No status in Canada

[WelshDragon]

My wife and I moved to Canada in May of 2010, she is a Canadian and when we got here we planned on filling out the sponsor forms asap!

But it's 2 years later and we've only just submitted out IN CANADA application.

Now we are worried because I have no status in Canada, we were told that I would have to re-enter Canada but would they not see that I had been here for the whole 2 years and deport or refuse me re-entry?

 

[fhj1203]

I'd been out of status too for almost 3 years,but now I'm landed..as long as you file your inland application then after first approval they will ask you if you want to file an open work permit or if you want to study to get a study permit,so i got open work permit (so I can get my MSP back and to have visa while waiting for my PR at that time).

 

[WelshDragon]

I have a police certificate and my last offence (a caution) was in May 2007. It will have been 5 years a couple of days ago. I'm wondering if I still need criminal rehabilitation because of this.

I know going the IN CANADA route is slow and there are no chances to appeal, but we feel like we are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I haven't worked since we got here (luckily my wife has a good job and is able to support us), and my 6 month visa has (obviously) run out.

The thinking is, we'll get the paperwork in so that I can't be deported.

Looking for advice as to what to do really.

 

[Fencesitter]

Do what needs to be done so that you are not in violation of Canadian laws.

I was also without status when I lived in the US...but I returned prior to the 6-month mark and then went back again for another 8 months or so...was able to get a US driver's license, but I didn't work...just studied part-time....never had any trouble...and I hope this doesn't have a negative impact on my sponsorship approval (it was 11 years ago!).

FS

 

[OhCanadiana]

My wife and I moved to Canada in May of 2010, she is a Canadian and when we got here we planned on filling out the sponsor forms asap!

But it's 2 years later and we've only just submitted out IN CANADA application.

Now we are worried because I have no status in Canada, we were told that I would have to re-enter Canada but would they not see that I had been here for the whole 2 years and deport or refuse me re-entry?

You do NOT need to re-enter (and, yes, if you try to re-enter they would very reasonably refuse you re-entry since you clearly aren't intending to be in Canada temporarily so you'd need to stay in Canada for the whole application process so that it isn't considered abandoned).

As a spousal applicant, there is an exception (spousal public policy) to the need to have valid temporary status on the date of the app and the date you receive PR status to be eligible. (see section 5.27 and appendix H of IP-8).

How did you enter Canada? Have you explored restoring and extending your status?



"5.27. Legal temporary resident status in Canada
Under the current Regulations, applicants in this spouse or common-law partner in Canada class
must have a valid temporary resident status on the date of application and on the date they
receive permanent resident status to be eligible to be members of the class.
However, under the spousal policy, applicants who lack status as defined under the public policy
(see “What is lack of status under the public policy” below) may be granted permanent residence
so long as they meet all the other requirements of the class (i.e., they are not inadmissible for
reasons other than “lack of status.”)
However, applicants who do not have temporary resident status and who cannot be granted
positive consideration under the public policy can be removed at any time. Further, the spousal
policy does not change the requirement to seek necessary authorization to visit Canada or to
work or study here.
What is “lack of status” under the public policy?
For the purposes of the current public policy, persons with a “lack of status” refers to those in the
following situations:
• persons who have overstayed a visa, visitor record, work permit, student permit or temporary
resident permit;
• persons who have worked or studied without being authorized to do so as prescribed by the
Act;
• persons who have entered Canada without a visa or other document required by the
Regulations;
• persons who have entered Canada without a valid passport or travel document (provided
valid documents are acquired by the time CIC seeks to grant permanent residence).
• persons who did not present themselves for examination when initially entering Canada but
who did so subsequently.
Lack of status” does not refer to any other inadmissibilities including, but not limited to:
• failure to obtain any required permission to enter Canada after being removed;
• persons who have entered Canada with a fraudulent or improperly obtained passport, travel
document or visa and who have used the document for misrepresentation under IRPA. For
greater certainty, persons will be excluded from being granted permanent residence under
this public policy:
♦ if they used a fraudulent or improperly obtained passport, travel document or visa to gain
entry into Canada; and
♦ if this document was not surrendered or seized upon arrival; and
♦ if the applicant used these fraudulent or improperly obtained documents to acquire
temporary or permanent resident status.
Other cases may be refused for misrepresentation if there is clear evidence of misrepresentation
under IRPA, in accordance with the Department's guidelines.
See Appendix H for the full text of the spousal public policy."

 

[missmymexi]

You are completely eligible to stay here once your application has been sumbitted as there is a provision in the sponsorship aplication that allows you to apply inland even when out of status, but be sure to be very caredful of what you are doing as they can technically deport you even after your application is being processed. Do not work and stay out of trouble and you should be fine Also keep in mind, they will know your status now and where you are, my finance was deported because of pictures of working he posted on facebook, so be careful and know that once you are flagged as being in the country they will be monitoring.

 

[WelshDragon]

You are completely eligible to stay here once your application has been sumbitted as there is a provision in the sponsorship aplication that allows you to apply inland even when out of status, but be sure to be very caredful of what you are doing as they can technically deport you even after your application is being processed. Do not work and stay out of trouble and you should be fine Also keep in mind, they will know your status now and where you are, my finance was deported because of pictures of working he posted on facebook, so be careful and know that once you are flagged as being in the country they will be monitoring.

Thanks for the reply.
I haven't worked since I came here in 2010. So don't think there's anything incriminating posted on any social networking sites.

I mentioned your reply to our lawyer and he has completely ignored it. He didn't even respond to the email. We've forked nearly $3000 out to this guy, and we have nothing to show for it.

 

[missmymexi]

I can tell you what our lawyer said, he said that we could sponsor inland with his illegal status but even with the application in process they can still exercise thier rights to deport, however there needs to be evidence of working, or a crime being committed for this to happen. We ended up doing outbound (even though he technically could have stayed after we won the deportation hearing) because the process is lot quicker. So here we are doing outbound. If I had the choice again, I would have done inbound, I would be much happier to support him during the sponsorship then to be seperated during this process, sure the process is quicker and you dont have the worries of being illegal but I now think that to have the person you love next to you out weighs everything.

Another tid bit, generally they do not check who is leaving, they only check who is coming in. So if you are from a country that you can easily come back from (Visa -exempt), leaving and getting another visa would be a good option, I do know people that have over stayed thier visas by a couple years, went back home for a couple months and re-entered Canada with no problem and we granted another 6 month visitor visa.