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A person who is in Canada as a tourist cannot apply for a study or work permit unless they qualify for one of the legal exceptions, such as being the spouse or child of a student or worker.
Even so, there are those who fill out application forms indicating that they areoutside Canada, when in fact they are in the country as visitors.
They do this because they believe it is a strategic way to save money on tickets and save time by taking advantage of response delays from abroad, but it is a serious mistake that could result in them being barred from entering the country or being deemed inadmissible.
Recently, during a consultation, we reviewed the case of a client who received a Procedural Fairness Letter (PFL). In that letter, the official stated that he intended to charge the client with misrepresentation.
Although in this case the person was indeed in his home country, Colombia, and the confusion was cleared up, this is an important issue to address in order to avoid risks for tourists when applying for a visa.
In this blog post, I'll help you evaluate your options based on processing times, exceptions, and the geographic location from which the request is sent.
Processing times in Canada vary significantly depending on the route you choose and your country of origin.
The estimated official processing time is approximately 200 days (about 6 months or more). This applies to transitions, extensions, and open, closed, or post-graduation work permits (PGWP).
Note: Although the system specifies 200 days, in reality it may take a little less time or take longer if the documentation is submitted incomplete.
The times are much faster:
The decision to stay in or leave the country should not be taken lightly, as it could affect your right to work and your freedom to travel.
If you are in the process of extending your work permit, check the expiration date on your current permit.
If your previous permit expires, you will be placed in "Maintained Status," which is advantageous because you will be able to continue working if your permit was valid prior to the expiration.
IMPORTANT: If you leave Canada after your closed or open work permit has expired, you will lose your Maintained Status upon your return and will no longer be able to work.
This risk does not apply to applicants for Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs), who are permitted to leave the country and return while maintaining their status.
If you must take an urgent trip after your permit has expired, leaving the country and re-entering will make you ineligible to work upon your return; therefore, in this case, it is best to apply from abroad.
If, at the time you applied for your work permit, you had lost your status or were not authorized to work, the internal wait period works against you. For example, if you are transitioning from visitor (tourist) status to worker status because you are married to a worker or a student who qualifies you for an exception, you cannot work in Canada while your status is being changed.
Keep processing times in mind. Think about what it would be like if you went 200 days without earning enough to support yourself. Besides, your boss is unlikely to agree to wait that long for you. That’s why it’s better to apply from outside the company.
A study permit that is valid at the time of submitting the PGWP application allows an international student to work while waiting for a decision.
But what happens when you lose that status?
I had a client who took almost 90 days to apply; the deadline passed, and he ended up without a valid student visa, so he couldn't work while he waited.
When asked if he could stay in Canada for 200 days without any income, he answered like most people: "There's no way."
Her strategy was to return to her home country and apply from there; she did just that, and in just 3 weeks, IRCC approved her PGWP.
How can you overcome the fear of applying it from the outside?
Applying from abroad makes many people fear they will lose the right to return to Canada, but it is important to understand the law and its timelines.
If you graduated from an eligible college or university, you are eligible to apply for travel from within or outside the country, as long as no more than 180 days have passed since your graduation or the end of classes.
If you know you won't be able to work while you're waiting for a decision on your PGWP—whether you're in Canada or abroad—consider applying from outside the country.
For people applying for closed permits, the fact that the employer cannot wait 200 days for them to return to work leads to the logical decision to go back home and apply from there, since it is difficult to remain in the country without a job.
In practice, when you apply for a renewal or a new work permit within Canada, the visa printed in your passport (the sticker) expires at the same time as the previous permit.
Extending this document requires approval of the work permit. To be able to leave and re-enter Canada, you must first have your work permit approved and then apply for the sticker.
This becomes a vicious cycle because he cannot leave since he has no way of returning (even if he doesn't mind losing his current status), and when he tries to return, they won't let him in without a visa, forcing him to apply for one from abroad anyway.
If you have questions about the process, seek specialized assistance with immigration procedures for Canada.
Do you need legal guidance to successfully apply? At Immiland Law Professional Corporation, we can help you.
We are licensed consultants and Canadian attorneys committed to helping immigrants and supporting them through the process of obtaining permanent residence.
Please contact us, and we'll be happy to evaluate your situation to see if we can represent you.
I hope this topic proves useful for your application.
See you in the next blog post, where we'll continue to help you build your Canadian dream with professionalism, dedication, and empathy!
With love,
Immiland Law Professional Corporation
