Please advice on my plan for citizenship application with borderline residence time; Thanks a lot

[ImmiToCanada]

Dear fellow forum members,

I landed as a Canadian PR on Sep 28, 2016 and stayed in Canada since then. However, I will start working in Connecticut on H1B on Sep 1, 2017. According to the official residence time calculator https://eservices.cic.gc.ca/rescalc/redir.do?redir=faq#Q2 , 'neither the day you leave Canada nor the day you return is considered an absence. If you leave Canada on July 1, 2013 and return on July 2, 2013, this equals 0 days of absence', if I enter Canada on Friday before 12 am and exit Canada on Sunday after 12 am, I will get 4 days of 7 days residence day (4/7= 57.1% conversion rate). If I also spend vacations and holidays in Canada, I can roughly get 60% calender time days in Canada. Therefore, without having to quit my USA job, I am trying to accumulate 3 years (36 months) residence time between Sep 28, 2016 and Sep 28, 2021 (60 months). I already had 11 months so I need to accumulate 25 months in the coming 49 months.

Following the advice of several senior members in another post http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/work-in-usa-travel-back-to-canada-at-weekends-residence-time-calculation.451557/#post-5448936 I will keep all detailed records of border entrances and exits ( I have a valid nexus card) and I will try to establish a 'real' life in Canada by

a) buying a small and cheap real estate in Quebec with a mortgage and pay the mortgage on time

b) getting a Canadian driver license and getting my car reregistration and insurance from Canada

c) trying to seek part-time employment in Canada on weekends

d) keeps all records of utility bills and ordinary purchases such as grocery, gas, restaurants, hotel etc

A major disadvantage for me is I do not have any Canadian family ties.

I understand that there will be many risks and pitfalls, and I am sure I will receive residence questionnaire if I live in Canada for just slightly over 3 years between Sep 2016 and Sep 2021. Therefore I really appreciate the comments from everyone.

Also, leaving my USA job is my LAST option since I cannot find comparable jobs in Canada in terms of pay and careers perspectives. Although my USA job is likely to bring green card sponsorship 3 years later when my H1B visa gets an extension, I would still hope to get Canadian passport since I love this country.

Thanks a lot for your time and attention.

 

[justinline]

I am kind of in same boat, trying to figure out if I can travel Mon-Friday to US client location starting Dec 2017. Although by that date I will have completed 3.5 years in Canada. I am planning to apply just before I start traveling.

Technically speaking you can do this and be eligible for citizenship, unfortunately I am getting feed backs that CIC doesnt look too kindly to applicants who travel a lot or move after application. Expect RQ and longer processing time. I personally talked to a person recently who was doing frequent travel between Vancouver and Seattle, he did this almost 5 years.

He entered US early Monday morning, came back Tuesday, worked remote on Wednesday, then entered US Thursday came back Friday. Also spent all the holidays and vacations here. His wife and kid were based in Vancouver while he traveled. Calculation wise he dint spend any time outside, except for few misses here and there due to car trouble or weather. When he applied for citizenship, he got RQ. While his wife got oath in 8 months, his took over 12 months. He said to keep track of all dates properly, also mentioned CIC has access to not only entry records but also exit records to US, apparently Canada and US now share those records for non citizens. Keep lease, credit card and bank statements, tax filing all the usual documentation.

Also while renewing the PR card it went for secondary review. So its up to you more or less. There are risks, I am still thinking about it.

 

[canuck78]

Not sure how realistic your plan is. You would have to leave work every Friday and rush for the border. It will be pretty tight to make it before midnight every week if you hit any form of delay. If you have to leave at 12:00am every Monnday do you plan to drive through the night and basically go straight to work? May be legal what you are doing but CIC won't really be amused so I would expect some pushback.

 

[vancouverbc2013]

Dear fellow forum members,

I landed as a Canadian PR on Sep 28, 2016 and stayed in Canada since then. However, I will start working in Connecticut on H1B on Sep 1, 2017. According to the official residence time calculator https://eservices.cic.gc.ca/rescalc/redir.do?redir=faq#Q2 , 'neither the day you leave Canada nor the day you return is considered an absence. If you leave Canada on July 1, 2013 and return on July 2, 2013, this equals 0 days of absence', if I enter Canada on Friday before 12 am and exit Canada on Sunday after 12 am, I will get 4 days of 7 days residence day (4/7= 57.1% conversion rate). If I also spend vacations and holidays in Canada, I can roughly get 60% calender time days in Canada. Therefore, without having to quit my USA job, I am trying to accumulate 3 years (36 months) residence time between Sep 28, 2016 and Sep 28, 2021 (60 months). I already had 11 months so I need to accumulate 25 months in the coming 49 months.

Following the advice of several senior members in another post http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/work-in-usa-travel-back-to-canada-at-weekends-residence-time-calculation.451557/#post-5448936 I will keep all detailed records of border entrances and exits ( I have a valid nexus card) and I will try to establish a 'real' life in Canada by

a) buying a small and cheap real estate in Quebec with a mortgage and pay the mortgage on time

b) getting a Canadian driver license and getting my car reregistration and insurance from Canada

c) trying to seek part-time employment in Canada on weekends

d) keeps all records of utility bills and ordinary purchases such as grocery, gas, restaurants, hotel etc

A major disadvantage for me is I do not have any Canadian family ties.

I understand that there will be many risks and pitfalls, and I am sure I will receive residence questionnaire if I live in Canada for just slightly over 3 years between Sep 2016 and Sep 2021. Therefore I really appreciate the comments from everyone.

Also, leaving my USA job is my LAST option since I cannot find comparable jobs in Canada in terms of pay and careers perspectives. Although my USA job is likely to bring green card sponsorship 3 years later when my H1B visa gets an extension, I would still hope to get Canadian passport since I love this country.

