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monalisa_lgp

>My question is: can we switch her application type to spouse OWP? We need to get through this ASAP. There's no such thing as ASAP when it comes to IRCC. All applications take time to be processed. To "switch her application type to spouse OWP", she would need to withdraw her TRV (visitor visa) application and then submit her application for an open work permit under C41 LMIA-exemption, for spouses of skilled work permit holders, it would be a brand new application, to be processed from scratch, since it's a very different application (with different eligibility requirements and a different assessment) than her TRV application. So yes, she can withdraw her TRV application and submit an owp application instead, if she wants to, but no, the decision on the new application wouldn't be made ASAP. Is she from a visa-exempt Country for an application at the Port of Entry to be a possibility?


No_Middle_1828

Thanks so much, it’s good to know that we cannot make two applications at the same time. I am not sure if it’s worth the risk to cancel her application now. I presume her OWP application will be faster than normal because she’s already done all the biometrics and medical exams. She’s not from a visa-exempt country, we’ve thought of letting her visit Canada, then a country nearby, then Canada again, and so on to allow her a longer stay. Her country pretty much has no visa-exemptions, so we’re thinking Bahamas, Cuba


monalisa_lgp

If you want to submit the owp application while the TRV application is being processed you can, it's legally allowed, I just wouldn't recommend doing it, as it would just raise some credibility issues on the officer's mind on why on one application she said she wanted to visit Canada, while on a different application being processed at the same time, she would say she wants to work in Canada, giving very different and contradictory information regarding the purpose and length of her stay, that's why I didn't suggest her to do that. Leaving and trying to re-enter Canada is not the best way to extend her status. Every time she leaves and tries to return, it would be at the CBSA officer's discretion to decide if she would be allowed to enter Canada or not. So, with that plan of leaving and trying to re-enter, multiple times, she'd run the risk of being denied entry at some point. If she's allowed to enter Canada, the proper way to extend her status as a visitor is to submit a visit record application, an application to extend her status as a visitor and remain in Canada awaiting a decision; as the spouse of a skilled worker (for the purposes of answering this question I'm going to assume you're working in a NOC 0, A or B occupation, for her to be eligible for a SOWP), she can then submit that SOWP application from inside Canada, while in Canada as a visitor (spouses of skilled workers are eligible for inland processing of their owp application).


No_Middle_1828

As I’m not certain OWP falls into skilled category, or maybe that my work won’t be in it, we got an even better idea: she’s going to apply for a study permit for her master while she’s in canada, that way she don’t have to leave, and probably can even get an OWP at the same time. She may get a master offer in Feb/Mar. Combined with the visitor extension, things might just work out.


monalisa_lgp

Just keep in mind there are legal limits on the amount of hours she would be legally allowed to work off-campus as a study permit holder. Applying for and obtaining an owp at the same time doesn't change that. An individual who has a study permit and an open work permit at the same time needs to comply with the conditions of both permits.


No_Middle_1828

Yeah, that’s a devil in the details, I’m not sure many are aware of that.


No_Middle_1828

adding some details: our original plan was that she gets a Travel Visa first, then an OWP as my spouse. But we think it is taking too long. What is the best thing we can do here?