OUTLAND or INLAND? Aussie & Canadian couple of 7 years w/ questions!

[gd_lm]

Hey everyone,

First up - really glad to have found this forum! The shared advice and information has been very helpful, so thanks for that. Just hoping to get some feedback/advice on my current situation, as we want to feel confident we've checked all of our boxes before we send everything off.

Myself (Canadian) and my girlfriend of 7 years (Australian) are finalizing our Family-Class/Spousal PR application. My girlfriend has worked in Canada on 3 separate IEC visas over the past 7 years (save the 2 years we spent together in the UK on YMS visas). She is currently on her final IEC visa, as she turned 31 recenetly. Her current IEC expires on November 26th, 2015.

We have completed our application for PR - including sufficient evidence of our relationship (joint bank accounts, joint credit cards, MSP statements, tenancy agreements/leases, travel itineraries, stat decs from friends and family, and 7 years of photos). Now, we just have to send it off to be processed, but have a few lingering questions...

Q1 Should we apply inland or outland? We did see an immigration adviser last year, who strongly advised outland due to faster processing. Though, we are concerned about how this will affect her situation, should processing take a while, passing the expiry date on her current IEC visa. Even if we applied inland, can she receive 'implied status' or apply for an 'OWP'?

Q2 If we apply outland via Sydney, what happens if processing passes November 26th, and her current IEC visa expires. Is there any recourse here that we can explore to keep her working legally?

Q3 Should she get her medical check done up-front? Someone had advised us to wait until this is requested to ensure it is current, however, it seems most people here included this with the application up front. Thoughts?

Q4 We did not include any emails/letters/personal items, as we felt those are a bit less concrete compared to joint bank statements, leases, etc. Should we include these as well anyway? We do have a collection of notes, letters, emails, that we can include if advisable.

We feel our application should be pretty straight forward - just wanted to get some advice from all of you if we can!

Many thanks,

Greg & Lou

 

[MilesAway]

Outland is your best bet. Sydney is a fast office.

IEC visas do not benefit from implied status, so you cannot continue working if it expires. However, there is an excellent chance that you would be approved already by the time the IEC expires in November.

You could get the employer to apply for an LMIA and get a work permit through the employer, though that is much easier said that done.

It is recommended to do the medicals upfront, since not doing them could cause delays while the VO requests them, then waits for the results to be sent in, and then waiting for the VO to open your file and continue where they left off before requesting the medicals.

If you feel that your proof of good enough, then you could by without them, although it's good to include those personal things, to show a different side of the relationship.

 

[Applechunks]

Hey everyone,

First up - really glad to have found this forum! The shared advice and information has been very helpful, so thanks for that. Just hoping to get some feedback/advice on my current situation, as we want to feel confident we've checked all of our boxes before we send everything off.

Myself (Canadian) and my girlfriend of 7 years (Australian) are finalizing our Family-Class/Spousal PR application. My girlfriend has worked in Canada on 3 separate IEC visas over the past 7 years (save the 2 years we spent together in the UK on YMS visas). She is currently on her final IEC visa, as she turned 31 recenetly. Her current IEC expires on November 26th, 2015.

We have completed our application for PR - including sufficient evidence of our relationship (joint bank accounts, joint credit cards, MSP statements, tenancy agreements/leases, travel itineraries, stat decs from friends and family, and 7 years of photos). Now, we just have to send it off to be processed, but have a few lingering questions...

Q1 Should we apply inland or outland? We did see an immigration adviser last year, who strongly advised outland due to faster processing. Though, we are concerned about how this will affect her situation, should processing take a while, passing the expiry date on her current IEC visa. Even if we applied inland, can she receive 'implied status' or apply for an 'OWP'?

Q2 If we apply outland via Sydney, what happens if processing passes November 26th, and her current IEC visa expires. Is there any recourse here that we can explore to keep her working legally?

Q3 Should she get her medical check done up-front? Someone had advised us to wait until this is requested to ensure it is current, however, it seems most people here included this with the application up front. Thoughts?

Q4 We did not include any emails/letters/personal items, as we felt those are a bit less concrete compared to joint bank statements, leases, etc. Should we include these as well anyway? We do have a collection of notes, letters, emails, that we can include if advisable.

We feel our application should be pretty straight forward - just wanted to get some advice from all of you if we can!

Many thanks,

Greg & Lou

Another situation that we have seen recently with some visa exempt countries is that they are being retained at Mississauga instead of being forwarded to the home visa office.
This has seen a significantly decreased processing time (in one case 45 days, start to finish). There is no guarantee but they seemed to be keeping the "straight forward" cases, many of which included a spouse already living in Canada. I was hoping for mine to be retained but it went to Sydney...
In any case Outland apps for visa exempt countries appears to be the quickest option, even factoring in the OWP pilot with inland apps. Also, the processing times are far less than what is quoted on the CIC website.
In response to number 4, I would include at least a few items of personal correspondence. You don't want the relationship to appear "business like". The last thing you would want is to be called for an interview in Sydney!!
I struggled with this too but just include a sample.

