A family of three in India, all holding visitor visas, planned around the mother's admission to UBC and asked how the husband and daughter avoid six-month visitor churn. The thread's guidance:
- The spouse can apply for an open work permit. Members confirmed the husband can apply for an OWP alongside the study permit application — that, not repeated visitor entries, is how the family stays long-term. (The child would be processed as an accompanying dependent as part of the family application.) (Historical note: spousal OWP eligibility rules have tightened since this thread — verify current criteria for your program level.)
- Timing decides the intake. For a September intake the family was "already a little late" — but one member noted that if the applicant qualified for SDS and could assemble all documents within about a week, September was still reachable given SDS processing speed. Otherwise, plan for the next intake.
- Fees not payable yet? A workaround members used: where the school hadn't opened course registration for fee prepayment, the poster proposed submitting the application and following up via webform with the receipt — the thread left this unconfirmed, so check requirements for your stream (SDS requires upfront tuition payment).
- For a three-person file, get professional help. The pointed advice: a combined study + OWP + dependent case has "many minor points which a layman cannot foresee" — worth a professional's review even if you prepare documents yourself.