I just received my passport stamped with a PRTD category RC-1, What now?

[BAYYARI]

Hello everyone,
Finally, after about 140 days of waiting, my PRTD application finished processing and I received my passport with my one time entry PRTD printed on my passport that expires in 06/06/2016. The category is RC-1 (which means its based on H&C grounds I believe) and PERMANENT RESIDENT written beside the category.

Now that I have it, what does it exactly mean (just making sure I fully understand the situation)? and what should be my next step?

Thank you.

 

[dpenabill]

Hello everyone,
Finally, after about 140 days of waiting, my PRTD application finished processing and I received my passport with my one time entry PRTD printed on my passport that expires in 06/06/2016. The category is RC-1 (which means its based on H&C grounds I believe) and PERMANENT RESIDENT written beside the category.

Now that I have it, what does it exactly mean (just making sure I fully understand the situation)? and what should be my next step?

Thank you.

While I am not familiar with details like the category, this is basically what it appears to be: a document (a "Travel Document") you can use one time for the purpose of boarding commercial transportation destined for Canada.

You have been given six months within which to make the trip.

Obviously, if you are interested in living in Canada, plan to make the trip within this time frame and plan to come to Canada to live. While you can probably travel outside Canada, after your trip here, extensive absences may invite problems. You probably should, again if a life in Canada is what you want, plan to come and settle down, to live here for at least a good while (years).

While there have been a fair number of reports in this and other forums by PRs who were allowed to retain their PR status, despite a breach of the PR Residency Obligation, based on H&C reasons related to having been removed from Canada while a minor, there has not been a lot of follow-up reporting. The transition to settling in Canada can be more or less difficult for many who immigrate here (obviously financial circumstances can have a big influence in how things go), but there tends to be even more difficulty for PRs without a valid PR card. Once you are in Canada you can apply for a PR card (given the H&C decision) but it is likely it will take awhile, and in the meantime there can be issues like obtaining health care coverage (without proof of status).

In any event, your next "step" is to make the trip to Canada, but again, frankly, this should be done with a plan to actually stay and live here for at least the near future.

 

[BAYYARI]

While I am not familiar with details like the category, this is basically what it appears to be: a document (a "Travel Document") you can use one time for the purpose of boarding commercial transportation destined for Canada.

You have been given six months within which to make the trip.

Obviously, if you are interested in living in Canada, plan to make the trip within this time frame and plan to come to Canada to live. While you can probably travel outside Canada, after your trip here, extensive absences may invite problems. You probably should, again if a life in Canada is what you want, plan to come and settle down, to live here for at least a good while (years).

While there have been a fair number of reports in this and other forums by PRs who were allowed to retain their PR status, despite a breach of the PR Residency Obligation, based on H&C reasons related to having been removed from Canada while a minor, there has not been a lot of follow-up reporting. The transition to settling in Canada can be more or less difficult for many who immigrate here (obviously financial circumstances can have a big influence in how things go), but there tends to be even more difficulty for PRs without a valid PR card. Once you are in Canada you can apply for a PR card (given the H&C decision) but it is likely it will take awhile, and in the meantime there can be issues like obtaining health care coverage (without proof of status).

In any event, your next "step" is to make the trip to Canada, but again, frankly, this should be done with a plan to actually stay and live here for at least the near future.

Thanks for the reply. I have a few more questions to ask,

1. I read somewhere on the canadavisa forums that I should wait for 730 days (2 years) before I apply for a PR card and not as soon as I arrive, is this true? and if it is, why?
2. Is it impossible for me to leave Canada for a couple of weeks to visit my family and go back to canada without getting into any trouble?
3. When applying to university, Am I considered an international student or not? (tuition costs more for international students)
4. My PRTD expires in 06/06/2016, can I use it to travel to Canada at any day within the 6 months time-frame? (lets say 01/06/2016 for example)

I'm planning to go to Canada to study and live there, but I also would like to visit my family for a week or two once in a while without getting into any trouble.

