Possibility of marrying a Canadian national. Lot of questions...

[BlueOwl]

Hi all,

I am here on the IEC program and am finishing my second and final year on the program in less than 3 months. I have established a life for myself here and have a girlfriend who I love dearly. We have started discussing the possibilities of me staying, us getting married and living together. We are discussing this now as other options such as sponsorship through work have proven elusive and I believe that I frustratingly just miss out on the Experience Class.

Despite me looking into numerous options and feeling fairly clued up about the possibility and workings of this, I am proving to be fairly naive and frustrated to hear regarding the processing times involved in the spousal sponsorship stream. While I appreciate the system is a little complex, I just want to clarify with some of the knowledgeable posters on here that:

1. Once the application is going through, I cannot work in Canada? I have seemed to have read something regarding people applying for an open work permit through the spousal system but am a little confused about this.
2. Do people find the timings involved to be accurate or are they a cautious period of time?

I'd appreciate any feedback and comments.

Thanks in advance.

 

[rhcohen2014]

so it would depend on where you are from. that would determine which visa office (VO) handles your application, and the length it takes to get through the process.

there are 2 different types of spousal sponsorship:

inland: the applicant is living in Canada throughout the entire process, and is eligible for applying for an open work permit (OWP) after stage 1 approval. This generally takes 8-9 months (according to the spreadsheets on this forum that track progress). Stage 2 can then take the same amount of time, or longer - again depending on where the applicant is originally from. During an inland application, the applicant (person being sponsored) is advised not to leave Canada. If they do leave, they can be denied reentry, and the application would then be considered abandoned and cancelled.

outland: again, the length of this process is dependant on the country of origin of the applicant. During this process, the applicant does not live in Canada, and depending of country of origin can be approved for visitor status. Going back and forth between countries does not pose a risk to the application. So, for me, I am from the US and we applied outland. "Technically" I am allowed to visit Canada for 6 months. If I decide to ask for a 6 mo stay, we can then apply for an extension before the end of my stay, and ask for an extension for the duration of the process. During an outland application, the applicant can NOT work in Canada. This is usually a shorter process for gaining PR status. It is very important when trying to enter as a visitor that the applicant only references "visiting" Canada. If border agents believe the person will overstay or attempt to look for work, then they can be denied entry.

The processing times listed on the CIC website aren't exactly accurate. It seems the actual approval time is shorter, and again depends on each visa office. For US outland applicants, the average wait time is 8-10 months, which is significantly shorter than listed on line.

This forum has started spreadsheets to track the processing times for most visa offices for inland and outland applications. Definitely scroll through and search for a thread pertaining to your country's visa office to get a better handle on how long those applications take, and what is typically needed for the application.

 

[steerpike]

If you apply inland you can continue on whatever visa on you are on, and continue to extend it as long as you can. If that visa allows you to work, then you can work. If not, then no. If the visa does lapse during the process you can continue your sponsorship.

Once you get to stage 2 (AIP), you can apply for an open work permit. (most people send in OWP at the same time as application, but its not processed until stage 2) Then you will be able to work.

The wait times for Inland stage 2 have been all over the place in the past few years. When i applied it said "6 months". But it actually took 11 months for stage 2. Times then crept back down, and now times are creeping back up. You may get lucky and get AIP in 6-7 months, but to be realistic, plan for a year. Meaning, ask yourself can you survive for a year without an OWP? It's something to consider.

 

[little_apple]

If you apply inland you can continue on whatever visa on you are on, and continue to extend it as long as you can. If that visa allows you to work, then you can work. If not, then no. If the visa does lapse during the process you can continue your sponsorship.

Once you get to stage 2 (AIP), you can apply for an open work permit. (most people send in OWP at the same time as application, but its not processed until stage 2) Then you will be able to work.

The wait times for Inland stage 2 have been all over the place in the past few years. When i applied it said "6 months". But it actually took 11 months for stage 2. Times then crept back down, and now times are creeping back up. You may get lucky and get AIP in 6-7 months, but to be realistic, plan for a year. Meaning, ask yourself can you survive for a year without an OWP? It's something to consider.

That's not correct. An IEC visa is not extendable so "implied status" is not possible. You have to stop working when your IEC visa expires and can only stay as a tourist until stage 1 is approved. You have to apply for an Open Work Permit either at the same time as your inland sponsorship or after stage 1 approval. There were people on this forum who didn't get their PR because they kept working after their IEC expired. See here http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/apply-inland-after-iec-expire-keep-working-and-now-aip-refuse-t163087.0.html

 

[steerpike]

That's not correct. An IEC visa is not extendable so "implied status" is not possible. You have to stop working when your IEC visa expires and can only stay as a tourist until stage 1 is approved. You have to apply for an Open Work Permit either at the same time as your inland sponsorship or after stage 1 approval. There were people on this forum who didn't get their PR because they kept working after their IEC expired. See here http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/apply-inland-after-iec-expire-keep-working-and-now-aip-refuse-t163087.0.html

Thanks for the correction.

 

[little_apple]

Thanks for the correction.

No problem