This will go long, as too often my posts tend to go.
For you in particular,
@ParulB, some of my comments may seen critical, perhaps even harsh. Sorry, but you deserve to see what you might be up against, what you may need to deal with, and thus a chance to approach this more realistically.
I do not address alternatives relying on H&C relief, which may become necessary. You indicate some compelling H&C factors, and I wish you well in that regards. But be aware that relying on H&C relief is risky.
@scylla aptly summed up the situation:
Ultimately where applications are cutting it very close it's not at all unusual for the application to go into secondary review which makes the application non standard and means normal processing times no longer apply. You'll just have to see what happens and good luck. I would make sure you continue to meet the residency obligation on a rolling basis until you have the actual renewed card.
These comments by
@scylla cover the situation. As did the comments by
@scylla back in January. Albeit, perhaps a bit understated. You may be OK. If so, you will still need to comply with the RO.
But in contrast, this may not go nearly as well as you hope and unless you return to Canada fairly soon your PR status could be in jeopardy, even serious jeopardy.
It appears the job of more fully illuminating the risks, and what you are up against, is left up to me.
Yes I met my RO when I applied, as of today, cutting down the days I have been outside since applying, I still have 40 days left. I stayed in Canada for 3 years after becoming PR but had to move home in covid for care taking (there's more to it, long story). But since that period is not immediate 5 years back, the RO is cutting it pretty close.
At this point, this "no one has looked at it" is completely asinine reason that unfairly targets one application over other for no clear criteria.
IRCC is an absolute mess with very little oversight or accountability, is the impression I am getting.
There are many aspects of your situation which complicate things. You berate IRCC for what is actually typical procedure and standard bureaucratic processing and, frankly, for what was totally predictable. In particular, in your overall situation, given you applied for a new PR card
within a few weeks of arriving in Canada after being outside Canada for nearly three years, there was very little likelihood of getting urgent processing, and at best only a moderate chance of routine processing (likely reduced now that you have left Canada in the meantime, which is something you were cautioned about here in January).
Sorry. I do not mean to be mean. It sometimes seems there is a reluctance in this forum to be upfront about bad news, or potentially bad news. But your perspective appears clouded, your expectations unrealistic,
and most importantly, you likely need to return to Canada relatively soon, and then STAY here, to avoid having to rely on H&C relief in order to keep your PR status.
And in regards to the latter, assuming you did read the responses to your posts in January, you were aware of this when you made the PR card application.
If they ask you to collect your PR card in person and you aren't in Canada, your best bet will be to fly to the US and reenter Canada through a land border. Applying for a PRTD under H&C will be risky. Note that leaving Canada after applying for a PR card under H&C generally reduces the chances of approval. It would be better to wait until you are actually ready to move to Canada and live here.
. . . at this stage your choices, if you are looking to keep Canadian PR status, are basically limited to either staying here for two years, or rely on making a strong H&C case in the future (when you are ready to come to STAY), recognizing that the longer you are outside Canada, the more difficult it will likely be to make a successful H&C case.
It appears that you are relying a lot on getting a new PR card. Since you applied when eligible for one, and while still RO compliant, there is at least a significant chance your application will soon be approved, a new card issued, and it will be mailed to the address you provided in the application.
BUT there is a real risk this will go otherwise; and frankly it is likely this will go otherwise. And thus, if keeping PR status is important for you, it is time to seriously and objectively consider how this might go otherwise, and be prepared for that.
Seriously.
Perhaps the biggest risk, what looms as possibly the more likely way this will go, is one of two ways:
(1) your application is approved BUT you will need to pick-up the new card in-person at a local IRCC office, or
(2) your application is referred for non-routine processing, which could delay a decision for weeks, months, or many months
Be aware that if the application is referred for non-routine processing, IRCC may indeed NOT complete processing UNTIL you are back in Canada. It is worth noting that either way, that is if IRCC does issue a new card but requires an in-person pick-up, or if IRCC delays finalizing the application pending your return to Canada, this will most likely be in part about requiring you to go through a RO screening just to return to Canada . . . either attendant a PR TD application or screening at a Port-of-Entry upon arrival.
Thank you everyone for the responses.
I hope this does not come across as too snarky, but in addition to appearing not to have read the responses in January, in this post you further comment
"At this point, this "no one has looked at it" is completely asinine reason that unfairly targets one application over other for no clear criteria. How are you going to process certain non urgent applications in 10 days, and then also have applications that you haven't even looked in 61 days, that was submitted via portal no less.
In one of the responses above, which you express thanks for, I went into depth very specifically explaining there was little likelihood of expedited processing, and that an online application that is not approved near immediately will not even be looked at until nearly two months after being submitted. In particular:
. . . it is highly likely that if the online application is not approved by an automated-decision, these applications go into a queue to be opened by a processing official along with paper submissions. Currently paper submissions are not being opened and assessed for around two months . . . and the same timeline probably applies to online applications that are not immediately approved.
I further noted that when opened, what really matters "
is whether the PR card application meets the criteria for what, in effect, is immediate decision-making."
At the time I gave that response, a month ago, I did not recall a major factor in your situation, that you had just recently returned to Canada after an absence for nearly three years. Referring to this as a "
major factor" might be a major understatement.
In any event, your situation is loaded with criteria inviting closer scrutiny. Not only have you been outside Canada more than you have been in Canada during the previous five years (with what should be obvious implications in regards to reasonable inferences), but the recent absence for nearly three years on its face suggests that you are NOT permanently settled in Canada, that so far you have not done what the grant of PR status was intended for, which is to PERMANENTLY settle in Canada.
That is, there is no hint that your application has been unfairly targeted. Again, your situation is loaded with factors inviting closer scrutiny. At the very least, it was an application that obviously would not meet the low complexity threshold for automated decision-making, so no surprise at all that it was not looked at for two months or so. And it should be no surprise if at this stage the application is referred into a lengthy non-routine processing stream.
This is NOT said to chastise. But to highlight the need to be more objective, more clear-eyed and realistic, in approaching this, to be prepared and able to make good decisions about how to navigate your way through this. Hopefully this goes well, and you are pleasantly surprised by soon having a new PR card mailed to you, BUT there is a real risk that is NOT the direction this is headed.
IRCC will most likely see that you are outside Canada now (from CBSA travel history) and unless your application is promptly approved as-is, this could significantly increase scrutiny and cause further non-routine processing and delay. If that happens, it is likely your GCMS is flagged with an "
alert" so even if you avoid making another PR TD application, and come to Canada via the U.S., there is a high risk of elevated screening for inadmissibility upon arrival at a Port-of-Entry.
