Which will be best? Inland or outland?

[therealbatman]

Hi there,

I just have a few quick questions. Please if anyone can help, message me or just simply reply on here.

I juts got back from visiting my fiance for the 2nd time in Canada. First time I stayed 3 month, second time I stayed almost 6 months. We've been together for 2 years and 2 months now. We are very serious and want to get married, not because we want to use it to apply for PR for me but because we are in love and want to take it to the next level. But then of course it gives us the opportunity to apply for PR which is good either way lol.

Okay here is the thing, we've been together for long now, have a lot of proof of our relationship being legit, photos, emails, tons of facebook stuff, family members supporting us, I have just about everything that can be used as proof. The reason I came back was to finish university but holy crap it is so hard being away from the one you love. I am from South Africa and have a question, how long will it take if we had applied outland or inland? I know it says currently 19 months for South Africa for outland but how long does inland usually take?

ALSO, something I have been wondering about, since I dont have my degree yet but I am planning on getting it in Canada, will it be possible for me to apply for a job such as a waiter in a restaurant or a job in superstore( Real Canadian electronics department)? Will I actually be given a positive LMO if the person offering me the job does everything right? If it is possible I will do that asap because I have been offerend a job in both those places. I have seen people offering jobs for people from different countries to work as a waiter in Canada but I am not too sure.

Please reply here or pm or anything.
Bruce

 

[Hobby]

Hello!

First of all, I would strongly recommend Outland. Sincerely, inland takes about the same amount of time no matter where you're from. It can be a few YEARS and that would be years without work or school or provincial health insurance. Outland, no matter how horrible a time frame, is far, far, FAR better in your situation.

Second, LMO is usually for skilled folk. It is the employer saying they could not find ANY skilled-to-that-job Canadian, so they're looking overseas. The jobs you list are positions that most college folk can do between their classes, or even a hard working high schooler. LMO will not be issued for those positions, most likely.

We do not know how those other folk were offered positions here in Canada with such a lower skill level. I personally know my last employer tended to look the other way with citizenship/pr-ship when they hired, however they also had a hard time giving the correct funds on pay cheques, too. Would strongly recommend against getting an 'under-the-table' job not only because it's illegal, it also makes you super vulnerable. You would not have insurance to cover any accidents, and you would be subject for removal. There's also the situation where the employer may just 'forget' to pay you or pay you less than agreed upon. No recourse to recover, there.

I do not envy your position, however I do feel quite confident that since you have built such a strong pool of evidence that you will be finding your visa issued sooner than say, someone from your region with little or lacking evidence. I know that schooling here for Foreign Nationals is too expensive for words, and it only makes sense putting it off until you get over here as a PR. You might find that you can get a "remote" job offer from either your country or even another one (like the US) to help defray the costs of living here.

Bidding you all sorts of good wishes!

-Cheers!

 

[rjessome]

Second, LMO is usually for skilled folk. It is the employer saying they could not find ANY skilled-to-that-job Canadian, so they're looking overseas. The jobs you list are positions that most college folk can do between their classes, or even a hard working high schooler. LMO will not be issued for those positions, most likely.

Not true. Any Canadian employer who satisfies Service Canada that they have exhausted all efforts to recruit Canadian citizens or permanent residents and are paying fair market wage and offering full time hours can apply for AND receive a positive LMO. Now if you are looking at major urban centres for low skilled positions where there is a larger available workforce, most employers there would have an extremely difficult time obtaining an LMO. However, that is not the case for more remote areas, for example, northern Alberta or BC.

 

[Hobby]

Not true. Any Canadian employer who satisfies Service Canada that they have exhausted all efforts to recruit Canadian citizens or permanent residents and are paying fair market wage and offering full time hours can apply for AND receive a positive LMO. Now if you are looking at major urban centres for low skilled positions where there is a larger available workforce, most employers there would have an extremely difficult time obtaining an LMO. However, that is not the case for more remote areas, for example, northern Alberta or BC.

I stand corrected! ^^ Thank you for that, rjessome!

 

[therealbatman]

Wow! Thank you guys so so much for your replies! That was really helpful!

First of all, rjessome, do you agree with hobby on outland? I'm actually thinking on doing this to be honest. Because if you do inland it is compulsary to stay in Canada until you get approved and everything right? So it might be safer this way in case I come study here or something.. But the thing is, I really want to avoid having wait like extremely long which is why we want to do the not-the-longer-wait option. Hopefully with everything I gather, it will be a tad quicker too. I once spoke to some lawyer guy who handles some stuff for the cic and he said outland will be quicker but I really am not sure. If I have to stay a year for inland that will be fine but more than that will be long because I don't know.. I HATE the thought of having my fiance take care of me and not the other way around.

So here is a question, if I have to do outland and lets say I want to stay there (by the way it's in Brandon, Manitoba) would it be possible for me to extend my visit with the reason that we got married and want to spent more time with each other? Also, will mentioning the fact that we applied for spousal sponsorship help? I wonder if mentioning outland then will help or actually do damage.. Curious.

rjessome, regarding receiving a positive LMO, do you think we will stand a chance of getting one, considering the fact that it's in Brandon Manitoba? I know Winnipeg would have been a lot harder though. I assume if the manager is unable to recruit anyone for a period of three weeks (is it 3 or can it be shorter), then he can apply for a LMO for me right?

