At the risk of opening a can of worms . . .
Anecdotal reporting almost overwhelmingly indicates that the so-called "
soft-landing" is very common and in itself NOT a problem.
So I do not mean to raise unnecessary alarm. So it warrants emphasizing: many do this and there is little indication of problems doing so. (Apart from Covid-related travel restrictions, which unfortunately continue to cloud things.)
It also warrants noting and emphasizing that once the landing process is complete, the former Foreign National is a Canadian, a Canadian PR. A Permanent Resident of Canada. That's about "status." Once that is done, once the former FN is a PR, there are no restrictions limiting how soon or how often the PR leaves Canada. There is the PR Residency Obligation, limiting the total duration of time outside Canada, but that is a rather generous, flexible obligation, allowing the Canadian PR to leave and remain outside Canada for lengthy periods of time, years even.
So, once the FN with a PR visa is processed upon arrival, is "landed," they are a PR. If they walk through the airport to get to a flight leaving Canada that day, that does not undo the landing. They are a PR. Their travel outside Canada is then limited only by the PR RO.
Moreover, the biggest and most commonly reported problem related to the "
soft-landing" is indeed the RO, the immigrant whose plan is to complete the formalities of landing, and not then stay in Canada, rather to leave and return to Canada later, months or a year or so after landing,
but then running into this or that delaying the actual move to Canada for so long they have difficulty meeting the Residency Obligation.
Not sure how much more emphasis needs to be made that,
from what we know, the soft landing is OK.
But, then, there is that can of worms I mentioned, and the risk of opening it . . . and there is what some might call
"TECHNICALITIES" . . .
YEP. There are no soft landing rules. Not at the moment. And none before.
There are no rules, regulations, policies, or publicly disclosed practices regarding the so-called "
soft-landing." It is NOT like IRCC or CBSA or the Canadian government generally, provide for or even approve the so-called "
soft-landing."
Technically . . . yeah, it is quite likely a can of worms . . . technically authorization to enter Canada to "
become" a permanent resident (to "
land") requires a FN with a PR visa to satisfy the examining officer they meet the obligations set out in paragraph 20(1)(a) IRPA, which includes "
they have come to Canada in order to establish permanent residence."
Reference:
Coming to Canada to be a "Permanent Resident" does not meet this obligation. This is not about completing the procedures for obtaining PR status. It is about coming to Canada to "
establish permanent residence."
So,
technically, the soft-landing PR who is coming to Canada to complete the procedures for obtaining PR status with no current plan to actually establish permanent residence in Canada does not meet the requirements to be landed.
Practically this is NOT a problem, not so far as we know. For
@DixvilleNotch, many, many forum participants have reported doing a soft-landing without that being a problem.
We have seen little indication that border officials conducting the landing interview so much as ask about the landing PR's future residential plans.
But I have little clue about how blatantly the landing PR can be about not coming, at the moment, to establish residence in Canada (let alone permanent residence) during the landing interview. My sense is this is one of those scenarios where
if they do not ask, do not volunteer information scenarios. Moreover, I doubt that acknowledging "
I can only stay a short while now, but will be back to stay after I get some things settled" will cause any problem at all.
All of which is to say the "
soft-landing" plan is generally OK . . . but it is not as if it is an approved approach.
