+1(514) 937-9445 or Toll-free (Canada & US) +1 (888) 947-9445

Canadian101

Member
Aug 10, 2012
19
0
Anyone with experience please help....I am in total shock I'm in process of sponsoring my husband we did Outland application first stage is approved and he is in Canada on a visitor visa valid until 2016 we applied for a open work permit but they said they refused the application and that he has no legal status in Canada and has to leave immediately......what does that mean why is he illegal if we have a valid visa
 
Canadian101 said:
Anyone with experience please help....I am in total shock I'm in process of sponsoring my husband we did Outland application first stage is approved and he is in Canada on a visitor visa valid until 2016 we applied for a open work permit but they said they refused the application and that he has no legal status in Canada and has to leave immediately......what does that mean why is he illegal if we have a valid visa

Hi there. I am sure other members will comment and possibly offer you assistance but if you don't mind me asking. I thought a trv can only allow someone to stay temporarily in Canada for the purpose of tourism, visiting family or business trips. And I also think it is only valid for six months at a time ( of course with the option to extend it). Your husband has applied for trv extension as well this is why you mentioned that he can stay till 2016?

messenger
 
Hi from whatI understand a visitor visa is only valid for six months. If he has not received a work permit he does not have any legal status in Canada other than as a visitor, which is only good for six months. I would advise you to comply with CIC and have him return home until he receives a work permit from CIC.
 
Canadian101 said:
Anyone with experience please help....I am in total shock I'm in process of sponsoring my husband we did Outland application first stage is approved and he is in Canada on a visitor visa valid until 2016 we applied for a open work permit but they said they refused the application and that he has no legal status in Canada and has to leave immediately......what does that mean why is he illegal if we have a valid visa

If you applied outland, there is no work permit associated with stage 1 - that's only for Inland applications. That's why your husband work permit was denied.
Most people that apply inland get implied status from asking for a work permit and being granted one at the end of stage 1 (6 months usually).
So he doesn't have implied status, and if he didn't have any other status, he would have to leave Canada.
If he has a valid visitor visa, then it should be OK to stay under the visitor visa - but make sure you maintain his legal status.
Sweden
 
What others have said. Just because the TRV is valid to 2016 doesn't mean this is how long he can stay. He is only allowed to stay six months at a time. After that, he must either leave or apply for an extension. When did he enter Canada?

Since you applied outland, your husband doesn't qualify for an open work permit. Open work permits are only available for inland applicants.
 
Thanks everyone for the replies I wasn't aware that he had to leave after 6 months cuz he has a multi entry visa valid until 2016 he's been here since December but he left Canada for about a week last month and returned ok...no one asked him anything...this is so hard cuz I got 2 littles ones and we have made commitments here I dunno what to do...we applied for a work permit through a lawyer I don't know who to turn to, will they consider re assessing or he actually has to leave
 
A multiple-entry visa allows you to enter Canada more than once for the duration of your visa. However visits are still limited to six months.

What were the actual words in the letter you received? Can you post them here?
 
Your application is refused you are not a person described in immigration legislation who can apply for this type of document from within Canada it must be made at a Canadian visa office in another country
You are a person in Canada with out legal status and as such are required to leave Canada immediately if you do not leave voluntarily enforcement action may be taken against you.

I am so confused about the second part I knew we had a chance that it would get refused cuz he's inside but I never thought to get that kind of response and be told he has to leave...
 
It was 100% certain the open work permit was going to be refused since you applied outland. It doesn't matter where your husband physically is. What matter is if you applied for PR using the inland or outland process. Since you applied outland, your husband doesn't qualify for an open work permit.

The letter gives very clear instructions. At this point I don't think your husband has any choice but to leave Canada and hope to be allowed to re-enter at a later date.
 
Canadian101 said:
Thanks everyone for the replies I wasn't aware that he had to leave after 6 months cuz he has a multi entry visa valid until 2016 he's been here since December but he left Canada for about a week last month and returned ok...no one asked him anything...this is so hard cuz I got 2 littles ones and we have made commitments here I dunno what to do...we applied for a work permit through a lawyer I don't know who to turn to, will they consider re assessing or he actually has to leave

That's horrible, horrible advice from a lawyer. They should know better.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/representative/complaints.asp
 
He's re-enterd Canada about a month ago does that mean he has 5 months before he needs to leave.?. And if cic is saying he has no legal status and needs to leave immediately his initial 6 months is not even up yet so I don't understand why he needs to leave immediatley? Would this not have been an issue if we didn't apply for this work permit?
 
Canadian101 said:
He's re-enterd Canada about a month ago does that mean he has 5 months before he needs to leave.?. And if cic is saying he has no legal status and needs to leave immediately his initial 6 months is not even up yet so I don't understand why he needs to leave immediatley? Would this not have been an issue if we didn't apply for this work permit?

Sometimes the right hand doesn't talk to the left hand, so the refusal came from WP point of view? and the entry/exit goes via the stamp so if he entered Canada a month ago, and if they stamped a date then its six months from that date, if not then its form the last entry date
Why don't you call CIC and clarify it anyway
 
Look at the TRV in his passport. It is a multiple-entry visa valid until 2016, right? However, this does not usually mean he can stay until 2016. Usually this type of visa means he can enter Canada however many times he wants (unless a number is specified on the visa), but can only stay in a Canada for a certain number of days for each visit.

For example, my husband had a 5-year multiple entry visa for Taiwan, but each time he came to Taiwan he could only stay for 2 months. So he would leave every two months, stay in Hong Kong or Macau for a few days, then reenter Taiwan.

Probably your husband is allowed to stay in Canada for 6 months each visit (though check - it should say this somewhere on the visa). So when he reentered Canada a month ago the clock should have been reset.

I think what happened is that the people processing the work permit did not look at his TRV, and told you he has to leave based on the refused work permit. Based on the still-valid TRV, he does not have to leave - provided the TRV is still valid.
 
You need to apply for an extension on his visa. Same forms as a regular visa. If you're saying he has been here for 4-5 months than now is the time to apply, as his visitor status needs to be valid (I do not know for how long though) in order to apply for an extension of the visa. The only down side is that the processing times are very long, about 100 days last time I checked, however he would have implied status in the meantime. You could go to the cic website and under the visitor section will be able to find more information about the visa extension. Or he could just leave and come back when his PR is approved, you wouldn't want to jeopardize his PR. Best of luck.

PS:Your lawyer should have known better.