Inland vs. Outland Spousal PR

Neha

New Member
My husband and I have been married for 5 years and have been together for 10 years.
We have a three year old daughter together.
Our daughter and I are Canadian Citizens where as my husband is an Indian Citizen (with a valid 10 year Canadian Visa).
I moved back to India from Canada 5 years ago to get married and start a family

We want to relocate permanently to Canada as soon as possible , and are in the midst of debating the Inland vs. Outland Routes especially during these times.

Ideally, we would like to fly into the country and apply under Inland whilst applying for the Open Work Permit at the same time.

However I wanted to check if going this 'dual intent' route is advisable, especially as I, as Sponsor, shall be relocating to Canada after a 5 year absence myself.
I do not have a job in Canada - I am a freelancer and would be earning money from my assignments in India (as well as have proof of sufficient funds to cover the three year sponsorship requirements)

1) As a Sponsor, do I need to live in Canada for a stipulated period of time before we can file under the Inland Route?
2) My taxes as a non-resident are up to date, except for this year. I have recently filed them but have not received a Notice of Assessment for 2020. Would that be a problem?

What would you advise?

Thank you for your time!
 

Riley Haas

Administrator
Staff member
Location
Toronto
Let me try to answer your questions:
  1. No. If you sponsor him inland and you are residing in Canada at the time you submit the application, there is no requirement that you've been here for X months or years first.
  2. I think everyone is really behind. This application will take way longer than it would under normal circumstances. One reason is that no government department is functioning normally. The fact that you haven't received your Notice of Assessment for the 2019 tax year yet is probably very normal given the circumstances. Depending upon when you get it, you may just have to pass it along to IRCC during the application process. You can include a note explaining why it's missing in the original application.
Hope this helps.
 

Neha

New Member
Hello!

Thank you for your response, Riley.
Adding on a couple of further questions

- Good to know I don’t need to be in Canada for a stipulated amount of time myself before sponsoring. However in that case, would joint documentation from India suffice if we go in the inland route or I’d have to figure out documentation in Canada?

- I own a property in Toronto thereby furnishing evidence of our intent to permanently relocate if we choose the Outland Route

- I believe the Open Work Permit Pilot was last extended till July 31st 2020 and no word on an extension since?

Looking at the variables in our case, and the fact that we have enough saved only for my husband to go without work for 4/5 months tops, which route would you advise? Inland or Outland?

We are ready to pack up and leave asap if need be but don’t want to be blindsided by something we’re missing out in the Inland Route
Thank you very much
 

Riley Haas

Administrator
Staff member
Location
Toronto
Well, for inland you have to prove you live in Canada. If you mean proving your relationship, the documentation can be from another country as long as it is appropriately translated (though I think that's not applicable in your case).

So if you are going "outland" without first personally returning to Canada, the property would indeed serve as proof of your intent to reside. However, in our experience proving intent to reside is quite difficult - it's an extra burden that is unnecessary if you just move back to Canada first. (I.e. in the case of outland you would move without your husband).

As to the open work permit: Yes, it looks like that program is still happening: https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1163&top=17

If your husband can get a visa and you can travel here successfully, inland is better because you can be together and he can apply for an open work permit. (Though there will be delays given the pandemic.)

Outland (with you in Canada) has the benefits of an appeal if the application is rejected and also your husband can continue working where he is now.

Outland with you both outside of Canada is, in our opinion, rarely a good idea. In our experience these applications are rarely approved.
 

Silvia

New Member
I am 37-years-old, born and live in Brazil, and I have German citizenship (I have both Brazilian and EU passaports). My fiancé is Canadian and lives in Canada. None of us are married/divorced. We both have steady jobs in Brazil and in Canada. We have been willing to marry and live in Canada. Before covid-19, we first thought of marrying in Canada and going for the inland sponsorship process, but at the moment, with Canadian borders shut due to covid-19 at least until Oct 31, 2020, as far as I know I cannot enter Canada for visiting purposes, even with the ETA I got last year when I visited him in Canada. Therefore, we are in doubt as to what would be the best strategy to achieve our goal of starting a life together: 1) if marrying in Brazil and applying for the outland sponsorship, 2) if marrying in Brazil, then I enter Canada as a spouse and we apply for the inland sponsorship; 3) another option you visualize is better. Would you be so kind to advise on that? We have been physically apart and visiting each other and our families twice a year, for 1 year and 10 months now, and we really want to be able to start a life as a family, under the same roof. Thanks in advance.
 