 

[dpenabill]

Thanks for the reply. I have a few more questions to ask,

1. I read somewhere on the canadavisa forums that I should wait for 730 days (2 years) before I apply for a PR card and not as soon as I arrive, is this true? and if it is, why?
2. Is it impossible for me to leave Canada for a couple of weeks to visit my family and go back to canada without getting into any trouble?
3. When applying to university, Am I considered an international student or not? (tuition costs more for international students)
4. My PRTD expires in 06/06/2016, can I use it to travel to Canada at any day within the 6 months time-frame? (lets say 01/06/2016 for example)

I'm planning to go to Canada to study and live there, but I also would like to visit my family for a week or two once in a while without getting into any trouble.

A forum like this is a good source of general information, not so good a place to get personal advice.

In particular, I am no expert, and I am NOT qualified to give personal advice. And, frankly, I suggest being rather skeptical of anyone who purports to be giving personal advice here.

So I cannot offer any specifics about how things will go for you in particular.

I can offer the following general observations:

1. I read somewhere on the canadavisa forums that I should wait for 730 days (2 years) before I apply for a PR card and not as soon as I arrive, is this true? and if it is, why?

To be eligible for a PR card, a person must be BOTH a PR, and also be in compliance with the PR Residency Obligation. This almost always means that to be eligible for the PR card, a PR who has been in breach of the PR RO should wait, before applying for the PR card, to he or she has been in Canada at least 730 days within the preceding five years, plus a margin actually. Applying before that can trigger a Residency Determination which not only can result in being denied a new PR card, but can result (if the individual is determined to be in breach of the PR RO and not have sufficient H&C reasons to otherwise be allowed to retain status) in the issuance of an enforceable Removal Order, meaning PR status would be lost.

Many PRs abroad who have not complied with the PR RO have, historically, been able to travel to Canada (one way or another) and allowed to enter Canada without being reported for being in breach of the PR RO. Their PR status is good. But they want to avoid doing something which would trigger a residency examination, so they want to avoid applying for a new PR card, applying to sponsor a family member, or leaving and attempting to re-enter Canada, or leaving and applying for a PR TD, for at least two years, until they are in compliance with the PR RO.

You are in a somewhat different situation since your PR status has been adjudicated, and it has been determined you had sufficient H&C grounds to retain your PR status. This decision is, as I understand things, entitled to much weight, almost binding. So you should not be risking losing PR status if you apply for a PR card sooner . . . that is without waiting two years.

But as I tried to explain in my previous post: I am not certain to what extent this will hold true.

Relative to applying for a new PR card, my strong sense is you will be OK . . . but that does not mean Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship will process your application within the routine timeline. Indeed, I would anticipate some delay.

Best to consult with a lawyer about this, but that could be expensive.


2. Is it impossible for me to leave Canada for a couple of weeks to visit my family and go back to canada without getting into any trouble?

What do you mean by "getting into any trouble?"

If you can travel via the U.S., so that you do not need to make another application for a PR TD in order to return to Canada, and so long as you have established a residence in Canada, and been living in Canada for a significant time, a mere two week absence should not cause officers at the POE to pursue a residency examination, and even if they do, the decision in your PR TD application (the one pursuant to which you now have a PR TD) should be sufficient to avoid being reported. So in that sense, yes, you can leave and return with low risk of being reported, even lower risk of being reported and that resulting in an enforceable Removal Order.

But whether or not you might run into difficulty if you have to apply for a PR TD again, that's another issue and there are risks beyond just the formalities. The formality is that your current PR TD should suffice and there should be no problem getting another (again, if you have a residence in Canada, been living in Canada, and are just making a short trip abroad) . . . but predicting what happens at visa offices abroad is inherently risky.

Better practice: After arriving in Canada, and establishing a residence in Canada, wait a bit then apply for a new PR card, and avoid traveling abroad until you have the new card. It may take a year. Should not be longer than that. If it goes a year, a year you have been living in Canada, you might feel more confident about going abroad and risking having to get another PR TD to return.