 

[kiwi123]

I went through Sydney recently, total processing time was just over 5 months. Even if they slow down a little you should still be fine.

In regards to proof, you need to include two different types. One is to prove your common law status(shared bank accounts, tenancy agreements etc) and the other is to prove your relationship is genuine(that would be a couple of letters, emails, txt messages etc, flights, photos) But you won't need much just a few of pages worth of various things, 7 years together is much more than many who apply successfully.

 

[gd_lm]

I went through Sydney recently, total processing time was just over 5 months. Even if they slow down a little you should still be fine.

In regards to proof, you need to include two different types. One is to prove your common law status(shared bank accounts, tenancy agreements etc) and the other is to prove your relationship is genuine(that would be a couple of letters, emails, txt messages etc, flights, photos) But you won't need much just a few of pages worth of various things, 7 years together is much more than many who apply successfully.

Thanks Kiwi123!

We've included some 150+ photos over the past 7 years - they show the traveling we've done together, and highlight many family trips and holidays we've spent together, both with my family in Canada, and her's in Australia. We've got 3 years of joint tenancy agreements here in Canada, previous lease agreements from our time living in the UK, joint bank account, joint credit cards, common-law status with the CRA on our taxes, joint MSP invoices, flight itineraries, and more. I'm pretty sure we're air-tight, as far as legitimacy of relationships goes! Might throw in a few letters, emails, etc just to give some more context.

The advice is much appreciated! Thanks!

 

[gd_lm]

Another situation that we have seen recently with some visa exempt countries is that they are being retained at Mississauga instead of being forwarded to the home visa office.
This has seen a significantly decreased processing time (in one case 45 days, start to finish). There is no guarantee but they seemed to be keeping the "straight forward" cases, many of which included a spouse already living in Canada. I was hoping for mine to be retained but it went to Sydney...
In any case Outland apps for visa exempt countries appears to be the quickest option, even factoring in the OWP pilot with inland apps. Also, the processing times are far less than what is quoted on the CIC website.
In response to number 4, I would include at least a few items of personal correspondence. You don't want the relationship to appear "business like". The last thing you would want is to be called for an interview in Sydney!!
I struggled with this too but just include a sample.

Thanks Applechunks! I think our worry is really just tied into the 'what happens if the visa expires before PR is approved'. The new OWP pilot would allow her to apply for an open-permit, even on the IEC program? And we wouldn't have that option should we select 'outland'?

 

[gd_lm]

Outland is your best bet. Sydney is a fast office.

IEC visas do not benefit from implied status, so you cannot continue working if it expires. However, there is an excellent chance that you would be approved already by the time the IEC expires in November.

You could get the employer to apply for an LMIA and get a work permit through the employer, though that is much easier said that done.

It is recommended to do the medicals upfront, since not doing them could cause delays while the VO requests them, then waits for the results to be sent in, and then waiting for the VO to open your file and continue where they left off before requesting the medicals.

If you feel that your proof of good enough, then you could by without them, although it's good to include those personal things, to show a different side of the relationship.

Thanks MilesAway. She's actually getting her medicals done today - so we'll have that out of the way too. I will likely include a few more pieces of evidence - more personal in nature - but I think we're pretty well set.

Bigger concern has been processing time, and what to do if PR is not approved before her current visa runs out. She's got a really great job with lots of growth potential. The employer has been very supportive - but we're just hoping to avoid any challenges, and hope that our application will fly through without any delays!

It's been great connecting with others who understand this process! Thanks again for the advice.

 

[Applechunks]

Thanks Applechunks! I think our worry is really just tied into the 'what happens if the visa expires before PR is approved'. The new OWP pilot would allow her to apply for an open-permit, even on the IEC program? And we wouldn't have that option should we select 'outland'?

There's so many factors to consider, it can make you crazy!!
Your GF definitely wouldn't be able to work during Outland process if IEC runs out. The inland option is very restrictive in that, should she need to leave Canada for any reason and for whatever reason she is denied entry, then the application is ceased and you would have to start again. The other thing is that the OWP pilot is so new that there is not a lot of data. They are saying that it can be granted in 4 months, but thats 4 months from AOR. So you could still run the risk of her being unable to work for a time.
I still think I would take my chances with Outland considering Sydney (and especially Missussauga's) processing times.
Let us know what you decide.

 

[Rob_TO]

Q1 Should we apply inland or outland? We did see an immigration adviser last year, who strongly advised outland due to faster processing. Though, we are concerned about how this will affect her situation, should processing take a while, passing the expiry date on her current IEC visa. Even if we applied inland, can she receive 'implied status' or apply for an 'OWP'?