Thanks a lot for your time and attention.

I would give up Canada and focus on getting US citizenship.
Same here I don't think that's very realistic.
Have you looked at the forms for cotizenship? What would you put under your occupation since PR? Working in US?! Lists of travel since PR?!
Good luck tho

 

[links18]

It seems like OP understands what they are up against if they were to attempt this plan. There appears to be no legal bar to attempting to qualify for Canadian citizenship in such a way, although there are obviously huge practical issues. To be clear though, there is no such thing anymore as "borderline residence." Either you have the required number of physical presence days or you don't. Moreover, even if you have the required days, the burden is on you to prove it. Having a reasonable buffer is always a good idea, more so in a situation like this that will likely draw more scrutiny. One additional practical thing to be concerned about is the reaction of border officials each way on the question of "residency" for customs purposes. This might get confusing and it would be possible to get different determinations from different officers leading to a potentially interesting and unpredictable experience each time. Probably a good idea, if this were attempted, to consider Nexus before hand.

 

[itsmyid]

It seems like OP understands what they are up against if they were to attempt this plan. There appears to be no legal bar to attempting to qualify for Canadian citizenship in such a way, although there are obviously huge practical issues. To be clear though, there is no such thing anymore as "borderline residence." Either you have the required number of physical presence days or you don't. Moreover, even if you have the required days, the burden is on you to prove it. Having a reasonable buffer is always a good idea, more so in a situation like this that will likely draw more scrutiny. One additional practical thing to be concerned about is the reaction of border officials each way on the question of "residency" for customs purposes. This might get confusing and it would be possible to get different determinations from different officers leading to a potentially interesting and unpredictable experience each time. Probably a good idea, if this were attempted, to consider Nexus before hand.

One needs to be PR for more than 3 years (if not a citizen) to be eligible for nexus

 

[vancouverbc2013]

One needs to be PR for more than 3 years (if not a citizen) to be eligible for nexus

Nop not anymore

 

[vancouverbc2013]

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/nexus/elig-admis-eng.html



Effective June 30, 2012, Canadian and American citizens living outside of Canada or the United States or who have recently returned to either country and have not previously been able to meet the three-year residency requirement are now eligible to apply.

In addition, certain permanent residentsare also exempted from the three-year residency requirement.

 

[ImmiToCanada]

One needs to be PR for more than 3 years (if not a citizen) to be eligible for nexus

I stayed in Canada for 4 years as an international student and stayed in Canada as a PR for 11 months. I got nexus card approved. So being PR for more than 3 years is probably an old rule.

 

[ImmiToCanada]

It seems like OP understands what they are up against if they were to attempt this plan. There appears to be no legal bar to attempting to qualify for Canadian citizenship in such a way, although there are obviously huge practical issues. To be clear though, there is no such thing anymore as "borderline residence." Either you have the required number of physical presence days or you don't. Moreover, even if you have the required days, the burden is on you to prove it. Having a reasonable buffer is always a good idea, more so in a situation like this that will likely draw more scrutiny. One additional practical thing to be concerned about is the reaction of border officials each way on the question of "residency" for customs purposes. This might get confusing and it would be possible to get different determinations from different officers leading to a potentially interesting and unpredictable experience each time. Probably a good idea, if this were attempted, to consider Nexus before hand.

Thanks a lot for the advice. I have already got a conditionally approved Nexus card with an interview on Aug 27.

 

[ImmiToCanada]

I would give up Canada and focus on getting US citizenship.
Same here I don't think that's very realistic.
Have you looked at the forms for cotizenship? What would you put under your occupation since PR? Working in US?! Lists of travel since PR?!
Good luck tho

Thanks a lot for your reminder. Yes, I think getting a part-time job in Canada is probably helpful to get something to put under 'occupation since PR'. As to Lists of travel since PR, I agree my list may be miles long but keeping my list accurate and complete is probably the best I can do.

 

[rollercoaster]

Guys, do you know of anyone who has got Citizenship by this route? (Commuting to US daily for work on H1B). Residency requirements would be met but for citizenship, RQ and test and other things come into picture. HOw much of a dampener is it to IRCC in believing that we intend to live in Canada? Any pointers?

 

[hmirzaei]

Hey Guys,

I am kind of in the same boat. I have lived almost 8 years in this beautiful country and I love it. But last year I moved to the US for an internship and now for a full time job in the US. Similar to our friend above changing my job is my last option as there is no comparable job in Canada for me right now.
I got my PR in Dec 2013. I got screwed a couple of times with problems such as strikes and delays in CIC, then C24, etc, I am currently eligible under 3/5 rule and am waiting for it to kick in.
But the more delay it undergoes I lose more days from the first days of my 5 year window. My days are fine to apply till end of September right now. I can probably cover it till end of October by taking some days off and spend in Canada. After that it is very difficult for me to take more days off.

What is your opinion? Do you thnk I will receive an RQ? Shall I cover as many days as possible to add a buffer or just border line is fine?

I have been waiting for two years for bill C-6 now and my patience is over! Is there any hope? I already am in the process of a green card (through my company, exceptional talent eb1a) but really want to come back to Canada.

Thanks.

 

[hmirzaei]

I can also register as a post doc in Canada. Does that help as a tie to Canada?

 

[cedros123]

You should have a buffer (at least 30 days) to not receive a RQ, if I was you I would check with my company to work remotely from Canada during fall, rent a place there and travel maybe 2days/week to the US until the date when you can apply.
Also fill your taxes in Canada for 2017.
But does it worth all the hassle and the cost (rent, taxes, travels etc etc) ? If you are sure to get the eb1, that's still great and probably better for you frankly.