Riley Haas

Administrator
Staff member
Location
Toronto
Options 1 and 2 are fairly similar in normal times. The main differences are that inland refusals cannot be appealed, whereas outland can, and with inland you're together and outland you're not. Normally, you'd try to come here for inland and, if that didn't work out, you'd do outland. (Easier for you because of your German passport and ETA.)

However, right now it's really hard to know what will happen if you do come to the Canadian border with your spouse and try to get admitted. He will be admitted of course. So outland is likely less risky, provided he can come to Brazil to marry you.
 

Silvia

New Member
If a person entered Canada on a visitor visa (ETA), marries a Canadian citizen, but stays in Canada longer than allowed (the date stamped on her passport), is it most likely that the inland sponsorship application will be denied? The person in my example wrongly understood that an ETA granted her authorization to stay in Canada as a visitor for a maximum of 6 months, without realizing that the actual due date was the one stamped on the passport, despite the fact that her ETA is valid for years from now. She realized that when finished filling all the forms and having all the necessary documentation gathered for the inland sponsorship application process, as well as payed the fees, but hasn´t submited the application yet. The person in my example is also really afraid of not being able to remain with her husband, as they intend to have kids but she is close to the age limit to start a family, as well as her mother-in-law in Canada suffers from a progressive degenerative disease and needs family daily assistance and emotional support.
 

Riley Haas

Administrator
Staff member
Location
Toronto
Hi,
So the person being sponsored needs to have legal status in the country they are living in at the time that the application is submitted.

Since it sounds like the status has expired already, and the application has not been submitted, this person needs to leave Canada and re-enter. That's easier because the eTA is still valid but also because of the connections between this person in Canada. In normal times, these connections might not be an asset - say if the person had to reapply for an eTA - but, currently, immediate family can come to Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigratio...s-covid19/travel-restrictions-exemptions.html
 

Silvia

New Member
Thanks for kindly answering and helping, Riley.

Just in case anyone reading this may face the situation I posted on Apr 15, 2021 (spouse went out of status in Canada and wants t to apply for inland spousal sponsorship process in order to physically remain with her husband), it came to my knowledge that there is a public policy (Public Policy Under A25(1) of IRPA) that aims at "family reunification and facilitate processing in cases where spouses and common-law partners are already living together in Canada".

According to this public policy, "spouses or common-law partners in Canada, ***regardless of their immigration status***, are now able to apply for permanent residence from within Canada in accordance with the same criteria as members of the Spouse or Common-law Partner in Canada class". (more details on this policy available on this link: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigratio...otection-act-spousal-policy.html#lackOfStatus).

Also, I believe this is why IRCC advises primary applicants (in this case, a spouse that is applying to be sponsored) that are out of status, when filling out form IMM 0008 (Generic Application Form for Canada - one of the mandatory forms to be filled for the inland sponsorship process), to fill question 10 of Principal Applicant´s Personal Information with the following:

For out-of-status applicants
for “Status,” select “Other”
for “Other,” type in “Out of status, requires restoration”
leave the “From” and “To” boxes blank

This information is available on this link: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigratio...ner-dependent-child-complete-guide.html#forms.

I hope this can help other people, specially in this difficult time of covid-19, when even people who fit the exemptions may face a hard time having to leave Canada and re-enter the country again, as one will have to be away from the spouse, will have to be able to afford the travel expenses, will be exposed to covid-19 in the airports and eventually may have a hard time with the airport official when entering Canada - despite having the authorization to enter Canada during the pandemic.

This forum and IMMIGROUP team are very helpful, thanks again.
 
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