Physical Presence Requirement - Temporary Resident - Citizenship Application

[egerman41]

Hi everyone,

I was hoping I could gain some insight into a question regarding the physical presence requirement of the citizenship application. Thanks in advance for any/all feedback, suggestions, opinions, and advice!

I am a US citizen. I arrived to Canada on November 16 2015 as a visitor and stated my intention to complete an inland PR application with my then common-law partner. My passport was stamped with the date of arrival, and the end date of validity - May 16 2016 - was handwritten onto the stamp. IRCC received my inland common-law PR application on January 18 2016. My open work permit was approved on May 18 2016. On my work permit it states "Temporary resident status maintained as per R183(6). Pending FC APR." I became PR on May 08 2017 - on my COPR it states "Original entry date: 2015/11/16" and "Last entry date: 2015/11/16."

Between June 2016 and the present, I have traveled frequently and maintained precise records of my travel on the physical presence calculator. According to my calculations, if I submit a citizenship application on October 31, I will have 1100 days & 72% physical presence during the 5 years preceding the application (November 16 2015 - October 30 2020). Obviously I am not providing myself a lot of buffer, but I am planning on leaving Canada for the winter to work/study remotely, so I wanted to apply prior to leaving as I will start losing half days as of November 16 2020 and would have to then wait quite awhile upon returning to Canada to reach 1095 days. Although I would be abroad, I have a trusted person receiving my mail at our shared address and would be able to receive any/all notifications regarding my application. I can also easily return to Canada during this time period for the citizenship test, but it does seem as if these are on indefinite hold anyway.

My question is based on some posts I have seen regarding counting physical presence as a temporary resident. As a US citizen, I simply arrived at Pearson airport on November 16 2015 and entered the country as a visitor. I did not leave Canada between November 16 2015 and May 18 2016, when I received my open work permit. However, while I think I have sufficient proof of status from the aforementioned passport, work permit, and COPR documentation, I'm not sure if I have sufficient proof of presence. I can provide proof of opening a Canadian bank account, living at a Canadian address, and applying for permanent residency during this time period; however, I don't know if IRCC would also have information on its end that I did not leave the country during this time period and therefore recognize that I am able to include these half days in my citizenship physical presence requirement.

Again, any advice/suggestions/opinions/thoughts are so appreciated! TIA!

Best,

Emily

 

[myscanada]

Hi There

I will try to address this in a rather simpler way
You can count 1 day from the date you became a PR towards residency for citizenship
half day towards residency for the period before that. (open work permit and when you were on TRV)

You dont really need to provide proof with application of presence in CANADA, this is only requested if the officer has doubts, if you have worked, you will have your T4 slips (showing which employer you worked) from CRA and Tax Returns. Your Drivers License in CANADA, you must have renewed your health cards, while here in CANADA.

Does IRCC know you were here all the time, not sure, CBSA surely will have records, IRCC can requests entry exit from USA authorities to match that. So as long as the calculations are good, you should be OK.

But a slight error, can lead to a rather very long delay, in my opinion, it is still a good idea, to have a reasonable buffer.

If you fall short of 1095 days, then you would simply not be refused, the application goes a judge for hearing and rather longer wait times for hearing. eventually to be rejected. Only then you can apply again. Again loosing time, and remember one thing, you should always be in compliant of 730 days of physical presence in Canada during the past 5 years always, to maintain your PR status.

Which means you simply cant complete time, and move from Canada, for a year or 6 months, during this time while you are out, if you are short on any day, technically you are inadmissible, because you are not in compliant of the PR obligation, even though, you can count half day, before PR, you still have to meet the obligation after becoming PR. I know its kind of confusing if you search for PR obligations on this forum, you will find more info on what I mean.

But again you know your situation better than anyone.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bs65]

Given based on your post you maybe have some doubts about physical presence then the fact by end October you will only have 1100 days whilst still meeting the requirement generally given any uncertainty generally recommended to have a couple months buffer over the 1095 days. This given if you have uncertainty then likely IRCC may also when processing your application.

 

[dpenabill]

Some fact-patterns offer a better opportunity to more fully address particular aspects or issues. The OP's is such a case.

So this will be a LONG post going into detail regarding certain aspects that can arise for SOME (nowhere near most) applicants.

I am a US citizen. I arrived to Canada on November 16 2015 as a visitor and stated my intention to complete an inland PR application with my then common-law partner. My passport was stamped with the date of arrival, and the end date of validity - May 16 2016 - was handwritten onto the stamp. IRCC received my inland common-law PR application on January 18 2016. My open work permit was approved on May 18 2016. On my work permit it states "Temporary resident status maintained as per R183(6). Pending FC APR." I became PR on May 08 2017 - on my COPR it states "Original entry date: 2015/11/16" and "Last entry date: 2015/11/16."

For any applicant, applying with 1100 days credit toward the actual physical presence requirement is cutting-it-close. For an applicant who has an extensive history of numerous trips abroad, it is especially cutting-it-close.

The risks are threefold:

-- IRCC is virtually compelled to more thoroughly scrutinize the applicant's travel history, and actual physical presence, given its mandate to enforce the requirements of the Citizenship Act, so there is an elevated RISK of RQ-related non-routine processing, which in turn risks lengthy processing delays, potentially very lengthy delays​

-- IF IRCC is not persuaded you have met the burden of PROOF, that could mean the application is denied; for the applicant claiming, at most, 1100 days credit IN Canada, all it would take is doubt as to just six days to sabotage the application​

-- despite your efforts to be meticulously precise, meaning being both COMPLETE and ACCURATE, if you make mistakes calling into question six or more days, that could mean the application is denied​

Whether or not to proceed given the risks is a PERSONAL decision. After all, worse case scenario is the application is denied and you apply later when you can better document and prove meeting the actual physical presence requirement.


