Questions and concerns: Applying for open work permit with Inland application.

[Christopholus]

I have some questions about applying for an open work permit with an inland application, and also some concerns about my eligibility.

Firstly, can anyone outline the process for applying for an open work permit?

Secondly, if I apply at the time of my PR application, how long does the work permit take to be approved?
A concern I have is that my current work permit will expire before step 1 of the process has been approved. If this happens, can I stay in Canada while I wait for my work permit to come through?

And finally, the biggest concern I have is that I have just discovered there is a 4 year limit on how long a temporary worker can stay in Canada. I had no idea this was the case until now, and I'm worried I may not be able to get a work permit. I have already had 3 consecutive open work permits and now I'm here on a two year LMO, which expires in Jan 2015.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[steerpike]

Re: Questions about applying for open work permit with Inland application.

If you include your OWP with your PR app it will be considered when you get to stage 2 AIP, which at current processing rates is 7 months. However, you are considered to have "implied status" during that time so you would be able to continue working. Only if it is refused would you lose your status. At that point, ifit was refused, you would be able to continue your PR inland app, but you wouldnt be allowed to work untill you recieved your PR card, which at current wait times is about 8 months plus 51 days for mailing the PR card to you.

I dont know about the rules surrounding the 4 year limit, so i will leave that to someone else to answer.

 

[Christopholus]

Thanks very much.

Can anyone clarify any details about this 4 year limit on work permits?

 

[PMM]

Re: Questions about applying for open work permit with Inland application.

Hi

If you include your OWP with your PR app it will be considered when you get to stage 2 AIP, which at current processing rates is 7 months. However, you are considered to have "implied status" during that time so you would be able to continue working. Only if it is refused would you lose your status. At that point, ifit was refused, you would be able to continue your PR inland app, but you wouldnt be allowed to work untill you recieved your PR card, which at current wait times is about 8 months plus 51 days for mailing the PR card to you.

I dont know about the rules surrounding the 4 year limit, so i will leave that to someone else to answer.

1. You now longer send an "In-Canada" spousal application to Vegreville, it goes to Mississauga. As Mississauga does not process work permits, you have to wait for 1st level approval and then you can apply for a work permit to Vegreville.
2. The 4 year period starts from April/2011, so After April 2015 you won't be eligible unless you fall under one of the following exceptions"

Some workers will be exempt from the cumulative duration regulation.

TFWs in managerial (NOC 0) or professional occupations (NOC A).
TFWs who have applied for permanent residence and received:
a Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) if applying as a Quebec Skilled Worker;
a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) certificate if applying as a provincial nominee;
an approval in principle letter if applying under the Live-in Caregiver Class;
a positive selection decision if applying under the Federal Skilled Worker Class; or
a positive selection decision if applying under the Canadian Experience Class.
TFWs who are employed in Canada under an international agreement, such as NAFTA, the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, or another agreement.
TFWs who are exempt from the Labour Market Opinion process, including:
Spouses and common-law partners of international graduates participating in the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program and highly-skilled TFWs;
Charitable or religious workers;
Entrepreneurs, intra-company transferees, researchers and academics;
Others for purposes of self-support (refugee claimants) or humanitarian reasons (destitute students, holders of Temporary Resident Permits valid for at least six months)

 

[Christopholus]

Thanks for your help PMM.

I've done some further research and discovered this page:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/bulletins/2011/ob275C.asp

Which goes on to state many exceptions to the 4 year rule and includes the following:

"Permanent Residence Applicants in Canada (R207)

Live-in-caregiver class
Spouse or common-law partner class
Protected persons under A95(2)
Section A25 exemption
Family members of the above"

So I am happy to see that as long as I can get my application for an OWP in quickly enough then I will be ok.
I guess I will have to submit my OWP application to Vegreville before I get 1st level approval though. The risk at the moment is that I won't get 1st level until my current work permit has expired, and I would loose implied status if I apply for an OWP too late.

