Canadian Citizen sponsoring under common law

[potential_resident]

Hi there,

I will be sponsored by my partner who is a canadian citizen under common law next year. Questions I have are:

-do i send in the application for an open work permit at the same time as my common law application (also including permanent residency application)?
-when can I expect to get my open work permit issued to me (specifically: after stage 1 or stage 2 of the common law application?)
-can i apply for common law application to a visa office outside of canada for quicker processing times? (given i will be residing in canada still? is this even possible?)

regards to all

 

[MilesAway]

You can apply via the outland route, that is sending your application to Mississauga and then being processed at a visa office outside of Canada. If that is the case, you need to maintain legal status in Canada. Also, you would need to travel to that visa office should an interview be required. If you apply via the outland route, you do not qualify for the open work permit.

If you apply inland, you should submit your application for the open work permit at the same time. That gives you implied status. The work permit is processed after stage 1, which I think is 6 or 8 months. Note that if you aren't visa-exempt (and even if you are), you shouldn't leave Canada while your application is still in progress, because if you are refused entry, then your application is considered abandoned and you need to start over again. There is a post on here of someone who had to leave to attend a funeral and the applicant could not get a visa to return to Canada. They will likely need to apply again via the outland route.

 

[potential_resident]

Thanks for the reply.