Regarding Proof of Actual Physical Presence VERSUS Proof of STATUS:

My question is based on some posts I have seen regarding counting physical presence as a temporary resident. As a US citizen, I simply arrived at Pearson airport on November 16 2015 and entered the country as a visitor. I did not leave Canada between November 16 2015 and May 18 2016, when I received my open work permit. However, while I think I have sufficient proof of status from the aforementioned passport, work permit, and COPR documentation, I'm not sure if I have sufficient proof of presence. I can provide proof of opening a Canadian bank account, living at a Canadian address, and applying for permanent residency during this time period; however, I don't know if IRCC would also have information on its end that I did not leave the country during this time period and therefore recognize that I am able to include these half days in my citizenship physical presence requirement.

OVERALL: My sense is you are right, that just the fact the date of arrival in November 2015 is noted in your CoPR, should mean you are OK in terms of getting credit for time in Canada after that date.

In addition to what days count based on actual physical presence in Canada, an important and perhaps critical factor for pre-PR credit is that the PR's GCMS records, the client's records in GCMS, show the applicant's dates of status covering the days being claimed as physically present. Again, my sense (but I am NO expert) is that the fact the date of your arrival in 2015 is noted in the CoPR means you are OK in that regard.

Further Observations Regarding Proof of Status:

If your question is about discussions regarding applicants relying on credit for time in Canada as a visitor or based on implied status, that is a good question. BOTH status and presence must be shown. For context, not everyone agrees or is aware that the applicant bears the burden of proof to show BOTH presence AND STATUS, and that just being IN Canada legally might NOT, in certain circumstances, be enough to get credit toward the actual physical presence requirement for that period of time. And, indeed, this is something often affecting Americans visiting Canada prior to becoming a PR or being formally issued status (such as a student or work permit).

In particular, we have seen a number of anecdotal reports from applicants whose application was returned due to not getting credit for time they were IN Canada even though the applicant was legally in Canada as a Temporary Resident during that time. The reports indicate that these instances involve applicants relying on periods of implied status or periods of visitor status for which there was no formal documentation of status, such as Americans waived into Canada or other visa-exempt travelers waived into the country without being issued a formal visa or a Visitor's Record.

We do not know for sure the particulars in the policies and practices regarding this, but we know enough to conclude that applicants should wait to apply with a big enough buffer over the minimum to fully cover any such period. They can, and should (being truthful) report their status and presence in Canada during such periods, in the presence calculation, but they should be sure to have enough days credit over the minimum to qualify if IRCC does not give any credit for those days (which appears to happen at the completeness screening stage, so those falling short due to this have their applications returned as incomplete).

Again, it appears this does not affect you, since your passport was stamped, and it appears CBSA made a record of your entry into YOUR client records with IRCC. So, when you apply, during the completeness screening the processing agent will be able to verify, in your GCMS records, that you had status during that time.

Further Observations Regarding Proof of Presence:

This brings up the observation by another regarding no need to submit proof of presence with the application, and the assertion that the applicant does not need "to provide proof with application of presence in CANADA, this is only requested if the officer has doubts."

Somewhat so, close, but that is not precisely how it works. The applicant MUST submit a significant amount of information in the application itself to meet a threshold level of proof of actual presence, failing which the application will be returned as incomplete. This includes a full five year address history and employment history, as well as an accurate and complete accounting of ALL travel outside Canada, including day trips to the U.S., including reasons for the travel and enumeration of all other countries visited in addition to the destination country.

This may seem like quibbling. But it is an important quibble. The application itself needs to provide enough baseline information to meet a threshold showing actual presence in Canada. It needs to pass that to go into process. AND THEN, after the application is "in process," if in reviewing and assessing that information, an IRCC officer or agent sees a reason to question the applicant's accounting of presence in Canada, that can indeed trigger RQ-related non-routine processing in the course of which IRCC can request further information, documentation, or evidence in regards to the applicant's presence or absence from Canada during particular periods of time.

After all, for the VAST majority of applicants, between the information provided in the application, whatever checks IRCC does to verify the applicant's information, and how it goes in the interview, IRCC will rely on the presence calculation, which calculates the applicant's presence based on the inference the applicant was IN Canada all days between a known date-of-entry and the next known or reported date-of-exit.

But if IRCC perceives a reason-to-question-presence, that is when IRCC can and will ask for additional proof, including documentation or other evidence showing the applicant's presence in Canada during days in-between the reported date-of-entry and the next known or reported date-of-exit. Proof of regularly being at a place of employment in Canada, for example, tends to be very strong proof of being IN Canada during such periods.

It appears that you did not leave Canada at all during the initial period of time after your arrival in November 2015 . . . until June 2016 (after which your travel outside Canada could have been problematic, but it appears all went well; as an inland sponsored applicant you were at risk for having that application denied any time you left Canada while it was pending, since a key element of eligibility for the inland processing was actually being IN Canada). It is possible that IRCC has questions about your presence during that period but my guess is that is unlikely to be what triggers elevated presence scrutiny.

 

[egerman41]

Thank you all for your responses, especially @dpenabill : your thoroughness and attention to detail is so appreciated!