What should I do?

[902]

I had my work permit expired on March-09. My employer sponsored/applied my new work permit in mid february-09 through a lawyer. But until now I didn't get any letter or ID number saying it's in process, just simply waiting. And I heard from my boss that the immigration might hold the work permits because of the bad economy that maybe they want to let the Canadians to have more chances to get jobs instead of foreigners. So I'm worried I might not get the work permit. Should I keep waiting for the reply? Is it normal not to have ID number while waiting?

Another thing is my girlfriend, who's a Canadian, and I plan to get married in October-09. So is it better to get married now? I looked at the cases regarding the sponsorship interviews, it seems complicated and the timeline of waiting seems long.

What should we do?

 

[RobsLuv]

Did you apply to extend your work permit - or did your employer file a whole new application on your behalf? If you applied to extend your work permit, and the application was received prior to expiration of your first permit, you have "implied status" to keep working until you receive an answer. Hopefully you kept proof of your application, the fee, and the receipt of the application by CIC. If your employer applied for a whole new application, then you're out of status now and you can't work - and maybe shouldn't even stay in Canada.

You don't say where you're from - and that helps us know how to advise you as far as staying in Canada and marrying your gf. Plus, your work permit/temporary status issue is an important part, too. When you get married, you are eligible for her to sponsor you for permanent status. It really isn't that complicated. You fill out the forms, pay the fees, get a medical done by a Designated Medical Practitioner, get criminal clearances from your country and any other you've lived in since turning 18 years of age, and submit proof of your "genuine relationship" with your application. What that means is you have to demonstrate that your relationship is not just about getting you permanent status in Canada - so you have to document your meeting and the progress of your relationship up until your marriage, showing it to be "genuine". If you submit enough good proof of that, it's possible you won't even have to have an interview. The timeline for waiting depends on how you apply - if you apply inland, you're looking at 12-18 months (best case scenario) for finalization - but if this work permit situation ends up with you not having status, an inland application will be transferred for special handling and that can delay processing for years. You can always file an outland application - it doesn't mean you have to be in your home country - but, again, your staying in Canada has everything to do with your temporary status - which is dictated by your work permit. When we have more info on how you applied for your work permit, and where you're originally from, we can give you better direction.

 

[902]

I'm from Malaysia. My employer has a lawyer to do the work. I just handed in all the papers for him. All I know is my employer is doing the sponsorship for me. So I'm not sure is he applying for the whole new work permit or the extension. Is it still early to ask for response from CIC? I didn't get any letter saying it's in processing? Or when will I get the ID number?

So you mean in the meantime while I'm waiting for my whole new work permit, I can't stay? And can't even get married? Because what we planned is I'll have the work permit as my status before we have our wedding, and then apply the PR after. Seems like it deosn't work out that way now.

Can I get married while I'm out of status??

 

[RobsLuv]

Yes, you can get married while you're out of status - it's just that it's complicated for you to stay in Canada if you're out of status.

I think you need to first find out from your employer and the lawyer whether they applied to extend your original work permit - of if they filed a new work permit application. You need to know whether or not you have status. I would think they would have applied to extend it so you would keep your temporary status while the application was being assessed. Filing a new application would have to happen through the embassy in your home country, like your first application. Right now it's taking 100 days to process extension applications - I don't know about new work permits because it would depend on where it was being processed.

Your Client ID# stays the same - it's the number on your original work permit. But you shouldn't leave Canada until you know what's going on - if you're under "implied status" right now, you lose that if you leave.

Obviously, if you get the work permit, you can stay in Canada - it will be your temporary status document. If you don't get either a new work permit (or your work permit extended), you have to leave. This is when most people from non-visa-exempt countries like yours apply inland for PR after getting married - so they can stay. But doing that if you're out of status will result in long delays in processing - and you'll be stuck in Canada without being able to work, etc., until things get resolved. It's better, in that case, to file an outland application that will be processed at the embassy that is responsible for your country. Kuala Lumpur is finalizing applications for spouses right now in 3-8 months. That way you can stay in Canada (albeit illegally) but you'll have the ability to leave Canada if you have to, to work or because they ask you to go, without it affecting the progress of your PR application.

So, find out first whether the lawyer filed to extend your work permit. Then go from there.

 

[902]

Thank you for your information.

I'll find out the work permit thingy from my employer ASAP.

Regarding the sponsorship from spouse, if I didn't get the work permit, which means I'm out of status now. But I can still get married and file a outland sponsorship in Kuala Lumpur and don't have to leave Canada while waiting. And also, I can still working, legally. Am I right?

What if it's a same-sex marriage, does it still workable if I applied back to KL? Because it's an Islam country.

 

[mitamata]

CIC considers a marriage legal if it's legal and valid in the country where it took place. Since such marriages are valid in Canada, I'm sure that wouldn't be an issue. There might be questions about the relationship though. I am going to guess that same gender relationships are still not part of the norm in your home country and CIC seems to often have doubts about a relationship that is far from the norm. I wouldn't be surprised if an interview was required for you, but it's not a given.

You can work legally if you hold a valid work permit or have applied to extend your expired one and have not yet received a decision on that application.

 

[chings]

I applied for inland common law last year using an immigration lawyer, I met up with the lawyer who charged me $1800 for his service. I did my medicals, police clearance at the beginning of my application without notification from immigration, as the lawyer advised me that inland common law you do it all at the beginning. I read through my application form, everything looked good as my immigration lawyer sent the information i waited and waited 3-4 months called my lawyer regarding my application all he said is don't worry it take time for a response, i decided to call immigration call centre myself last month i provided them with my client ID number, i was told no application was submitted regarding my common law application, i am so confused right now i asked my lawyer wats going on he didnt even call to find out he was just waiting and he says he has 20years experience, he showed me the tracking number that it was sent, receipt that it was paid and medicals were send i dont understand why my file is not available if all the neccessary information is available.
So he has advised me to reapply rise another $550 for my application,he says i will get a refund back since there is no application on file what puzzles me his quick to have me reapply after i have waited for almost a year means i will have to start again instead of solving the matter at hand something is not right i need helping sorting this out and i am currently out of status please assist me with this.