2015 IEC WHP visa issues

[haliaussie]

Hi,

I applied for the IEC WHP visa in March 2015 from my country of citizenship (Australia). Normally a 2 year visa. I received the letter of introduction in April, and the LOI had an expiry date of Sept 14, 2015, a date which I cannot determine the relevance of. I entered Canada on April 29, 2015, and the work permit given to me at the border had this same expiry date of Sept 14, 2015, effectively making the visa 4.5 months instead of 2 years.

Questions that I hope you can help me with
1) Has anyone heard of similar instances of this with (seemingly) random expiry dates on LOI and work permits? Or does anyone know a specific reason why this has occurred?
2) On the advice of CIC, I have submitted an application to change conditions of my work permit to Vegreville, AB office (including fee). Any idea on likelihood of success?

In addition, my wife (Canadian ciitizen by birth) and I submitted a PR application (spousal sponsorship) in October 2014, when we were still living in Australia. We received notification in December 2014 that my wife had been approved to sponsor me (roughly in line with the 44 day suggested processing time), and that my application was to be forwarded to the Ottawa office. This in itself seems odd as I thought it would be sent to the Sydney, Australia office.

More Questions
1) Would this still be classed as an "outland" application, even though my application was forwarded to Ottawa and not Sydney, Australia?
2) If considered outland, I believe I'm ineligible for a bridging visa to allow me to work between expiry of my current work permit (due to expire Sept 14, 2015 unless my application to get it amended as per above is successful), and granting of my PR?
3) If my work visa isn't extended, and my PR isn't approved by the expiry date (Sept 14, 2015), what options do I have to stay in Canada (preferably as a worker, at the least as a visitor?)

Lastly, my wife (Canadian citizen), who moved with me to Canada in April 2015, and plans to stay permanently, is pregnant with our first child, due in December (baby to be born in Canada). Does this have any impact on any of the above?

Thanks in advance for any advice. Seems like a couple of aspects of my situation is inconsistent with what would normally be expected (work permit expiry date, and my PR application being forwarded to Ottawa despite applying from outside Canada), hence I can't find relevant information on CIC website

 

[Riley Haas]

Hi
First, your IEC questions:
[list type=decimal]
[*]This was apparently a mistake. You should have been given longer entry into Canada. It sucks that this happened. It's definitely not supposed to.
[*]This is the correct thing to do. Your application should be processed successfully provided it was completed properly and the correct supporting documentation submitted. If it's rejected for some reason, let us know and we'll see what we can do. One of our consultants actually originally came here on IEC himself and is somewhat of an expert.
[/list]
As to the sponsorship questions:
Some applications are processed in Ottawa as part of a "pilot project." Off the top of my head, I don't know which ones. To the other questions:
[list type=decimal]
[*]Yes, it's outland, because you were both not in Canada at the time. Where it is processed in theory shouldn't affect this aspect of it, but I could be wrong about that.
[*]Yeah, you are not eligible for those work permits. But once your application to change conditions is accepted and approved (as it should be), you should have status in Canada well beyond December or January, when you should get the results of the sponsorship application.
[*]I doubt this will happen given your nationality, the program you came on, and so forth, but if it does, you will need to act based on why it was rejected, which we don't yet know. (I.e., if it's rejected because of a mistake in the application, then you just need to reapply.)[/list]
Unfortunately having a kid here will not, by itself, entitle you to anything. However, if, for some reason, your application to change conditions was denied at the officer's discretion, you might be then able to appeal on what is known as "humanitarian and compassionate grounds." (Don't take my word for that, though, as I am just the webmaster and don't know which applications are eligible for those types of appeals.)
Hope this helps.

