working through the sponsorship process

[ImmWannabe]

Hi,

I am in Canada as a dependent child of a diplomat and have a non objection letter to work/SIN number. But my status is expiring in May due to having reached the age limit. I will be getting married to a canadian citizen between now and then and we are gonna submit a sponsorship application but my question is this: if my employer wants to retain me after may, beyond the validity of my diplomatic status, can that be done in light of my sponsorship application?

THanks,

 

[Leon]

Your employer can apply for your LMO and if they can prove that no Canadian or PR wants your job, then you can use the LMO to apply for a work permit.

If you are applying inland, you can apply for an open work permit with your application but you will not see it for about 6 months after you apply, that is if all goes well with your application.

If you are applying outland, you are not eligible for an open work permit but the processing times with outland tend to be faster so you may have your actual PR in the same amount of time or faster than you would have your open work permit with inland. Depends on what country you are getting processed in though.

 

[ImmWannabe]

Well, I am in Canada, in Ontario at the moment and have no intention to leave the country to apply, so in that scenario what do you think would be best?

I was looking at the processing times as well and I have a question: CPC Missisagua has a processing time of 36 days for spouse sponsorships, while Vergeville has 5-6 months...why such a big difference? and are they the same type?

 

[Leon]

There are pros and cons with inland vs. outland.

Inland is based on you staying in Canada throughout the processing. If you end up leaving Canada during this time and for any reason are denied entry to get back in, your inland is gone. If you do an inland application, you can expect your first stage approval in about 6 months if all goes well. At that point, you can get health care and an open work permit. You can expect your PR in 12-18 months, if all goes well. The drawback with inland is when it doesn't go well. If Vegreville is not convinced of your relationship or they have any questions causing them to want an interview, they will forward your file to your local CIC office in Ontario and you will have to wait for them to have time for your interview. Depending on the caseload of your local office, your application could be sitting on the shelf for 1-3 years and in the meantime, you are stuck in Canada with no health care and no work permit. The pros with inland are that they will not kick you out while you are waiting.

Outland is basically asking for your application to be processed in your country of nationality but that doesn't mean you have to be there. Mississauga takes 36 days to approve your spouse as your sponsor but after that, your application is sent to your country of nationality and takes another few months there, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/international/05-fc-spouses.asp There is no work permit with outland but the processing time is usually shorter. The drawback with outland is that if there's an interview required, you will have to go to the country where your application is being processed and you don't really have a claim to stay in Canada so if you end up out of status and apply to change your status to visitor while you are waiting, they don't really have to let you stay although I imagine they would in most cases. Since you are legally residing in Canada, you could also ask to have your application processed in the US if it's better for you but make sure you can get a visa to travel to the US if you have to have an interview.

 

[ImmWannabe]

Hey Leon,

Thank you VERY much for the great info! I do have another question though: what are the main differences between first stage approval and full PR?

You mentioned health care...anything else?