Generally, the longer you are settled in Canada, the lower the risks of problems.

3. When applying to university, Am I considered an international student or not? (tuition costs more for international students)

I do not know much about this. My general understanding is that to qualify for resident tuition is that you need to both be actually residing in Canada and have at least Permanent Resident status.

The problem is proving you have PR status without a PR card. Others here may know more about how this goes in practice, what to anticipate, how to approach this.

4. My PRTD expires in 06/06/2016, can I use it to travel to Canada at any day within the 6 months time-frame? (lets say 01/06/2016 for example)

That is indeed my understanding.

Waiting until June next year, however, seems unnecessarily risky. STUFF happens. A few years ago, for example, a volcano in Iceland interfered with trans-Atlantic flights and thousands and thousands of travelers were delayed by weeks, the impact rippling across nearly all trans-oceanic flights to Canada regardless of the route. The more common scenario is a car accident (or other accident, injury while playing a friendly game of football, a bad fall, stuff happens), a sudden illness, the sudden illness of a parent, something which compels the individual to put off travel for days or weeks.

 

[Anitaa]

1. I read somewhere on the Canada visa forums that I should wait for 730 days (2 years) before I apply for a PR card and not as soon as I arrive, is this true? and if it is, why?
---------------------- You have Valid PR status. They wrote on your Passport. you can apply PR Card.
2. Is it impossible for me to leave Canada for a couple of weeks to visit my family and go back to canada without getting into any trouble?
-------------- You have one time Entry on your passport. if you want to go out get PR Card and go out only After the PR Card is in hand.

3. When applying to university, Am I considered an international student or not? (tuition costs more for international students)
-------------------------You are PR of Canada and not International student.
4. My PRTD expires in 06/06/2016, can I use it to travel to Canada at any day within the 6 months time-frame? (lets say 01/06/2016 for example)
-------------------------------- Use it any day before 06/06/2016.

I'm planning to go to Canada to study and live there, but I also would like to visit my family for a week or two once in a while without getting into any trouble.
**** Do you have US Visa? if yes it may help you......How? many will let you know.

 

[kateg]

RC-1 is the H&C grounds.

In those cases where an applicant was approved on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, the category to appear on the travel document counterfoil is RC-1.

Your case has been adjudicated - from what I've seen, that is to be given significant weight, but is not completely binding.

 

[Meya06]

Hello everyone,
Finally, after about 140 days of waiting, my PRTD application finished processing and I received my passport with my one time entry PRTD printed on my passport that expires in 06/06/2016. The category is RC-1 (which means its based on H&C grounds I believe) and PERMANENT RESIDENT written beside the category.

Now that I have it, what does it exactly mean (just making sure I fully understand the situation)? and what should be my next step?

Thank you.

I would like to ask you a question. I am wondering why it takes so long to be issued PRTD in your passport? I've seen the People here in this forum just takes about 1-2 weeks to get theirs passport back with PRTD. Anyway, I am planning to apply next month too.

Your reply would be appreciated.

 

[BAYYARI]

I would like to ask you a question. I am wondering why it takes so long to be issued PRTD in your passport? I've seen the People here in this forum just takes about 1-2 weeks to get theirs passport back with PRTD. Anyway, I am planning to apply next month too.

Your reply would be appreciated.

I actually have no idea why that happened to me, and it seems like I'm not the only one that was unfortunate enough to wait that long. Hopefully somebody else can answer your question.

 

[BAYYARI]

3. When applying to university, Am I considered an international student or not? (tuition costs more for international students)
-------------------------You are PR of Canada and not International student.

I applied to SFU (Simon Fraser University) and I attached my PRTD and IMM 1000 as proof of permanent residency and their latest response was that I need to send them a photocopy of a valid PR card, I thought that the issuance of a PRTD and my IMM 1000 were sufficient proof of Permanent Residency status. The problem is that I do not have a PR card because I did not use my PRTD to travel to Canada and issue a PR Card yet, and I don't know how long its going to take to process my PR Card application.