 

[QuebecOkie]

I hate to add confusion and doubt to the mix, but you should be aware of all of the issues and then try to make up your own mind. There was a recent change at CIC; inland family class PR applications are now being sent to Mississaugua instead of Vegreville. OWPs were able to be sent with PR apps, since Vegreville processed both. There is now a *great deal* of confusion as to whether or not OWPs can be sent to Mississaugua with PR apps, and if so, if this grants "implied status" to the applicant. I can't tell you if sending your OWP with your inland PR app will grant you implied status to allow you to keep working (and to negate any need to keep your status current in any other way, for instance by applying to change to visitor status). NO ONE ELSE on this forum can tell you at this point, either. If they say they can, they are lying or are mistaken. Unfortunately, many of us have found that the CIC Call Centre is horribly inconsistent, unhelpful, and unreliable, so I'm not at all sure how you can go about confirming whether or not an OWP submitted with your PR really grants you the right to keep working after your current WP expires...or if you'll be working illegally after its expiration. (Some applicants have called the Call Centre three different times on the same issue, receiving three different and conflicting answers. I personally had a CIC Call Centre agent completely fabricate information about my PR card when I called back in 2013. A rep I spoke with a week or so later was apologetic, but said NO Call Centre rep has access to the -erroneous- information the other rep gave to me about where my PR card process was at.)

Like I said, I'm sorry to add doubt and confusion, while offering you no good answers and basically telling you there's no way to know for sure WHAT you're supposed to or allowed to do. I just know that, personally, I would want all the info, even if it makes things far less clear, and then to make up my own mind about any risks I chose to accept.

Here are a couple of threads discussing the issue:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/-t189862.0.html

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/new-sponsorship-rules-canada-makes-it-even-harder-for-us-t182180.0.html

 

[Rob_TO]

There is now a *great deal* of confusion as to whether or not OWPs can be sent to Mississaugua with PR apps, and if so, if this grants "implied status" to the applicant.

Many call centre agents are assuring people they can continue to send OWP app with inland app to CPC-Mississauga even with new rule changes, and OWP will be forwarded to Vegreville after stage 1 approval for automatic processing.

Other call centre agents have said you can no longer submit OWP with inland app, and must wait until you receive stage 1 approval before sending your OWP app to CPC-V.

So in other words, nobody can say for sure. Even CIC doesn't seem to know. Only way we can be certain is when people initially submitting inland apps and OWP to CPC-M, actually get the OWP app processed or returned to them.

 

[civic]

Re: Questions about applying for open work permit with Inland application.

Hi


1. You now longer send an "In-Canada" spousal application to Vegreville, it goes to Mississauga. As Mississauga does not process work permits, you have to wait for 1st level approval and then you can apply for a work permit to Vegreville.
2. The 4 year period starts from April/2011, so After April 2015 you won't be eligible unless you fall under one of the following exceptions"

Some workers will be exempt from the cumulative duration regulation.

TFWs in managerial (NOC 0) or professional occupations (NOC A).
TFWs who have applied for permanent residence and received:
a Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) if applying as a Quebec Skilled Worker;
a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) certificate if applying as a provincial nominee;
an approval in principle letter if applying under the Live-in Caregiver Class;
a positive selection decision if applying under the Federal Skilled Worker Class; or
a positive selection decision if applying under the Canadian Experience Class.
TFWs who are employed in Canada under an international agreement, such as NAFTA, the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, or another agreement.
TFWs who are exempt from the Labour Market Opinion process, including:
Spouses and common-law partners of international graduates participating in the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program and highly-skilled TFWs;
Charitable or religious workers;
Entrepreneurs, intra-company transferees, researchers and academics;
Others for purposes of self-support (refugee claimants) or humanitarian reasons (destitute students, holders of Temporary Resident Permits valid for at least six months)

CIC still allows applicant to submit OWP along with inland PR applications. They haven't made any official announcement about the changes and call center agents advise people to do so to have implied status.
We dont know yet if CPP-M will be able to process work permit because 2014 files haven't been opened yet.

 

[Christopholus]

Re: Questions about applying for open work permit with Inland application.

CIC still allows applicant to submit OWP along with inland PR applications. They haven't made any official announcement about the changes and call center agents advise people to do so to have implied status.
We dont know yet if CPP-M will be able to process work permit because 2014 files haven't been opened yet.

Is anyone else able to confirm this?

 

[Rob_TO]

Re: Questions about applying for open work permit with Inland application.

Is anyone else able to confirm this?

As i mentioned, nobody can confirm or deny this. There is nothing written anywhere on the CIC site. Call up the call centre a few times... and some agents will tell you to submit the OWP app, and some will tell you to wait.