Work Permit During Spouse Sponsorship process

[payam6060]

Hi,

I had a question and i was hoping someone could kindly help me on that.

I am a Canadian citizen. I got married on last summer in Australia and I and my wife, who is an Australian, came to Canada a few day after our marriage. She was awarded a one-year visitor visa upon her arrival to Canada and I submitted an spouse sponsoring application as well as the application for permanent residency a couple of months after we resided. I was wondering if there is any way she could apply for a work permit while we are waiting for the process of sponsorship and PR. What kind of a work permit she could apply for and approximately how long it would take to get such a permit .

Thanks in advance for your help and guidance.

Regards,

Payam

 

[RobsLuv]

What type of application did you submit? If you applied to sponsor her through the inland application process (your application went to Vegreville, AB), she will be eligible to apply for an open work permit after first stage approval - but if you applied that way and you didn't include an extension/change of conditions application WITH the inland ap, you've got issues we have to talk about. First stage approval is currently taking about a year.

If you applied via the outland process (application went to Mississauga, ON and then Sydney), she is not eligible to apply for a work permit from within Canada. She would have to get a job offer from a Canadian employer who would have to get a positive Labour Market Opinion through the government in order to offer her a position, and then that offer and the LMO would have to go with an application for a work permit through the embassy in Sydney. That process would probably take longer than it would take to finalize a spousal PR application through Sydney - currently 7 months.

It's important to remember that her temporary status must remain valid - whether inland or outland - through submission of the extension/change of conditions application. An inland applicant can change their conditions (upon first stage approval, that's where an OWP would come in), but an outland applicant can't. The outland applicant staying in Canada while awaiting finalization of the PR application DOES still need to apply to extend the status given them on entry if their PR is not finalized by the time their temporary status is due to expire in order to remain in Canada legally. More info here.

 

[TU160]

Hi,

I had a question and i was hoping someone could kindly help me on that.

I am a Canadian citizen. I got married on last summer in Australia and I and my wife, who is an Australian, came to Canada a few day after our marriage. She was awarded a one-year visitor visa upon her arrival to Canada and I submitted an spouse sponsoring application as well as the application for permanent residency a couple of months after we resided. I was wondering if there is any way she could apply for a work permit while we are waiting for the process of sponsorship and PR. What kind of a work permit she could apply for and approximately how long it would take to get such a permit .

Thanks in advance for your help and guidance.

Regards,

Payam

Hi Payam,

Your wife could try to find a job. It takes 1-3 months to get a work permit for an employer.

 

[figgy]

If she is under 30 she can get a 2 year working holiday work permit.

my australia boyfriend is here on that while we apply for his permanent residency (sending it to sydney visa office)

 

[RobsLuv]

That is definitely an option to look into.

 

[figgy]

ps- the working holiday visa can be extended for aussie's as well....we might have to do that while we are waiting for perm. residency.

it's quite cheap (as far as these things go) $150

but, if she applies the working holiday visa inside Canada, once she is approved she will have to cross the border into U.S (or anywhere outside Canada) then come back through Canadian customs to activate it. (you can just cross the border for the day)


good luck!

 

[payam6060]

If she is under 30 she can get a 2 year working holiday work permit.

my australia boyfriend is here on that while we apply for his permanent residency (sending it to sydney visa office)

Thanks figgy,

Did ur bf apply for a 2 year working holiday permit before OR after you guys submitted the PR application? (was he in Canada or Australia when he applied for the permit?) Did you sponsor your bf or he applied for PR under his working visa?

Thanks,

Payam

 

[payam6060]

What type of application did you submit? If you applied to sponsor her through the inland application process (your application went to Vegreville, AB), she will be eligible to apply for an open work permit after first stage approval - but if you applied that way and you didn't include an extension/change of conditions application WITH the inland ap, you've got issues we have to talk about. First stage approval is currently taking about a year.

If you applied via the outland process (application went to Mississauga, ON and then Sydney), she is not eligible to apply for a work permit from within Canada. She would have to get a job offer from a Canadian employer who would have to get a positive Labour Market Opinion through the government in order to offer her a position, and then that offer and the LMO would have to go with an application for a work permit through the embassy in Sydney. That process would probably take longer than it would take to finalize a spousal PR application through Sydney - currently 7 months.

It's important to remember that her temporary status remain valid - whether inland or outland - through submission of the extension/change of conditions application. An inland applicant can change their conditions (upon first stage approval, that's where an OWP would come in), but an outland applicant can't. The outland applicant staying in Canada while awaiting finalization of the PR application DOES still need to apply to extend the status given them on entry if their PR is not finalized by the time their temporary status is due to expire in order to remain in Canada legally.

Hi RobsLuv,

Thanks for the info!

We applied through inland application (the application went to Vegreville, AB) but I didn't include an extension/change of conditions application with the inland application. What is extension/change of conditions application and how does it work?

Thanks,

Payam

 

[PUZZLED]

Hello RobsLuv! I just had one question with you. Im under inland application and still waiting for my PR. My OWP is about to get expired by FEB 20, do i need to renew it or do I have to wait for my PR ? I dont know maybe it i will have it soon or not and Iam not working right now. Is it necessary to extend or renew my OWP or have to wait for the release of my PR? Thank you in advance.

 

[figgy]

payam6060 ,

we were living in the UK and decided to come back to canada to live. So he applied for his working holiday visa when we were in the UK, once he got that, we moved to canada.

now that we are in canada I am sponsoring him for permanent residency. we should be ready to apply in the next few weeks. we are applying "outland" with the sydney visa office because it's faster and has other advantages.

his visa expires in june 2013, we are hoping his perm. res. is approved by then, but if not, they let you apply for a second working holiday visa.

