I always was under impression that if you are in compliance with RO you will get your PRTD within reasonable time.
What constitutes a reasonable time for someone who has been given notice that IRCC is questioning the validity of their PR status? Obviously, it is likely to take a lot longer than the minimum processing time for the respective visa office.
Just as or even more obvious, if a PR card application has been referred to Secondary Review, IRCC is questioning the validity of the PR's status. No telepathic powers necessary to see this.
Reminder: A PR abroad who does not have a currently valid PR card is presumed to not have valid PR status.
Technically the statute states:
". . . a person who is outside Canada and who does not present a status document indicating permanent resident status is presumed not to have permanent resident status."
See IRPA Section 31(2)(b) at
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-2.5/page-8.html#docCont
This presumption applies even if the PR has not already had their case referred to SR.
While SR does not preclude traveling abroad, it does mean that a PR in these circumstances, who considers traveling abroad, needs to be prepared for the process of applying for a PR TD while abroad. This means --
-- being prepared to submit persuasive evidence of compliance with the PR RO in making the PR TD application,
and otherwise rebut the negative statutory presumption of not having valid PR
-- being prepared to be spend time abroad pending the processing of the PR TD application, which can be lengthy, and
-- for a PR who has not been clearly settled in Canada (appearances counting almost as much as the facts) being prepared to make an appeal, including being prepared to document presence in Canada within the last year in order to qualify for a special PR TD to come to Canada pending the appeal, as well as being prepared to remain abroad pending the process of making an appeal and applying for the special PR TD
In terms of reasonable expectations, a previous experience in which it took the visa office three times as long to process a PR TD application, three times as long as the minimum being reported by that office, and when there was no SR pending, is a huge, huge clue that it would be totally unreasonable to expect another PR TD application, one made with SR pending, to not take one day longer than the minimum processing time for that visa office.
This is worth addressing and emphasizing because a lot of people read this site for information, for some clue about what might happen in their situation, about what the risks are. The risks vary greatly, of course, so it is difficult to paint an accurate picture which does not exaggerate the risks or underestimate them.
So it is important to put your experience in context. You elected to leave Canada with SR pending, which has known risks, not the least of which is the prospect of going through a lengthy PR TD application process in order to return to Canada. It was not reasonable to expect a visa office to process a PR TD application in its minimum processing time.
The point, the lesson if you will, what other PRs with potential IRCC concerns looming need to consider, is that there are almost always indicators of potential risks and it is important to pay attention to those indicators and make prudent decisions accordingly. PRs with a PRC application in SR need to very seriously examine and calculate the risks
before traveling abroad . . . for many, if not most, the prudent thing to do is remain in Canada until they are in fact issued and actually delivered a new PRC.
A self-serving focus on a technicality which favours oneself, like the
alleged fact of being in compliance with the PR RO, will not serve one well. Generally it is more important to educate oneself about the downsides, the risks and potential consequences, the possible challenges at stake, when making decisions which can have a big impact on one's life.
In any event, even though it is quite likely that your PR TD will be granted and issued any day now, the reasonable thing to do, at this stage, is to be prepared in event it is denied, thus to be prepared to make an appeal and to apply for a special PR TD which will allow you to travel to Canada pending the appeal. The burden of proof is on you, so be sure you have some proof of physically being present in Canada within the previous year (that qualifies the PR for the special PR TD to travel to Canada pending an appeal).
In other words, you can assume the PR TD application will sooner or later be granted, and hopefully it is sooner rather than later,
BUT best to prepare for the possibility it might not be.