US to Canada Sponsorship

[calaisl2008]

My husband is sponsoring me in Canada. I live with him so we are doing the inland application. I need to know if I can leave Canada after the initial assessment is done. I had read somewhere that once the assessment is completed I would qualify for health care, a SIN number, and a drivers license. Of course I cant find that now! I would think that if I do qualify for all of that then I should be able to leave Canada for a short visit back home. Someone PLEASE help me! The reason I started a new thread was because sifting through all of the other ones would take years and even if I do ever find anything its always someone from another country, not the US.

 

[Rob_TO]

My husband is sponsoring me in Canada. I live with him so we are doing the inland application. I need to know if I can leave Canada after the initial assessment is done. I had read somewhere that once the assessment is completed I would qualify for health care, a SIN number, and a drivers license. Of course I cant find that now! I would think that if I do qualify for all of that then I should be able to leave Canada for a short visit back home. Someone PLEASE help me! The reason I started a new thread was because sifting through all of the other ones would take years and even if I do ever find anything its always someone from another country, not the US.

If you apply inland and submit an open work permit app as part of the package, you are immediately under implied visitor status. Stage 1 of inland (sponsor approval) is currently taking 11 months. Only after stage 1 is complete, would you be eligible to apply for health care and get your Open Work permit (only in some provinces like Alberta, could you get health care right from the beginning). Stage 2 to get full PR, is then an additional 8 months wait.

The second you leave Canada during this processing, your implied status ends. If for any reason you were refused entry when returning back to Canada, the entire app would be cancelled and you have to start again from scratch.

For this reason people that intend to travel outside Canada during processing usually apply outland. For a visa exempt applicant (such as US citizen), it's usually easy to maintain visitor status in Canada with an outland app in process. Currently US outland apps are taking less than 1 year to be fully completed.

 

[Alurra71]

Any time you leave Canada before being granted your PR status on an Inland application you risk not being able to re-enter into Canada. Does it happen frequently? No, not that I have seen, however, the RISK is there and that is up to you whether to take that risk or not.

Qualification for SIN, health care and a driving license all vary.

To qualify for your SIN you want to apply for an OWP at the same time as your application. When your sponsor, in this case your husband, is approved you will then be approved in principle (AIP) and then will get your work permit and then you can get your SIN.

Health care really depends on each province. If you are in Ontario, yes, after you get your AIP you will then qualify to apply for OHIP, however it will not be in effect until 3 months after your application is made.

Drivers license is also different from province to province. Again, if in Ontario, you don't need to get AIP to qualify for a license there. You will however want to get all your driving abstracts from your state in the US so you can get a full G license, if do indeed qualify for that license. You will need 2 years driving experience, at MINIMUM to do this. I would also get a letter of experience from your insurance company on the US side. This will help facilitate your ability to get insurance on the Canadian side.

If you are not in Ontario, you would need to check on the rules and laws for the province you are in. With a screen name like Calais, it sounds like you might have come from Maine and husband is perhaps from New Brunswick? Anyway, good luck!

 

[calaisl2008]

Im in Alberta. I was unable to submit the application within 6 months of being here so I applied to extend my visitor status. I am still waiting to hear back. I am waiting for the police clearance and medical exam before I can submit the sponsorship.
Now what I understand is:
Since I am in Alberta I could have health insurance now?!
I should submit an open work permit with the sponsorship application
After the initial assessment is completed and I have an open work permit, health care etc.. I can leave Canada?
Thanks for your help so far!

 

[Rob_TO]

Since I am in Alberta I could have health insurance now?!

Yes, in many cases simply being the spouse of an Alberta resident even if you only have visitor status, is suitable to get Alberta healthcare.

I should submit an open work permit with the sponsorship application

If you apply inland, then yes you must submit an OWP app to get implied status.

After the initial assessment is completed and I have an open work permit, health care etc.. I can leave Canada?

As mentioned, if you apply inland then it is up to you if you want to risk leaving Canada. There is no guarantee you would be admitted back to Canada, and if you were refused your whole application is cancelled.
Of course the risk to be denied entry is small, but you must be willing to take that risk if you intend to leave for any reason.

As also mentioned, in most cases US residents should strongly consider an outland application.

 

[calaisl2008]

Thank you all soooo much for your help!

 

[M_iari]

For this reason people that intend to travel outside Canada during processing usually apply outland. For a visa exempt applicant (such as US citizen), it's usually easy to maintain visitor status in Canada with an outland app in process. Currently US outland apps are taking less than 1 year to be fully completed.

Rob_TO where did you see that US outland apps are taking less than 1 year to fully process? I am about to get married to my american boyfriend and we are not sur if we should do inland or outland but it seem that everywhere I looked said it took 20+ months, Am I mistaken? Thanx

 

[Rob_TO]

Rob_TO where did you see that US outland apps are taking less than 1 year to fully process? I am about to get married to my american boyfriend and we are not sur if we should do inland or outland but it seem that everywhere I looked said it took 20+ months, Am I mistaken? Thanx

US apps are processed through CPP-Ottawa office. Just take a look at the CPP-O thread on this site, and see people's recent times. 1 month for sponsorship and then 8-10 months in Ottawa seems to be pretty realistic. http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/cppottawa-t118769.4320.html

 

[chala]

Thank you all soooo much for your help!

It makes no sense for you to apply Inland if you wish to travel to the USA during processing. Most of the benefits that you are looking for can only be gained after stage 1 of an Inland application. . At the present time an Outland application on average is being completed for US applicants at approximatelyr the same time as it takes to complete Stage 1 of an Inland application.
This is why we opted for Outland instead of Inland in the final analysis. Best of luck with your application.

 

[calaisl2008]

So how do I apply for an open work permit?

 

[Rob_TO]

So how do I apply for an open work permit?

If you apply outland, you don't apply for an OWP. You can only work after your application is approved and you receive your full PR status.

In many cases an outland app will be completely finished, in quicker then then time it takes for stage 1/OWP approval for inland app.