latakia

Hello to everybody,

for people who don't require a visa to come to Canada as visitor, is it possible the conversion into for example a student visa, or a work visa, without leaving the country?

And how about instead for people who need a visa to come?

Many thanks in advance, cheers
L.

Andrew Miller

Impossible, regardless visa needed or not.

Only those in Canada with still valid work or study permit can extend them or change conditions (from study to work and vice versa) in Canada. Those admitted as visitors can't do it, sorry.

But visitors can still send application from Canada to visa post in their home country. Once they receive approval notice they must leave Canada and return in order to have actual work or study permit issued at the port of entry.

loser40

So Andrew...

...just to be clear.

If I my partner and I are were in Canada as visitors from the UK, my partner could apply for a study permit and I could apply for an OWP by sending the forms back to the UK, and, once granted, we could both flagpole ?

Yes ???

M.

Andrew Miller

Yes, sending application to proper visa post outside Canada is the standard way to apply for WP and SP, regardless where applicants are.

And yes, once approval notices are received flagpole is the best option for those already in Canada.

YYZlover

Wow, Andrew. You must know something my immigration lawyer and CIC don't know. Both say it is possible to extend or change condition of stay by applying to Vegreville.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/extend-stay.asp

Andrew Miller

Who says anything about not being able to extend stay through Vegreville?

The question was about changing from visitor status to student or worker - it just cannot be done through Vegreville, except in special cases - for example for dependent spouses of study/work permit holders and sponsored spouses/common-law partners through in-Canada class, after they receive approval in principle.

All other visitors cannot change their status through Vegreville, period. They can extend visitor status, but cannot change it to work or study permit. Ask your lawyers again. Unless of course you didn't understand the original question and confused different matters.

And I strongly suggest - please read all on the page you provided link to before making claims you just did. At the bottom of the page, the last section clearly states the following:

Working or studying in Canada

Most visitors to Canada are not allowed to work or study in Canada without permission.

You must apply for a work permit or a study permit before coming to Canada. If you are visiting Canada and you want to apply to work or study, you must leave Canada and apply from your home country. However, in some cases, working without a permit or studying without a permit is allowed.

YYZlover

And you came back with a blanket statement that it was impossible when it clearly is possible, depending on circumstances.
It is enough to leave the country and apply at POE, with all supporting documents, if needed.

Andrew Miller

And what I have stated in the posts #2 and #4 above?

Do you always read only first sentence or phrase and dismiss the rest when making your opinion?

loser40

Hi again Andrew...

So, I presume the " If you are visiting Canada and you want to apply to work or study, you must leave Canada and apply from your home country " basically relates to the flagpoling needed, after applying and then receiving, new WP/OWP approval/status whilst in Canada as a visitor, which is sent to, and then received from, the UK ?

As you stated earlier, applications can be sent back to the UK by UK citizens who are currently within Canada as visitors, and, once WP &/or OWP is approved, those visitors need to flagpole in order to activate/implement new SP/OWP status ?

Thanks again,

Mark.

YYZlover

Considering I quoted the latter part of your post, I guess the answer is no.

Andrew Miller

It wasn't my quote - it was the quote from the CIC page you provided link to but failed to read through the last dot yourself.

And before you even jumped your gun with post #5 I already explained about 14 hours earlier in post #4 the possibility of sending application from Canada to visa post abroad and then using "flagpole" to have the work or study permit issued at the port of entry.

I don't really understand what's your problem ...

Andrew Miller

Yes, it is exactly what can be done by applicants who either are from visa waiver country or in some cases by those who already have valid multiple TRV in their passports and won't need the interview.

YYZlover

Did you actually sit right next to me and made sure that I didn't read the full page? I could have sworn I read all the way to the last dot and that I was alone in the room while doing that.

By the way - I did quote your post and not the linked page, just to prove the point of actually reading posts to the end.

YYZlover

Why make it harder than it already is? Why not just bring supportive documents, such as LMO, work offer, etc. to a day trip down in the US and hand them over on the way back in? Why sit arund on foreign ground with no passport and wait weeks for it to come back just to do the same thing as above with the difference of having a letter from CHC saying "yeah we agree to this" when it is still up to the border officer to grant work permit or not, regardless of that letter from CHC.

Andrew Miller

Simply because not everyone is eligible to apply at POE. Not everyone is from visa waiver country, many require medicals, etc.. Ask your lawyers...

What you mean by "sit around on foreign ground with no passport"? You again indicated they your knowledge about Canadian immigration processes is quite minimal at best. And you argue about matters you know not too much about.

Applicants who don't need TRV do not send passports to visa post with their Work or Study Permit applications, they only send copy of bio page from passport. Once TWP or TSP is approved they receive notice of approval from visa post and with such their permits will be issued at the port of entry. Ask your lawyers again...