If you have lost your immigration status and wish to stay in Canada, you may feel as if you have no options. However, there are options for out-of-status temporary residents to become permanent residents of Canada.
What does getting out of status mean?
You have status if you are legally permitted to remain in Canada. If you have permission to stay in the nation temporarily but have not been granted permanent residency, you may have temporary resident status. Temporary resident status is obtained by obtaining a Work Permit or Study Permit, a visa, or a passport stamp.
Permits and visas will specify when they will expire. If you have one of these documents, you have temporary resident status in Canada until the date mentioned on the document.
Staying past the date on which your status expires is an offense of Canadian immigration law. If a person does not apply to extend their stay in Canada before their status expires, they must leave the country.
If your temporary resident status has expired and you wish to stay in Canada, the first step should always be to file for status restoration. You must request for restoration within 90 days of the expiry date of your status. If your temporary status has expired for more than 90 days, you have very few choices for remaining in Canada.
We will detail several options for regaining your Canadian status below.
Sponsorship
Spousal sponsorship is one of the few choices for those who are out of status. Someone who lives with their Canadian spouse or common-law partner may be sponsored for permanent residency.
Just like any other spousal sponsorship application, the parties in the relationship must be able to demonstrate to immigration officials that their relationship is genuine. The relationship must satisfy the legal standards for marriage or common-law partnerships.
Express Entry
Some candidates in the federal Express Entry pool are temporary foreign employees or students in Canada. It is likely that their temporary status will expire as they wait in the pool for a chance to apply for permanent residence.
If this occurs, the candidate’s Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score is likely to drop. However, even if the candidate’s status has expired, their profile will remain active in the pool.
There should be no meaningful impact on your Express Entry file if you seek to restore your status within 90 days and comply with the requirements and restrictions on your status, such as not working or leaving the country if your application is refused.
If your temporary status has expired but you have previously applied for an extension or new status, you have maintained status while that application is being handled. This means you can continue to work under the conditions of your former status while your new application is being processed.
Overstayed your visa in another country
You need not be worried if you are out of status in another nation, such as the United States, because it will not hinder your Canadian permanent residence application. It may, however, have a detrimental impact on any application you submit for temporary residency in Canada.
IRCC employees review temporary residence applications to determine whether the applicant satisfies the criteria for the permit and is likely to comply with the terms of their stay. In other words, how likely you are to depart the country after your visa expires?
If you are already overstaying your visa in another country, the visa officer may assume you would overstay in Canada and may deny your application.
When applying for permanent residence, however, you must demonstrate that you intend to live in Canada and not that you intend to leave after a particular period of time. As a result, unless there is a crime involved in your lack of status, it is unlikely that it will be considered in your permanent residence application.