Apply outland, for the reasons others have already given.

Q2 If we apply outland via Sydney, what happens if processing passes November 26th, and her current IEC visa expires. Is there any recourse here that we can explore to keep her working legally?

That is a risk you take. If Sydney for some reason takes a long time to process your outland app, then when her IEC expires she needs to switch to visitor status and stop working until PR is approved.

Going the "safe" route of applying inland would guarantee her an OWP earlier, but then she is stuck in the mess that is inland sponsorship currently at 25+ months total where it's a risk to leave Canada for any reason during that time. Not worth it IMO. I'd play the odds, and go outland through Sydney.

Q3 Should she get her medical check done up-front? Someone had advised us to wait until this is requested to ensure it is current, however, it seems most people here included this with the application up front. Thoughts?

If outland, 100% do it upfront. It will ensure quickest possible processing time since there will be no delays for Sydney to contact you and wait for you to do medical, or risk the chance you will not get their correspondence to do the medical. You want to limit the number or times visa office needs to contact you during the process.
Same as paying RPRF, you could wait, but best to pay upfront.

Q4 We did not include any emails/letters/personal items, as we felt those are a bit less concrete compared to joint bank statements, leases, etc. Should we include these as well anyway? We do have a collection of notes, letters, emails, that we can include if advisable.

That's really up to you. My (now) wife and I applied common-law for her PR app, we didn't include any of this stuff, and were approved ok. Proof of communication is not as important when you are actually living with the person every day. For relationship proofs we had pictures, tickets from trips together, and things like that.

Note as common-law, you will need at least 2 stat declaration letters from friends/family.

Also did you change your tax status with CRA to common-law, as of the tax year you first reached 12 months of cohabitation?

 

[gd_lm]

Note as common-law, you will need at least 2 stat declaration letters from friends/family.

Also did you change your tax status with CRA to common-law, as of the tax year you first reached 12 months of cohabitation?

Hi Rob_TO,

Thanks kindly for the input. We've got 2 notarized statutory declarations - as well as 2 additional statements from each of our parents (and a few others from friends and past house-mates). Only 2 (from our friends who were there the day we met) are official stat-decs; the statements from our parents were signed off by a Justice of the Peace in Australia, and my parents here in Canada has their statement signed by a commissioner for taking affidavits.

We were living in the UK when we technically became common-law (after 12 months of cohabitation) - this was in January 2011. We moved back to Canada in December 2011. We did not declare common-law on our 2012 tax year with the CRA, as we didn't think to do this - we declared this when filing our 2013 taxes last year. Could this be an issue?

The Option C print out I got is from the 2013 tax year (as I have obviously not filed for 2014 yet) - this does state Common-Law on it...

Thanks!

 

[Rob_TO]

Hi Rob_TO,

Thanks kindly for the input. We've got 2 notarized statutory declarations - as well as 2 additional statements from each of our parents (and a few others from friends and past house-mates). Only 2 (from our friends who were there the day we met) are official stat-decs; the statements from our parents were signed off by a Justice of the Peace in Australia, and my parents here in Canada has their statement signed by a commissioner for taking affidavits.

We were living in the UK when we technically became common-law (after 12 months of cohabitation) - this was in January 2011. We moved back to Canada in December 2011. We did not declare common-law on our 2012 tax year with the CRA, as we didn't think to do this - we declared this when filing our 2013 taxes last year. Could this be an issue?

The Option C print out I got is from the 2013 tax year (as I have obviously not filed for 2014 yet) - this does state Common-Law on it...

Thanks!

You should be fine. It's the most recent 12 months that are the most important, and your 2013 Option C says common-law so I think you're good.

Most likely the CRA will never investigate you for 2012 tax year and earlier, even though technically you (unintentionally) committed tax fraud in 2012 (and 2011 if you did Canadian taxes that year) by filing taxes as single when you were actually common-law! At this point, I would just leave it. But keep it in mind in case you or your partner are ever audited for any reason and CRA digs back through the last 7 or so years of tax returns.

 

[gd_lm]

Just wanted to thank everyone again for your advice and input. Our application went in the mail today. Now we wait!

Also - wondering how I can add the dates/processing info to my profile to track progress. Is this something I cannot do as a 'newbie' in the forums?

 

[sma2husa]

Hey guys, great discussions on this forum. One question regarding the pictures/proof that's required for the outland (or inland) sponsorship package, what format do the pictures need to be in? Can I include pictures with captions in a word document? Is that acceptable? Please advise.

 

[rhcohen2014]

Hey guys, great discussions on this forum. One question regarding the pictures/proof that's required for the outland (or inland) sponsorship package, what format do the pictures need to be in? Can I include pictures with captions in a word document? Is that acceptable? Please advise.

yes, that's fine. as long as they are not in albums/frames and they clearly represent what you say they represent, then they can be presented on regular paper or submitted as loose pictures.