rhcohen2014 said:
seriously, i want to know where this belief comes from? Even before i was on this forum, i knew it was a better choice to apply outland, as it is a risk to leave canada while applying inland. As someon who can only be in cnada as a visitor, that was enough to have the lightbulb go off and say... apply outland.
It comes directly from the CIC website, which says:
If your spouse, partner or dependent child lives with you in Canada, use the Application for Permanent Residence in Canada—Spouse or Common-Law Partner;
OR,
If your spouse, partner or dependent child lives outside Canada, use the Application to Sponsor a Member of the Family Class.
Source: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse-apply-how.asp
It is difficult for someone not schooled in the actual law and regulations to interpret this otherwise. I remember when I first was looking at this thinking it would be the only option at the time although I concluded after additional research that this was in fact not the case. I had reason to doubt, however, because the same section of CIC website told me my application would be refused in the first place.
rhcohen2014 said:
it seems to be assumed no matter what, if the applicant is in canada, the application needs to be inland. it's simply NOT true. I also firmly believe inland is NOT meant for people to cross the border, use as a reason to stay long term and apply for PR. I imagine when it was created, inland was for those who are ALREADY in canada for other reasons than visiting a spouse. Maybe that's a wrong assumption?
I've only come to a thorough understanding of this issue by reading IRPA, IRPR and the various OPs and OBs.
The
general rule is that a PR visa must be obtained from a "visa office abroad".
CIC has done some very clever work here, as they have managed to define "Ottawa" as being just such an office (and how many people get despondent when they look at the LA/NYC processing times and choose to apply Inland instead of Outland, even though the CIC website says that US applications are sent to CPC-O!)
Part of AIP is that it actually permits the applicant to be an exception to this general rule: that they can apply from
inside Canada. This is a common reason for submitting H&C applications as well: someone is already in Canada and they want to become a PR while remaining in Canada.
Much of this is driven by the fact that physical location is far less important today than it was even 10 years ago. Now someone in Mississauga can scan a document and drop it into something like Dropbox and it becomes visible to a visa office in Singapore within a few minutes - in such a world, we care far less about where things are done than we used to.
But at any rate, it is a common source of confusion rooted in CIC's own website language. CIC will hide behind the observation that the website is not the law but the harsh reality is that it is the
primary vehicle by which people learn about CIC processes. So when CIC's website tells people they must apply for an extension 30 days in advance, people will spout that even though the law just says "prior to expiration". When CIC's website says "if your spouse/partner is in Canada, apply Inland" they do so.