 

[haliaussie]

Thanks for the detailed response Riley.
I guess I just have to wait unitl the work permit change application is processed and go from there.
I did submit it on April 30 and was returned to me on June 22 (as I didn't know I had to pay a fee), then resubmitted in late June (with fee). So based on that, should get a response by mid to late August, and hopefully this response will involve giving me a corrected work permit which should last well beyond the granting of my PR.
If in August my application is rejected, will get in ouch

Thanks

 

[Riley Haas]

Glad I was able to help

 

[haliaussie]

Hi,

Just an update, It has now been over 7 weeks since I sent my Application to Change Conditions or Extend Your Stay in Canada as a Worker, and I am yet to receive a reply. My current work permit expires September 14, so it's getting pretty tight.

Does "implied status" apply to my case? I.e. if I don't get a response by the expiry date, can I continue to stay in Canada and work until I do receive a response? My SIN is also only valid until Sept 14, as it is tied to the work permit expiry date.

Secondly,
In regards to my PR application, I have started receiving requests for documents from CIC.
One request was as follows:
"Police Certificate: From each country/state where the residence period has been six months or longer since the age of 18, please provide an original police clearance certificate for Australian Driver's abstract ."

What exactly are they requesting? I sent an Australian National Police Certificate in with my original application. Is this something different? When I look at CIC website, they state the following is required:

Name of document(s) to get:
?Australian National Police Certificate ? Standard Disclosure ? name check only (issued by the Australian Federal Police)
?Traffic History (for residents of Queensland only)
?Full Licence History Search (for residents of Victoria only)

I have not lived in Queensland or Victoria, so I believe I have already sent in what they require? The only other jurisdiction I have lived in for more than 6 months at the current time is Alberta. Do I need to send in anything from them?

Lastly, another request was for medical exam if I have not already done so. I did an upfront medical exam in Sept 2014 for my PR application, and the CIC application status portal clearly states that they have received my medical results. Do these results have an expiry date if CIC take a long time to process my application?

Thanks again

 

[Riley Haas]

Hi again,
Sorry to hear you haven't heard anything about your application to change conditions. Have you checked your application status on CIC (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/my_application/status.asp) or called them at 1-888-242‑2100?

Sorry if I failed to mention it last time, but usually these applications take about 3 months. The good news is that you do indeed have implied status because you submitted the application before your permit expired.

One question I failed to ask before, when is the expiry date of your Australian passport? It's not September 14, 2015, right?

As to your PR, this is not something I can personally answer, I don't think. It sounds like they are asking for your driver's history but if you are not from either state that requires it, it could be an error. Best thing to do would be to either call CIC or get a consultation.

You probably need an Alberta police clearance but, again, that's something I don't know a definitive answer to.

Unfortunately, the request for a second medical exam during a spousal sponsorship application is entirely normal. Go get the exam. Basically, CIC believes that the application will not be processed by the time your exam expires (i.e. September) and so they need another. Nothing to be done accept to submit a new one. Sorry.

 

[haliaussie]

Thanks again for the reply
Passport is valid until 2024, so no issue there
As far as I can see, this application status isn't available online. When I click your link and choose Verification of status (VOS) or request to amend, there is no option to check status. I'll see if I can get through to them on the phone line.
But good to know I have implied status, buys me a bit of time.

 

[Riley Haas]

It might be under work permit, but I'm not sure.

Calling them is absolutely the best thing to do right now. Good luck.

 

[haliaussie]

Hi Riley,

Just an update - CIC sent me a work visa in the mail last week with the correct expiry date. So that is a relief, thanks for your advice earlier.

Quick question - the permit was not accompanied by any letter or other information. Just the visa itself. Usually a visa is received at a port of entry and is stapled into my passport, which is where my expired visa remains. Should I staple my new visa into my passport myself? And leave the expired one in there or remove? I want to minimize any confusion next time I leave and re-enter Canada

Thanks

 

[Riley Haas]

Hi,
Glad to hear your got your visa. Excellent news.

You can remove the expired visa. It's no longer valid.

As for the new one, I don't know whether or not you should staple it, but otherwise attaching where the old one was is a good idea.

Hope this helps.