Advice for a friend - Inland or Outland?

[Hnhkrk]

I have a friend that I work with who is in Canada on a Worker's visa that expires 2015. She is looking into applying for her Permanent Residency through a Common Law Spousal Sponsorship, and I'm just wondering if I should advise her to apply inland or outland? Actually, I'm wondering is she can even apply outland if she has a worker's visa that she's already using. She's from Holland, and she said that she had to have her application processed through Germany but I don't even see that on the processing times list.

 

[Rob_TO]

I have a friend that I work with who is in Canada on a Worker's visa that expires 2015. She is looking into applying for her Permanent Residency through a Common Law Spousal Sponsorship, and I'm just wondering if I should advise her to apply inland or outland? Actually, I'm wondering is she can even apply outland if she has a worker's visa that she's already using. She's from Holland, and she said that she had to have her application processed through Germany but I don't even see that on the processing times list.

My advice is 100% apply outland. She can continue to work and have a valid visa until 2015, and the PR should be done a lot quicker than that anyways. I assume they are already common-law (have lived together at least 12 months) so can apply right away. Also during the entire process she can come and go as she pleases (for vacations, visiting family at home etc) from Canada, which she wouldn't be able to do inland.

I believe she would apply via the Vienna office for outland.

 

[Hnhkrk]

My advice is 100% apply outland. She can continue to work and have a valid visa until 2015, and the PR should be done a lot quicker than that anyways. I assume they are already common-law (have lived together at least 12 months) so can apply right away. Also during the entire process she can come and go as she pleases (for vacations, visiting family at home etc) from Canada, which she wouldn't be able to do inland.

I believe she would apply via the Vienna office for outland.

That's what I told her, and that's what I am going to continue to tell her. I wasn't sure if the whole working in Canada with a Worker's permit would would allow her to do so, though. So I'm glad that she can!

 

[frege]

Although generally I think outland is likely to be the better option , I can think of a couple of circumstances in which inland might be preferable. The reason is that "approval in principle" (AIP) in an inland application is likely faster than completing PR through Vienna.

With AIP your friend can:

1) Attend university with in-province tuition in some provinces;

2) Change employers (in case her current work permit is not an open one).

If it's important to her to obtain these benefits sooner, she might consider an inland application.

It's true that if she leaves the country and isn't allowed back in, an inland application will be cancelled. Generally, however, after approval in principle has been granted, CIC will facilitate the return of in-Canada applicants.

For example, manual OP11 says the following:

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and its Regulations permit certain foreign nationals
to apply for permanent residence from within Canada. Given that processing times for in-Canada
applications can be lengthy, in some instances, an applicant may voluntarily and temporarily leave
Canada during the processing of their application.

When processing applications for temporary resident visas for foreign nationals with an
application for permanent residence in Canada in progress, officers should take into consideration
whether approval in principle (first-stage approval) has been granted. It is consistent with IRPA,
and in the best interests of both CIC and the applicant, to facilitate the re-entry of these applicants
as temporary residents in order to continue processing their application for permanent residence
from within Canada.

[...]

Visa officers should verify by checking FOSS or CAIPS whether or not approval in principle (AIP—
first stage "approval in principle") has been granted on the in-Canada application.
If AIP has been granted (that is, the applicant meets the requirements of the class but is awaiting
screening on admissibility), and:
• there are no serious admissibility or eligibility concerns;
• there is no reason to think the applicant is likely to fall out of status during the finalization of
their application for PR within Canada; and
• it appears likely that the applicant will become a permanent resident during their authorized
stay in Canada (including any extensions) and would not stay in Canada illegally [i.e., meets
R179(b)];

then, if satisfied of the above, the visa officer should issue a TRV.

If AIP status is unclear or there are negative indicators concerning the current in-Canada PR
application, it is recommended that the visa office contact the in-Canada office responsible (i.e.,
CPC-V or a CIC inland office) for clarification of the case status before making a decision on the
TRV application.

If AIP has not been granted, it is also recommended that the visa office contact the in-Canada
office responsible (i.e., CPC-V or a CIC inland office) for any information that might be relevant to
the application at hand via e-mail using the CPC-Vegreville-Enquiries mailbox to communicate
with the CPC-V.

 

[Rob_TO]

The reason is that "approval in principle" (AIP) in an inland application is likely faster than completing PR through Vienna.

These days it looks like stage 1 approval for inland is taking 9 - 10 months. There are many cases going through Vienna that have full PR before that time. Of course who knows what effect the strike will end up having...