That's a remarkable report, but not all that surprising, regarding a call centre agent contradicting IRCC's stated policies at the time. Happens.
Until this summer the requirement to be "
in" Canada when making a PR card application was in large part unenforceable, which is explained elsewhere in this forum. In particular, despite IRCC's stated policy that to be eligible for a new PR card the application had to be made IN Canada, the fact the application was made while the PR was abroad did not give IRCC a legitimate ground for denying the application (and the Federal Court had specifically ruled this). Generally, typically, the impact of making the application while abroad was --
-- high risk of triggering a referral to Secondary Review and elevated scrutiny, which has often meant a year or more delay in processing the application, and
-- potentially giving the total stranger bureaucrat processing the application a negative impression about the PR's credibility (as someone not following the rules), also risking elevated scrutiny
These are connected. Both are about triggering a more thorough screening of the PR and the PR's RO compliance.
In any event, you crossed that bridge a long while ago, so there is no point in trying to withdraw the application, and since an examination to make a Residency Determination is already scheduled, it would do no good to withdraw. And the fact that a call centre agent said it was OK to not comply with the instructions, that makes no difference in the status of the application now.
While actually being in RO compliance is important, and that is the primary subject of the Residency Determination interview you are scheduled to attend, as I made an effort to highlight in my previous post, it appears your credibility is a major factor. In particular, given your return to Canada in July 2021 in conjunction with either having met the RO as of the day you applied in April 2021, or at least being very close to RO compliance at that time, combined with being in Canada now for well more than a year, it is not for sure but it looks like someone at IRCC has some concerns about what you have reported, some concerns about your credibility.
Maybe not. But frankly, if IRCC was comfortable with the information in your application, including the travel history, and satisfied you returned to Canada the summer of 2021, the Secondary Review would have, ordinarily, resulted in a decision to approve a new PR card for five years rather than a referral to a local office to conduct further investigation and make a Residency Determination.
Leading to . . .
1) Does the arithmetic of the days in Canada counts 5 years prior to my application date or it would be considered from the day of my interview (Nov 17) as by then it comes to 1022 days.
Both. Both can matter. Best to be prepared to present evidence/documents showing your presence in Canada during BOTH time periods. Organize your documents based on what period of time they show your residency/presence in Canada.
While I previously focused on the "
arithmetic," that was to emphasize the importance of a precise, accurate count . . . the arithmetic is actually automatic if you get your travel dates correct. And that is the key: detail your travel dates, completely listing 'from date' and 'to date' for every trip outside Canada . . . one travel history for the period between your landing and the date you signed the PR card application (which is May 2016 to April 2021 as I understand it) . . . and a separate travel history (which will include dates that overlap with the first) for the period November 17, 2017 to November 17, 2022.
And, again, have your supporting documents organized so it is easy to correlate the documents to the period of time they show your residency and presence in Canada.
The interview may focus only on the May 2016 to April 2021 period of time (based on date of application). By now you should have definitively determined the number of days you were in Canada during that period of time.
But it could be just as important to document the fact that, as of the day of the interview, as of now, you have been in Canada for more than 730 days in the previous five years. Hopefully you have some documents showing your flight when returning to Canada. At the least, have some documents objectively showing your presence here IN Canada as soon as possible following the return date in July 2021. And, of course, supporting documents to show your residency and presence from then until now.
At the risk of being overly-cautious, and potentially just plain wrong, to my view it warrants repeating that it seems IRCC has significant concerns about what you are reporting, since the numbers you are reporting here would ordinarily not trigger a formal Residency Determination examination for a PR currently settled in Canada, your numbers at the least indicating that you are currently well within the RO range (well, that is other than the inconsistencies from post to post . . . just a day or so ago you were saying you had 700 plus days credit and since July 2021 added 500 more, as in more than 1200 total, but now you are saying 1022 total . . . and again what you say here does not matter, but for the interview/examination you need to get your information in order, and especially list the travel dates as precisely as possible).
2) If by chance I fall by few days, do they count Pandemic to be a reason for such a long gap as travelling was restricted in both Canada and home country that includes family health issues which I have proof as well
Only days in Canada will count toward complying with the RO. There are no credits for good excuses.
If it is determined you are in breach of the RO, they will consider any and all explanations you present for why you remained abroad so long as part of evaluating whether there are H&C reasons sufficient to allow you to keep PR status.
Given the numbers (apparently a small breach at worst) and the last period of time you were abroad was during the peak of the global pandemic, it is very difficult to conceive there will be a negative outcome . . .
UNLESS (sorry to be beating this drum so incessantly) there are real concerns about the accuracy or completeness of the information you provide, including information with the application and information presented in this examination. But, in fact (same drum beat), similarly in regards to scheduling this examination.
Probably a good idea to also have some documents to support any of your reasons for not returning to Canada sooner.
3) As per the Annex "Proof of residence in Canada for the 5 years prior to the date you applied" - does that mean they are more concerned on my residence obligations prior to the date I have applied. Even if I am settled now with a stable job.
It is important to bring what they ask for in the communication you received. It is difficult to discern just what it is that is a "
concern," let alone what is of "
more" concern, and in any event you need to be prepared to address any and all potential concerns . . . and, to be clear, prepared in regards to all periods of time you reported being in Canada.
As previously addressed, come prepared to document residency and presence for BOTH periods of time, with your documents well organized and correlated to the time periods they show residency and presence.
4) If in case I am issued one-year visa, what does that mean and what should be course of action as I am looking to apply for my citizenship next year February.
Will address this in a separate post.
