Inland Spouse Sponsorship out of status situation...

[stephy108]

My mom applied for PR under the spouse sponsorship through my dad in March 2015. We are at the point where police check, medical check, fingerprints, right of PR fee have all been done. Then we realized that she has be "out of status" since Aug 2015, since she used her passport to enter Canada as a visitor. We did not apply for an open work permit along with the application either.

Recently, we got a letter from CIC saying that she is eligible to get her PR but she needs to have legal status... which in this case she doesn't...

What should we do? Any advice or help would be appreciate for those who have encountered a similar situation :-[

 

[Ponga]

Hmmm...Are you sure she submitted an Inland application? A person can (and often chooses to) submit an Outland application package from within Canada.

I've only seen one other person here who applied without status who received a similar letter, but she submitted an Outland application.

 

[profiler]

I was confused by the letter as well. Inland applications can be processed without status under Public Policy. Did you try contacting CIC to ask them what the options are?

 

[stephy108]

Hmmm...Are you sure she submitted an Inland application? A person can (and often chooses to) submit an Outland application package from within Canada.

I've only seen one other person here who applied without status who received a similar letter, but she submitted an Outland application.

Yeah I am pretty sure it was inland because I actually did all the paperwork for it. So at this point my worry is that her application will be denied because she technically doesn't have a status...

 

[stephy108]

I was confused by the letter as well. Inland applications can be processed without status under Public Policy. Did you try contacting CIC to ask them what the options are?

No I haven't called the CIC about the options yet... are you experiencing the same situation?

 

[profiler]

are you experiencing the same situation?

Not at all. In fact, if you applied inland, they are still supposed to grant a PR under Public Policy. See Inland Processing manual IP-8: http://www.cic.gc.ca/englisH/resources/manuals/ip/ip08-eng.pdf page 31.

 

[Ponga]

The Inland Guide was updated in September of 2014 to now state that legal status is required. The guide has since been updated again and still includes this new language, but...the Public Policy from 2005, that allows an Inland applicant to be approved for PR, providing they have an eligible sponsor, is still in place. That policy should trump anything the guide would now contain.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Recently, we got a letter from CIC saying that she is eligible to get her PR but she needs to have legal status... which in this case she doesn't...

What should we do? Any advice or help would be appreciate for those who have encountered a similar situation :-[

Post the actual letter, removing any personal information.

 

[Ponga]

The other person that I mentioned in my initial reply, had to leave and re-enter Canada to regain legal status. She was lucky.

Your mother may have to do the same, but since you say that she's basically passed the AIP (Approval in Principle) stage, she might be lucky as well.

 

[profiler]

The other person that I mentioned in my initial reply, had to leave and re-enter Canada to regain legal status. She was lucky.

That was my initial thought, but it still seems really weird?

 

[stephy108]

The other person that I mentioned in my initial reply, had to leave and re-enter Canada to regain legal status. She was lucky.

Your mother may have to do the same, but since you say that she's basically passed the AIP (Approval in Principle) stage, she might be lucky as well.

We thought about having her go to the US for a week then come back to regain her legal status, but I guess it could be risky? Would applying for an open work permit at this time help the situation at all? I mean she should have applied for it a long time ago before her visitor status expired...

 

[Ponga]

We thought about having her go to the US for a week then come back to regain her legal status, but I guess it could be risky? Would applying for an open work permit at this time help the situation at all? I mean she should have applied for it a long time ago before her visitor status expired...

You said that the letter indicated that she was now eligible, which is typically what the AIP is, in theory. If she truly has reached the AIP stage she could apply for the OWP, but...it might be a waste of money as it will not restore her status.

Can you post the letter as canuck_in_uk suggested?