Im canadian my partner is american we plan to marry and do the spousal sponsorship soon the worry i have is she overstayed here 3yrs and is currently out of status its my fault I didn't want to be away from her now im worried if I can still sponsor her being out of status? Also I was wondering if I can and we do inland spousal sponsorship how long will it take in 2026 for her to receive permanent residency? Will she be able to get the open work permit? All help is greatly appreciated
Sponsorship for a spouse who overstayed 3yrs
- Thread starter Danny99
- Start date
Out of status is not a reason for automatically refusal of spousal sponsorship. I know a person who was out of status for 10 years, and the application was successful. Just make sure to honestly disclose your activity during those years because IRCC wants to ensure you are not inadmissible, and does not pose a threat to the society. Unfortunately, she will not be able to get the open work permit while out of status.
The IRCC isn’t going to suddenly award someone who has been out of status here for THREE YEARS with the ability to work
While I'm sure it feels somehow like a dunk to treat it as a reward and deny that lollipop - does it really make sense? Who benefits from that?
Now, assuming it's a bona fide application and the officer has determined it's likely to be approved, what's the counterfactual? The person sitting at home and not providing a useful service to some company/person, not spending money (or less)? Or the person (perhaps most likely) finding a way to work 'under the table' and not paying taxes, precarious work situation, etc?
It's not that long ago that we didn't let even those in country work, then only those on inland, etc. A rational decision was made that really, it doesn't help much of anyone.
Yes, I'll allow - of course - we have to limit to reasonable numbers (to avoid massively distorting the labour market), etc. But how many are actually in this position at any given time? A thousand? Five thousand?
And remember - to apply for spousal, the out-of-status person is basically declaring their existence here and opening themselves up to being looked at more closely by immigration (i.e. if it's not a genuine app, refusal will lead to immigration consequences)
Not trying to wave my hands and say all criticism is bad, but there's a policy angle that should dominate. It is fair to be skeptical how carefully IRCC looks at this stuff, of course. But whether it's 'a reward' to the out-of-status person is the wrong angle, IMO.
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