Open work visa - how long to obtain when applying with sponsorship application?

[Sonku]

Hi there,

I recently got married and will be sponsoring my husband from INSIDE Canada. At the same time as we are submitting our sponsorship application we will be applying for a open work visa for my husband. We were told from our lawyer that once the sponsorship application goes through the first phase and is approved (6 month process) that he will then be granted a work visa while we wait for his PR to be approved fully.

This sounds great, but I had a friend go through this a few years ago (although they initially applied as common-law and then got married and submitted their marriage certificate later) and her husband got his PR and work visa within a week of each other, after about a year and a half of waiting - so clearly more than 6 months. My friend did tell me that though that her husband got both soon after they submitted their marriage certificate, so she still wonders if that made the difference.

As a result, I thought I'd come on here and see what other peoples experiences have been. Have people gotten their OWP fairly quickly when applying for it at the same time as their sponsorship applicaton, or do you find it comes around the same time as the PR (which I feel is a bit dumb considering you don't really need the work visa after you get the PR).

Thanks for sharing your experiences in advance!

 

[Sweden]

CIC is not known for its consistency, and there are multiple factors that can impact an application. So - it is possible that your friend case took longer than expected, and also - processing time vary during the year. So - there is no guarantee that things will happen the way they are written for now!

that being said - if you apply inland, and include an OWP with your application, the OWP will be granted after the first stage, which is currently at 6 months. So after 6 months, you should get the first stage approval and the OWP. THen there is on average another 8 months currently for inland before the PR is granted.

Of course - if you have a complicated case, or some documents are missing when you send your application, etc. etc. there is always a risk that it will take a bit longer. However, you can't really prepare for that. So : prepare your application the best you can, make sure that you include all the documents requested on the checklist, and hope for the best.

Good luck,
Sweden

 

[Sonku]

Thank you Sweden. We're really hoping it will be only a 6 month wait. Fingers crossed!