International student applying for spousal sponsorship through my wife

[cornelius]

Hi everyone,

I am an international student with a student visa and an off-campus work permit expiring at the end of July 2015. My wife and I got married this year, and we want to apply for spousal sponsorship so that I can get my PR. We have gathered all the documents necessary and are ready to submit our application. However, we are not sure if we are going to apply inland or outland. I have tried reading the different threads but I'm getting more and more confused.
From what I understand, inland generally takes longer and you are not allowed/recommened to leave Canada otherwise I might risk jeopardizing my application. Outland is generally shorter and I will be able to travel out and come back to Canada without jeopardizing my application, but I might need to go to an interview in the country where the visa office is located.

The outland visa office serving my country is located in Pretoria, South Africa.
Looking at the current processing time, I can see the following:
Inland - Step 1 = 11 months - Step 2 = 8 months
Outland (Petroria) - Step 1 = 55 days - Step 2 = 21 months

For me, it looks like the processing time is about the same for inland and outland. In this case, I would prefer to apply outland since I have the flexibility of leaving Canada and coming back without any problem.

So here are my questions:

(1) If I apply outland, am I forced to send the application to the Visa office that serves my home country, ie Pretoria, or can I choose other Visa office?
(2) Looking at the Visa office in the Americas region, I can also see Ottawa-CPC listed. So does that mean that I can also send my outland application to Ottawa instead of Pretoria? Currently I see Ottawa-CPC processing time being 15 months.
If I can send my outland application to Ottawa, this will be much more convenient for me.

Can someone please answer my questions and correct me if I have got any information wrong.
Thanks.

 

[ortom]

The answer is no to both of your questions! Your application will be handled by the visa office responsible for your country of citizenship! Cpc-ottawa is obky for US applicants as far as I know! Regardless of which office you choose, it will be forwarded to the office responsibke for your country!
As far as inland vs ouland! If you are on a post grad work permit, that is not renewable so you would have to leave apart from ur wife until ur outland app is approved! Inland however you can stay here even if your permit expires! Keep in mind that if you send a complete app (including medical and police check) most likely you will get ur application fully approved at tge end of stage one! About 12 months now! However there is no guarantee s.

Hi everyone,

I am an international student with a student visa and an off-campus work permit expiring at the end of July 2015. My wife and I got married this year, and we want to apply for spousal sponsorship so that I can get my PR. We have gathered all the documents necessary and are ready to submit our application. However, we are not sure if we are going to apply inland or outland. I have tried reading the different threads but I'm getting more and more confused.
From what I understand, inland generally takes longer and you are not allowed/recommened to leave Canada otherwise I might risk jeopardizing my application. Outland is generally shorter and I will be able to travel out and come back to Canada without jeopardizing my application, but I might need to go to an interview in the country where the visa office is located.

The outland visa office serving my country is located in Pretoria, South Africa.
Looking at the current processing time, I can see the following:
Inland - Step 1 = 11 months - Step 2 = 8 months
Outland (Petroria) - Step 1 = 55 days - Step 2 = 21 months

For me, it looks like the processing time is about the same for inland and outland. In this case, I would prefer to apply outland since I have the flexibility of leaving Canada and coming back without any problem.

So here are my questions:

(1) If I apply outland, am I forced to send the application to the Visa office that serves my home country, ie Pretoria, or can I choose other Visa office?
(2) Looking at the Visa office in the Americas region, I can also see Ottawa-CPC listed. So does that mean that I can also send my outland application to Ottawa instead of Pretoria? Currently I see Ottawa-CPC processing time being 15 months.
If I can send my outland application to Ottawa, this will be much more convenient for me.

Can someone please answer my questions and correct me if I have got any information wrong.
Thanks.

 

[rhcohen2014]

As far as inland vs ouland! If you are on a post grad work permit, that is not renewable so you would have to leave apart from ur wife until ur outland app is approved!

no this is not true. An outland applicant can certainly be IN canada on a post grad work permit while their application is processing. If his permit expires during the process, he can EXTEND his stay as a VISITOR and be IN canada for the entire process! He would not be able to work until his pr is approved. It is easy to do, and extensions are rarely denied for PR applicants. He does not need to apply inland, unless it makes sense timewise.

As for the original poster. CIC will send the application where it sees fit based on their protocols. For the most part, applicants get processed in the visa office of their home country. There ARE situations where the files get transferred elsewhere, and there is no explanation. The bottom line, it really doesn't matter where you want it to go, it will get sent based on CIC's recommendation.

I would also recommend finding the thread for the Pretoria visa office to see what the "trend" is for the process. The statistics posted on the CIC website is not an "average", and it's based on stats from last year. Some visa offices have sped up since then, so an outland application from Pretoria may not take as long as you think it does... double check the stats before making the decision to apply inland.