 

[RobsLuv]

Hi RobsLuv,

Thanks for the info!

We applied through inland application (the application went to Vegreville, AB) but I didn't include an extension/change of conditions application with the inland application. What is extension/change of conditions application and how does it work?

Thanks,

Payam

PAYAM: OK, this is important and will become a problem if it's not dealt with properly. How long ago was the PR application received at Vegreville? When does her visitor status expire?

Hello RobsLuv! I just had one question with you. Im under inland application and still waiting for my PR. My OWP is about to get expired by FEB 20, do i need to renew it or do I have to wait for my PR ? I dont know maybe it i will have it soon or not and Iam not working right now. Is it necessary to extend or renew my OWP or have to wait for the release of my PR? Thank you in advance.

PUZZLED: Yes - you do have to submit an extension to your OWP - absolutely! As long as the extension application is received by CPC-Vegreville prior to the expiration of your OWP, you're allowed to continue working under the terms of the original permit, even after it's expired, until you get the new one. Keep that permit valid until you get PR. It's very important. Track your mailing and get signature delivery confirmation to prove that you are under "implied status" to remain and work legally in Canada after your OWP expires.

 

[payam6060]

PAYAM: OK, this is important and will become a problem if it's not dealt with properly. How long ago was the PR application received at Vegreville? When does her visitor status expire?

RobsLuv,

Thanks for your reply!

The application was received on 17/10/2011. Her visa expires on June 27th this year.

Thanks,

Payam

 

[PUZZLED]

PAYAM: OK, this is important and will become a problem if it's not dealt with properly. How long ago was the PR application received at Vegreville? When does her visitor status expire?

PUZZLED: Yes - you do have to submit an extension to your OWP - absolutely! As long as the extension application is received by CPC-Vegreville prior to the expiration of your OWP, you're allowed to continue working under the terms of the original permit, even after it's expired, until you get the new one. Keep that permit valid until you get PR. It's very important. Track your mailing and get signature delivery confirmation to prove that you are under "implied status" to remain and work legally in Canada after your OWP expires.

Thanks a lot! I will definitely take your advice. This week I will apply for the renewal of my OWP.

 

[RobsLuv]

RobsLuv,

Thanks for your reply!

The application was received on 17/10/2011. Her visa expires on June 27th this year.

Thanks,

Payam

OK, Payam - Here's what needs to happen. CPC-Vegreville will not be looking at her application until sometime next fall - first stage approval for inland applicants is currently set at 11-12 months. In the meantime, it's imperative that her temporary status stays valid, and that the officer who pulls the PR file to assess for first stage can tell that her temporary status is still valid. As it stands now - without an extension application being filed with the PR ap - the officer who opens the PR application is going to think that her status has expired, even if you have applied separately to extend it. Just because they are all working at the same place is no guarantee the right hand knows what the left hand is doing. That would mean that her PR ap would be transferred to a local CIC office for processing before they'll give first stage approval and that can significantly delay processing. You don't want that after waiting a year just to get the PR ap looked at!

So, here is my suggestion: submit an application to change her conditions to Open Work Permit. Fee is $150. Write these words across the top of the application: INLAND SPOUSAL SPONSORSHIP APPLICATION SUBMITTED 17OCT2011. CLIENT ID# (fill in her client ID# from her visitor permit). PLEASE DO NOT PROCESS UNTIL FIRST STAGE APPROVAL!!!! I would suggest that you also include a cover letter to the same effect. What has to happen is they have to wait to process her OWP application because she is not eligible for one until she has passed the first stage of assessment of the PR application, BUT submitting the OWP application before her visitor status expires in June will protect her temporary status in Canada until the first stage is completed on the PR ap. I would suggest that you apply by mail - not online! - track the mailing and get delivery confirmation so you can prove it was sent before her status expired. I would also suggest that you not wait until June to submit this - just in case they screw up and try to process the OWP now (it would be refused), having submitted early will give you time to correct their error before her visitor status expires - and that's important.

They should be able to "match" the extension/change of condition ap to the inland PR ap because of your notification to them of the fact it exists. The reason for requesting an OWP (besides the fact that then they will automatically issue her a work permit once she reaches first stage) is that if they mess up now and don't attach it to the PR application, you will get notification of that because she'll receive a refusal of the OWP and you will be able to work through your MP's office to get things straightened out before her visitor status expires. If you were to try to "play it safe" and submit a visitor extension only, it would be approved but it might not get matched up to the inland PR ap - because nobody would take a second look at it like they will the OWP (because she's not eligible without the inland PR ap being in process). In that case, new visitor status would be issued but the officer assessing for first stage would not find out and would assume her status had lapsed. So, again, my suggestion would be that you submit an OWP application within the next few weeks and indicate that she has an inland PR application that was received by them in October. That should signal them to hold the OWP and match it with the inland ap. The drawback is that you won't hear anything unless something goes wrong - so you won't get direct notification that things have been properly matched up. But if they don't properly match things up, you will get notification by way of the refusal of the OWP ap. Then, again, you'll have time to straighten things out before her temporary status expires in June.

Hope this makes sense. If not, please PM me. Best Wishes.

 

[PUZZLED]

Hi RobsLuv! I finally did my extension of OWP today and i did it by online application. Is it ok to do it by online or by mailing? Because the last time I did it by post mail. The application online form is different in the mailing forms thats why i got little confused. The questionnaires are not the same ...let me know your opinion. Thanks a bunch!