Hi everyone,
I need to renew my PR card soon but I'm a little confused on the timelines and what would be the best time to apply for a smooth renewal process without extra scrutiny. Since I read on this forum that renewing too early can make your application go into an "audit". Here's my scenario -
Per the back of my PR Card -
Got Card on - Jan 19, 2019
Expiry - March 22, 2024.
Here's how it's been -
From Jan 2019 to Sept 2021, I was in Canada for only 6 days total.
Sept 2021 - Moved to Canada permanently (Sept 28, 2021)
Since moving to Canada in 2021, I have left the country for a total of 22 days so far, all in 2022. The US for a week and India for 15 days.
Haven't left Canada since Nov 2022.
I would love to visit Mexico for a week at some point this winter if possible (Dec/Jan/Feb). What would be the best time to apply for my PR Card renewal?
Should I apply Nov 1 when I just about touch the 730 day mark? Or should I apply in Jan/Feb once I am back from my potential trip? Is it better to apply well in advance so I always have a valid PR card? Or is it better to wait till I have a good buffer of days before applying?
Applying Nov 1 will give me about 733 days, Dec 1 about 763 days and Jan 1 about 794 days.
Any help would be appreciated!!
If your PR card does not expire until March 22, 2024, you can travel to Mexico this winter and use your current card to return to Canada so long as you return before March 22, 2024. Obviously, since
stuff happens, planning to return to Canada sooner than that is highly recommended.
For purposes of reducing the risk of non-routine processing, I am far less bullish on waiting to apply with a buffer than what seems to be the conventional wisdom in this forum. There are other factors which almost certainly have a bigger influence in terms of whether a PR card application is referred for Secondary Review or other non-routine processing involving elevated scrutiny and delays. My sense is there is little difference, for example, in terms of what triggers non-routine processing, between a ten day buffer versus a fifty day buffer.
Except, for anyone unsure of their dates, it is indeed a good idea to have a buffer that will for sure cover any potential difference, avoid any chance of a shortfall.
But otherwise, anyone who applies with fewer than 900 days credit has been outside Canada more than in Canada, which could easily raise questions about the extent to which they are following through with what they represented was their intent, and the purpose for which they were granted PR status . . . unless the other facts and circumstances in their case tend to show that notwithstanding a lengthy absence they have come to Canada and established permanent residence here, IN FACT residence. Fewer than 800 days IN Canada even more so.
Which is to say, the extent to which the facts and circumstances indicated in the PR's situation tend to show a PR living and settled in Canada PERMANENTLY, is by far, by far by a lot, the bigger factor influencing whether the PR card application gets tangled in further inquiries and non-routine processing.
Of course if IRCC has any reason to suspect misrepresentation, or errors in the information provided by the PR otherwise suggesting a lack of credibility, that too will likely have a big influence (negatively).
The precise number of days, not so much, least not in the range of a month or two, five or ten weeks.
Your Particular Scenario:
I will not second guess what is on your PR card, but it should show the date you became a PR, and that appears to be the Jan 19, 2019 date. Since the card does not expire until March 22, 2024, even without considering the subsequent discussion in the posts above, it made sense January 19, 2019 date was the date you became a PR, and you were issued and sent a PR card as of March 22, 2019, set to expire five years from that date. That is totally consistent with the usual pattern for first PR cards.
It appears that you are currently in RO compliance, with credit for 811 days (subject to deductions for any days outside Canada between now and January 18, 2024). This is based on your representation that as of November 1 you will have been IN Canada 733 days since landing, so your RO credit as of that day would be the total of 733 plus 78 (the 78 days left until January 18, 2024), totaling 811. This total does not change unless you go outside Canada. So, you probably have 811 days RO credit today, tomorrow, November 1, December 15, and so on, right up to January 18, 2024 . . . unless you go to Mexico in the meantime, then deduct the number of those days outside Canada.
So . . .
When To Apply:
"While you technically can apply as soon as you have 730 days completed, it is a common recommendation in this forum to have a buffer of a few weeks to prevent non-standard processing of the application."
Technically you can apply as long as you are complying with the PR residency obligation, which it appears you currently are. As long as you have not been outside Canada more than 1095 days since Jan 19, 2019 (date of landing), you are complying with the PR residency obligation.
Technically you can apply up to nine months prior to the current card expiring. So you can apply now.
Waiting for 730 days credit based on days IN Canada: For new PRs (within first five years since landing), the conventional wisdom is there is less risk of non-routine processing (so less risk of delays in processing time), if the application for a PR card (new/renewed card) is not made until the PR has actually been IN Canada at least 730 days since landing (or within the preceding five years if the application is made after the fifth year anniversary of landing). I concur in this conventional wisdom. Rationale for this is largely about being in RO compliance without being dependent on staying in Canada after the application is made -- if you applied today, for example, as I outlined above, your RO compliance relies on counting future days (up to and including January 18, 2024), but if you leave Canada, unless you have first reached that 730 day threshold, it matters how many days you are outside Canada after making the application, a factor for IRCC to consider in whether to issue the PR card. The less IRCC has to evaluate, the easier it is for IRCC to verify RO compliance, the lower the risk of non-routine processing. No need to look at or count or have concerns about your absences after applying if you for sure meet the RO based on days in Canada when the application was made.
So, it is also prudent to wait to apply ONLY after passing the 730 days IN Canada threshold JUST IN CASE you need to leave Canada for some reason.
When To Apply: Buffer?
Again, I am far less bullish on waiting to apply with a buffer than what seems to be the conventional wisdom in this forum. Plenty of reason to apprehend that other factors in the PR's situation have far more influence, in whether there is non-routine processing resulting in delays, than having a buffer of ten or twenty or even forty or fifty days over the RO threshold. The biggest factor is the extent to which it is readily apparent, or not, the PR is NOW currently living in Canada, settled in Canada PERMANENTLY. There are other factors (like credibility factors), of course, and many particular details influence whether it appears the PR is currently settled in Canada permanently. Work and address history, and pattern of travel history, all loom large.
The main buffer is just waiting until you have been IN Canada at least 730 days, and it is prudent to also wait that long not counting days in Canada the first six months (noting those days will begin to fall out of the calculation of RO compliance, for you, as of January 19, 2024).
If you currently have a home in Canada that is, in effect, your permanent address (and this is consistent with appearances), and you have been employed most of these past two years working IN Canada, and otherwise your history does not raise concerns about your presence here or your credibility, and there are few or no salient outside Canada residency related ties, your application probably has the same odds of smooth sailing whether you applying in mid-November or mid-December, or in January. Remember, too, as long as you do not need a valid card for traveling, there is no rush to get a new PR card. (Many let their PR card expire, me included.)