 

[ortom]

The chances of getting a visitor visa after a post grad permit are very slim!
As far as the offices, I choose cpc-ottawa bcs I thought they processed inland! My app was sent to vegreville where they processed inland before!
Thr only times giles gey riderected to a diff office is when yhere is a reason for it! For example complicated us cases are sent to L.A rather than ottawa.

no this is not true. An outland applicant can certainly be IN canada on a post grad work permit while their application is processing. If his permit expires during the process, he can EXTEND his stay as a VISITOR and be IN canada for the entire process! He would not be able to work until his pr is approved. It is easy to do, and extensions are rarely denied for PR applicants. He does not need to apply inland, unless it makes sense timewise.

As for the original poster. CIC will send the application where it sees fit based on their protocols. For the most part, applicants get processed in the visa office of their home country. There ARE situations where the files get transferred elsewhere, and there is no explanation. The bottom line, it really doesn't matter where you want it to go, it will get sent based on CIC's recommendation.

I would also recommend finding the thread for the Pretoria visa office to see what the "trend" is for the process. The statistics posted on the CIC website is not an "average", and it's based on stats from last year. Some visa offices have sped up since then, so an outland application from Pretoria may not take as long as you think it does... double check the stats before making the decision to apply inland.

 

[cornelius]

Thanks for the quick and helpful answers. I always get confused with CIC website and I have a few more questions.

no this is not true. An outland applicant can certainly be IN canada on a post grad work permit while their application is processing. If his permit expires during the process, he can EXTEND his stay as a VISITOR and be IN canada for the entire process! He would not be able to work until his pr is approved. It is easy to do, and extensions are rarely denied for PR applicants. He does not need to apply inland, unless it makes sense timewise.

I'm not on a post graduate work permit yet but I do have an off-campus work permit. I will be graduating in June 2015 and will apply for a post-graduate work permit while my application for a PR is be processed. I should be able to get a post-graduate work permit while the PR is being processed, correct?

As for the original poster. CIC will send the application where it sees fit based on their protocols. For the most part, applicants get processed in the visa office of their home country. There ARE situations where the files get transferred elsewhere, and there is no explanation. The bottom line, it really doesn't matter where you want it to go, it will get sent based on CIC's recommendation.

(1) So, from what I have read is that in my application where it asks which visa office I want my application to be processed at, I need to put in Pretoria in order for it to be considered as an outland application, correct?
(2) However, you just mentioned that there are situations where the files get transferred elsewhere. Let's say hypothetically that I put Pretoria as my visa office and somehow the files get transferred and processed in Canada, does this still technically count as an outland application? How can I be 100% sure that my application is considered outland?? I need to travel outside of Canada and I need to make sure that I am considered an outland applicant.

I would also recommend finding the thread for the Pretoria visa office to see what the "trend" is for the process. The statistics posted on the CIC website is not an "average", and it's based on stats from last year. Some visa offices have sped up since then, so an outland application from Pretoria may not take as long as you think it does... double check the stats before making the decision to apply inland.

I will check the Pretoria trend from this forum. I always thought that the CIC website gave an average time. That's good to know.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

1. I should be able to get a post-graduate work permit while the PR is being processed, correct?

2. So, from what I have read is that in my application where it asks which visa office I want my application to be processed at, I need to put in Pretoria in order for it to be considered as an outland application, correct?

3. However, you just mentioned that there are situations where the files get transferred elsewhere. Let's say hypothetically that I put Pretoria as my visa office and somehow the files get transferred and processed in Canada, does this still technically count as an outland application?

4. How can I be 100% sure that my application is considered outland?? I need to travel outside of Canada and I need to make sure that I am considered an outland applicant.

5. I will check the Pretoria trend from this forum. I always thought that the CIC website gave an average time. That's good to know.

1. The PGWP and the PR apps are completely independent of each other. Neither app will have any effect on the other.

2. You need to fill out the outland application package. Inland and outland are different applications, with some different forms, different guides, different requirements.

Inland: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/spouse.asp
Outland: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

3. Apps are very rarely transferred and there is very little chance that your app will go anywhere but Pretoria. If you fill out the outland app, your app will always be outland, regardless.

4. As I said, fill out the outland app package.

5. Average time for Pretoria is about 8 months.

 

[rhcohen2014]

(2) However, you just mentioned that there are situations where the files get transferred elsewhere. Let's say hypothetically that I put Pretoria as my visa office and somehow the files get transferred and processed in Canada, does this still technically count as an outland application? How can I be 100% sure that my application is considered outland?? I need to travel outside of Canada and I need to make sure that I am considered an outland applicant.

Ottawa processes outland applications. Though it's IN canada, it is seen as an "oversees" visa office. If you were to apply inland your app would go to Vegreville. As canuck said, there are different applications for both, so CIC won't get confused as to whether it is outland or inland based on what visa office you write.

you can put pretoria or otttawa. Again, more likely than not, your file will be sent to pretoria because that is where you are from. While it is rare, a few recent applicants have had their applications sent to ottawa for reasons they can't figure out. So it DOES happen on occassion. Just don't count on it. CIC will send the application based on where THEY see fit, so you really won't know until you receive sponsorship approval and they tell you where it will go.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

If you were to apply inland your app would go to Vegreville.

Slight correction. ALL spousal PR apps, inland and outland, go to Mississauga now. Inland apps remain in Mississagua while outland apps are transferred to the appropriate overseas VO.