RE-Entry to Canada with Work Permit due to Family Death

[Jaga]

Hello, My Brazilian Husband (I'm Canadian born by the way and his legal wife as of last October) has been studying here for 3 years and after applied for a work visa and has been working in his studied field for 1 year totaling being in Canada for 4 years. He still has a valid Work Visa for Canada but his job just completed (His type of work is Contract work as an Animator) and he was in the process of looking for another job when his grandmother suddenly passed away. His mother was alone with no other family so he went back to Brazil for the funeral and to be with his mother in her time of need but we realized after he left his Work-Permit does not allow re-entry to Canada. He never applied for a PR Card as we did not know we needed it for re-entry. His life is basically here now with me and he wants to return. Has anyone else experienced this? What can I do to get him back into Canada? We want to start looking into applying for him to get Citizenship for him. Were very lost on where to turn. I don't want to spend months apart from each other.

 

[Jaga]

Forgot to say it's a Post-Graduate Work Permit.

 

[neorol]

Every permit has these words on it. It means the border officer has the right to refuse entry if he has any concerns. The case is always like that unless someone is Permanent Resident or Canadian Citizen.

If his PGWP is still valid and he has a valid Temporary Resident Visa attached to it, there is nothing to worry about. If his TRV has expired, he has to reapply for TRV and he has really good chances with his valid PGWP to get it.

If you are married you should start getting Permanent Reisdent status for him. That's the first step towards citizenship. He can apply through Express Entry himself or you can sponsor him for PR. Family sponsorship is a longer process. You should start it as soon as possible. As I said, he should be able to get back to Canada with his valid PGWP with a valid TRV visa.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

but we realized after he left his Work-Permit does not allow re-entry to Canada. He never applied for a PR Card as we did not know we needed it for re-entry. His life is basically here now with me and he wants to return. Has anyone else experienced this? What can I do to get him back into Canada? We want to start looking into applying for him to get Citizenship for him. Were very lost on where to turn. I don't want to spend months apart from each other.

As said above, he needs a valid TRV to return to Canada.

He can't just apply for Canadian citizenship. You will need to sponsor him for PR. I suggest you actually start researching this process. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse.asp

 

[Jaga]

How long does getting a valid TRV take? He got his Post Secondary Work Permit right after he finished his studies here in Canada. There was no TRV as far as I know when he got it since he applied inside Canada. He only returned for the Funeral and to be there for his mother. He didn't know he needed one to return. His job contract ended the day before he left Canada [his work is by contract and he wanted to finish it before going home to help his mother]. His grandmother died the morning he left. I also am between jobs as well and desperately looking for any work. I just want him back in Canada so we can both get jobs as soon as possible. We regret now that he left without knowing all this. I don't want him to miss our first Christmas and new years as a married couple. Can I still sponsor him if I don't have a job if I have my family help with a family member that has a good job?

 

[scylla]

Your post is confusing. Is he a PGWP holder or a permanent resident? You can't be both at the same time. And you can't apply for citizenship without becoming a permanent resident first.

Assuming he is a PGWP holder - he needs a TRV to return. Processing will take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.

 

[ramu_rokey]

How long does getting a valid TRV take? He got his Post Secondary Work Permit right after he finished his studies here in Canada. There was no TRV as far as I know when he got it since he applied inside Canada. He only returned for the Funeral and to be there for his mother. He didn't know he needed one to return. His job contract ended the day before he left Canada [his work is by contract and he wanted to finish it before going home to help his mother]. His grandmother died the morning he left. I also am between jobs as well and desperately looking for any work. I just want him back in Canada so we can both get jobs as soon as possible. We regret now that he left without knowing all this. I don't want him to miss our first Christmas and new years as a married couple. Can I still sponsor him if I don't have a job if I have my family help with a family member that has a good job?

there is no need to worry at all, any post graduate work permit will have multiple entry , he just need to apply the visa in order to board the flight. Based on his work permit he can just apply at his local Canadian embassy or online, since its christmas time not sure how long it will take them to re issue the new visa, else usually the processing time is 15-30 working days.he wouldn't have to disclouse he is married at the port of entry , he can say return back home after funeral .Canadian border force are very good when you just be straight forward with them .let them know he is coming to work and also apply his PR through CEC program if asked.

 

[Jaga]

We seem to have come to a conclusion. Currently he only has a Post Secondary Work Permit and does not have a PR Card or TRV that allows him return. His permit did not allow reentry when he left, which we did not know beforehand. He talked to a Visa place in Brazil that gave him papers to apply for an entry visa to continue working in Canada. I also talked to an immigration lawyer and once he returns to Canada we will be beginning to apply towards immigration. There's quite a few steps and it will take a while but at least we won't be making mistakes.