 

[kateg]

I applied to SFU (Simon Fraser University) and I attached my PRTD and IMM 1000 as proof of permanent residency and their latest response was that I need to send them a photocopy of a valid PR card, I thought that the issuance of a PRTD and my IMM 1000 were sufficient proof of Permanent Residency status. The problem is that I do not have a PR card because I did not use my PRTD to travel to Canada and issue a PR Card yet, and I don't know how long its going to take to process my PR Card application.

Go back to them, and talk to the administration. You don't have a PR card because the processing times are a long time, and you're a Permanent Resident. If their policies are wrong, they need to change them.

 

[BAYYARI]

Go back to them, and talk to the administration. You don't have a PR card because the processing times are a long time, and you're a Permanent Resident. If their policies are wrong, they need to change them.

Will do.

 

[kateg]

Will do.

It's a common enough thing that the school should really have a way of dealing with it. They are trying to avoid situations where someone gets local rates despite losing their earlier PR, but by the same token there is no requirement to have a PR card, and it can take more than a semester to renew it.

 

[BAYYARI]

It's a common enough thing that the school should really have a way of dealing with it. They are trying to avoid situations where someone gets local rates despite losing their earlier PR, but by the same token there is no requirement to have a PR card, and it can take more than a semester to renew it.

But what else should I tell them? How can I prove it to them?

 

[kateg]

But what else should I tell them? How can I prove it to them? I'm not sure what to tell them.

You could point them to this page:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/about-pr.asp

Canadian permanent residents need to show their permanent resident card when travelling to Canada in order to prove their permanent resident status.

...

If your PR card expires, it does not mean you have lost permanent resident status.

The PR card is a travel document. It's not a requirement to have it, so it is inappropriate for the University to require it.

As it also says on that page,

Unless you have gone through an official process, you have not lost or given up your permanent resident status, even though you may not be eligible to return to Canada as a permanent resident.

Until you go through a hearing, you are a permanent resident. Your CoPR shows you held that status.

 

[Harry15]

1. I read somewhere on the Canada visa forums that I should wait for 730 days (2 years) before I apply for a PR card and not as soon as I arrive, is this true? and if it is, why?
---------------------- You have Valid PR status. They wrote on your Passport. you can apply PR Card.
2. Is it impossible for me to leave Canada for a couple of weeks to visit my family and go back to canada without getting into any trouble?
-------------- You have one time Entry on your passport. if you want to go out get PR Card and go out only After the PR Card is in hand.

3. When applying to university, Am I considered an international student or not? (tuition costs more for international students)
-------------------------You are PR of Canada and not International student.
4. My PRTD expires in 06/06/2016, can I use it to travel to Canada at any day within the 6 months time-frame? (lets say 01/06/2016 for example)
-------------------------------- Use it any day before 06/06/2016.

I'm planning to go to Canada to study and live there, but I also would like to visit my family for a week or two once in a while without getting into any trouble.
**** Do you have US Visa? if yes it may help you......How? many will let you know.

Hello Anita/Senior Members
As you said he can apply for renewal of PR card immediately after arriving in Canada. However, if you see the application for PR card there is question 22-D which asks to prove residency obligation under three sub categories. As the guy did not stay in Canada in the last five years,
HOW SHOULD HE ANSWER THAT QUESTION? or just leave those questions blank?
secondly, he has to attach some documents along with the application and if you see the Instruction Guide, its easy to give Primary Identity and Secondary Identity document. Its impossible to attach Additional Documents of proof of residence in Canada which is most recent income tax assessment issued by CRA for current year and previous two years in the last five years.
HOW CAN HE ARRANGE THOSE DOCUMENTS WHEN HE WAS NOT PRESENT IN CANADA IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS? WHAT SHOULD HE DO FOR THIS PART?
Please advice.

Thx.