these Regulations will not be subject to the new condition of paragraph 220.1(1)(a) to be enrolled at a designated learning institution for the duration of their study permit, or in respect of its renewal, for the remainder of their study permit, or until the date that is three years after the day on which the Regulations come into force, whichever comes first. The application for such a study permit and its renewal would also be assessed under the criteria that were in effect prior to the coming into force of the Regulations. Additionally, those foreign nationals whose application for a co-op work permit was received prior to the coming-into-force date of the Regulations will not be subject to the requirement to be enrolled in an academic, vocational or professional training program offered by a designated learning institution in order to receive such a work permit. Students are expected to be actively pursuing their studies regardless of whether or not their study permit was issued before or after the coming into force of the Regulations, and enforcement action for failure to do so is available to officers. Students whose educational institution loses its designation status after the issuance of their study permits will be permitted to continue their studies there, if they wish to do so, until the end of the validity period of their study permit without being subject to any enforcement action.

Therefore, she still has valid temporary residence status until the expiry of her renewed study permit. Which makes sense because when we requested CIC to verify the current status of her study permit, we got the permit sent in letter stating that it was still valid.



Going back to the topic and basically self-answer my original question, I've contacted CIC and the call centre agent (yes, I actually made it through the line without any wait because I called at 8AM EST sharp at the clock on Friday...lol). The verdict was to send in the OWP application separately to Vegreville, AB Case Processing Centre which is:

CPC – Vegreville
WP - Unit 777
6212-55 Avenue
Vegreville, AB
T9C 1X6


So there we have it folks. Thank you for your replies and genuine concerns. I appreciate it a lot.

Hope this thread can help out a person or two in the future.
Cheers

 

[scylla]

That's good to hear her study permit extension was approved before the new regulation came into play - in that case she still is in status and yes, you should submit the OWP now.

On a separate note, how much evidence did you provide along with your application to prove your relationship is genuine? Since your wife came to Canada and dropped out of school, this may increase the scrutiny CIC places on your file to ensure your relationship is genuine. If you were already married before she came here on the study permit, then there won't be an issue. If you got married after she arrived on the study permit and after she dropped out of school, there is a chance your application will take longer to process and an interview will be required to prove the relationship is genuine. If you got married after she arrived, I would continue collecting relationship evidence in case an interview is called.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

As for her study permit not being valid anymore, I did my research prior to considering inland application and fortunately found out that she is exempt from this new regulation that kicked in June, 2014 because her study permit was renewed "prior to" the new regulation.

Therefore, she still has valid temporary residence status until the expiry of her renewed study permit. Which makes sense because when we requested CIC to verify the current status of her study permit, we got the permit sent in letter stating that it was still valid.

Incorrect. She is exempt from Regulation 220.1(1)(a) but NOT from Regulation 220.1(1)(b), the regulation regarding the requirement to actively pursue studies. This is actually quoted in the paragraph you yourself quoted.

Students are expected to be actively pursuing their studies regardless of whether or not their study permit was issued before or after the coming into force of the Regulations, and enforcement action for failure to do so is available to officers.

CIC told her that her permit is still valid because they haven't yet discovered that she has violated the terms of her study permit.