International student in Canada wants to bring his spouse and children

[emamabd]

Hi all,

Asking on behalf of a friend,
He's currently studying at a college in Ontario and his studies will complete in August, after which he intends to apply for a work permit (his college program qualifies for a 1 year work permit)

He wants to bring his dependent family members (wife and kids) to stay with him in Canada, and isn't sure what's the best way to go, can he apply also for a work permit for his spouse? Or is the only option is to bring her & the kids on a visit visa? Can he apply on their behalf here in Canada or do they have to visit the Canadian embassy in their current country of residence.

If anyone has gone through this before, please share your experience and advice..

 

[selvakk]

Hi all,

Asking on behalf of a friend,
He's currently studying at a college in Ontario and his studies will complete in August, after which he intends to apply for a work permit (his college program qualifies for a 1 year work permit)

He wants to bring his dependent family members (wife and kids) to stay with him in Canada, and isn't sure what's the best way to go, can he apply also for a work permit for his spouse? Or is the only option is to bring her & the kids on a visit visa? Can he apply on their behalf here in Canada or do they have to visit the Canadian embassy in their current country of residence.

If anyone has gone through this before, please share your experience and advice..

I would suggest your friend get a longer work permit/PR before deciding to bring his family over for a long term. It will be a long process to relocate the family and apply for the relevant visas. His spouse can apply for a Spouse open work permit and bring along their children. Her permit will be based on the length of his permit.

If he is interested in bringing them for a vacation or for a short duration, then they will have to apply for a visit visa from their home country. He can write a letter of invitation for them, that will help them but it will not guarantee a visa. They must be able to fund the visit, the amount will depend on the primary applicant (his spouse) and the number of dependants going( his children)

 

[emamabd]

I would suggest your friend get a longer work permit/PR before deciding to bring his family over for a long term.

Is it possible to extend a post graduation work permit? i.e. by default its granted for the same period as his studies (in his case its 1 year)

Noting that although he's currently studying a college certificate program in Canada, he does have an MSc degree from a UK university and about 10+ years work experience outside Canada - in globally well known IT multinational companies....so he's hoping to be able to find employment quickly once the work permit is issued.

As for the additional costs to support the family, its not an issue - his financials are in good state and can cope with the living costs.

 

[scylla]

Is it possible to extend a post graduation work permit? i.e. by default its granted for the same period as his studies (in his case its 1 year)

Noting that although he's currently studying a college certificate program in Canada, he does have an MSc degree from a UK university and about 10+ years work experience outside Canada - in globally well known IT multinational companies....so he's hoping to be able to find employment quickly once the work permit is issued.

As for the additional costs to support the family, its not an issue - his financials are in good state and can cope with the living costs.

He would need to get a job offer and approved LMIA from an employer in order switch to a closed work permit (PGWPs cannot be extended). Generally speaking, it's extremely difficult to find employers willing to go through the LMIA process.

 

[selvakk]

Is it possible to extend a post graduation work permit? i.e. by default its granted for the same period as his studies (in his case its 1 year)

Noting that although he's currently studying a college certificate program in Canada, he does have an MSc degree from a UK university and about 10+ years work experience outside Canada - in globally well known IT multinational companies....so he's hoping to be able to find employment quickly once the work permit is issued.

As for the additional costs to support the family, its not an issue - his financials are in good state and can cope with the living costs.

The PGWP (post graduate work permit) that he will get cannot be extended. It is valid only for the duration of studies.

I would suggest that he waits till he gets a closed work permit from his employer or he applies for PR during his 1 year open work permit.

The closed work permit will be for 3 years. That is enough length to ensure that they can settle, and he can apply for PR if he wants to.

For a short visit, as long as they have the required funds, it should not be an issue to get a visit visa.

 

[indopino]

As the above context seems to be my current dilemma, I would like to seek our forum members most relevant opinion to my situation -

Wife has been on a student visa since January 2019 (doing a 1 year full-time course from a DLI college in Toronto). I joined her with the kids on a visitor visa in September 2019. All our visas expire on 30th march 2020 (wife's student visa, kids and my visitor visa)

Kids are attending school (grade 1 and 6)
I have applied for my open work permit (based on my wife's status as an international student) as of September 2019. Awaiting decision.

Do we change the visa status of our kids to student visa or do we just apply for visa extension(visitor record)?
Do I apply for an extension to my open work permit along with my wife when she applies for the PGWP?
How soon should we start her PGWP (course transcripts will be available by 1st week of January 2020)?

There are so many things to be done simultaneously that I'm not sure which is the best approach or which is the first and last thing that needs to be done.

Would really appreciate some insights to the process and any other inputs from member who have gone through a similar experience.