Hobby, I know what you mean, some woman offered me a 'under-the-table' job and I was like "no way". That's gambling with your future and something I would never even consider.

Please get back to me when you guys can!
Thanks.

God, how I miss my fiance..

 

[Leon]

If you look at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm-fc.asp you see that inland first stage approval takes 11-12 months and if you apply for an open work permit at the same time, you get it right away at your first stage approval. So that is one year that you must stay in Canada without working or studying. And that is only if you get your first stage approval. If they have any questions about your application and decide they want an interview, they will hand it over to your local office and it will depend on their workload when they get around to this interview. It can take up to 3 years at some of them during which time you are still stuck in Canada unable to work or study. And after first stage approval, you still wait another 8 months for your PR. Of course the timeline is not an issue if you manage to get a work permit anyway unrelated to the sponsorship process. If you do, then of course you can continue working on that permit as long as it is valid.

Outland, you have 66 days in Mississauga the 19 months listed for Pretoria is for 80% of cases. The 50% time should be less. If you go to http://www.trackitt.com/canada-immigration-trackers/family-class and track outland spouses for Pretoria, you find 3 approved cases. The processing times vary from 88 days to 377 but the average is 227. Still you see, you can't really say exactly how long it takes as each case is different.

If you want to stay in Canada longer than your visitor status allows which is usually 6 months, you can apply to extend. If you have applied for sponsorship, they will usually allow you to stay. Still, you should show that you have the funds to support yourself or that your spouse does and that you have emergency medical insurance if something happens to you.

 

[therealbatman]

Thanks. So I guess you don't really know but I've seen a few South Africans who've done inland and usually it takes a year maximum. My friend told me hers took 9 months, some other girl a while back said hers took abotu 7 month.. which sounds really good and I looked at the site you posted a link to there are like 5 cases on there and one person who's case took just under 3 months-now I don't really know if this is for real or what but that is FAST! lol So really I am worried about the time it takes to be honest.

I don't know what my chances are of getting a work permit though because I'm sure that manager guy will actually find someone to work for him, it is superstore afterall..

If I do succeed in this though and actually get a worl permit, will I be able to apply for spousal while I am working on a work permit? I also have a multiple entry visa till 2016.

 

[Leon]

Thanks. So I guess you don't really know but I've seen a few South Africans who've done inland and usually it takes a year maximum.

If I do succeed in this though and actually get a worl permit, will I be able to apply for spousal while I am working on a work permit? I also have a multiple entry visa till 2016.

A year maximum for PR or for first stage? If it is for first stage, that is normal processing time. It can be faster, this is the first I heard of someone who got it in 3 months but it can happen in 7 months. You could also be one of the unlucky ones who is waiting for 3-4 years.

Being on a work permit will not have any affect on your ability to apply for spousal. A regular work permit gained through the normal means and completely unrelated to that process.

 

[therealbatman]

Oh okay thank you. Yeah 3 months sounds a little crazy but thats what the website said. Yeah I mean 9 month and 7 months in total. Well I'm actually certain about the 9 months case because that's a friend of mine who got it. I don't know though, I can only hope for the best I guess.

The work permit having no effect on spousal is excellent. Do you think that I will be able to receive one though in my current situation?

Because my fiance and a friend of ours can help me there with a job offer in Brandon Manitoba. It's not a skilled position just a position in superstore in retail.

 

[rjessome]

All of the advice and information you received from Leon is correct. Manitoba is a good province for LMOs. Smaller available workforce and strong economy. If you are able to find an employer who has a positive LMO and is willing to pay you fair market wage and full time hours then go for the work permit.

Some colleagues of mine have mentioned getting faster inland processing for their clients as well but it was puzzling to them to them too. They seem to anomalies rather than the norm. I rarely recommend because of the processing time as well as the fact that there is no right of appeal if refused. Overseas applications are generally faster and if refused, your sponsor has the right of appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board.

Rule of thumb for faster processing is a well prepared application with solid evidence (beware of overkill) that is organized and addresses the qualifying factors in the Act and Regulations.

 

[therealbatman]

Okay, thank you. So either way, in the end, you just have to take a chance and see what happens hey-regarding the LMO. As for spousal, I think outland will be best then. One question though, If we get refused for the LMO and say we apply for outland, Will it have any effect on the case? I don't see that it will but you never know.

Also, if we apply for outland, can we apply for an open work permit too? Or is just with inland that you can do that?

Thanks

 

[Leon]

The LMO and work permit applications are completely irrelevant to your sponsorship so it will have no effect whatsoever. The employer applies for the LMO and if he gets it, you can apply for a work permit. Either of them being approved or denied still has no effect on your sponsorship application.

There is no open work permit with outland.

 

[therealbatman]

Thank you for clarifying that Leon. Good to know that if I apply for outland, I can also apply for a work permit (not the OWP that is).