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A Visitor Record is a document issued by Immigration Canada that either extends or limits the stay in Canada of a foreign national from a visa-exempt country. Visitor Records are not routinely issued - most visitors from visa-exempt countries, once they've been
admitted to Canada, are authorized to stay for up to six months. But when you are married to, or in a common-law relationship with a Canadian citizen or PR and filing a Permanent Residence application, it's understandable that you may want to stay in Canada with your spouse/partner during the PR approval process. Your status as a visitor in Canada has nothing to do with filing a PR application - in other words, filing an inland application does not automatically give you the ability to remain in Canada while the application is being processed, and filing an outside application does not mean that you have to remain outside of Canada for the duration of the process.
If you want to stay in Canada with your spouse/partner while your application is being processed you can apply for extended visitor status. To get this status you MUST be accompanied by your Canadian partner when you enter Canada. Your Canadian partner must speak on your behalf - proving to the Immigration officer at the border that you are married (or in a qualifying common-law relationship) and that he/she is prepared to file to sponsor you for Permanent Residence. You must be able to provide proof of your qualifying relationship - either a certified copy of your marriage license, or sufficient proof that you have lived together in a "marriage like" relationship for at least one continuous year (for a list of "proof" of a common-law relationship see Section 5.34 - 5.35 of the OP2 Family Class processing manual). You should also be prepared to present evidence that you actually intend to file, or have filed a Permanent Residence application.
If the IO at the Port of Entry is convinced that your relationship is legitimate and that there is every reason to believe that your application for Permanent Residence will be approved, she/he has the option to issue a Visitor Record good for up to one year. This Visitor Record only authorizes you to stay in Canada - it does not authorize work or study in Canada and is not a re-entry permit. You will be able, however, to file to extend it from within Canada. Generally an IO who issues a Visitor Record will issue it for a period long enough to cover the anticipated processing timeline for your PR application.
If you want to stay in Canada with your spouse/partner while your application is being processed you can apply for extended visitor status. To get this status you MUST be accompanied by your Canadian partner when you enter Canada. Your Canadian partner must speak on your behalf - proving to the Immigration officer at the border that you are married (or in a qualifying common-law relationship) and that he/she is prepared to file to sponsor you for Permanent Residence. You must be able to provide proof of your qualifying relationship - either a certified copy of your marriage license, or sufficient proof that you have lived together in a "marriage like" relationship for at least one continuous year (for a list of "proof" of a common-law relationship see Section 5.34 - 5.35 of the OP2 Family Class processing manual). You should also be prepared to present evidence that you actually intend to file, or have filed a Permanent Residence application.
If the IO at the Port of Entry is convinced that your relationship is legitimate and that there is every reason to believe that your application for Permanent Residence will be approved, she/he has the option to issue a Visitor Record good for up to one year. This Visitor Record only authorizes you to stay in Canada - it does not authorize work or study in Canada and is not a re-entry permit. You will be able, however, to file to extend it from within Canada. Generally an IO who issues a Visitor Record will issue it for a period long enough to cover the anticipated processing timeline for your PR application.
