dpenabill]
By the way said:
It's too late to know this valuable suggestion. I thought it would be no problem with valid travel document.
scylla said:
September to January is a large break in residency. This could certainly result in a spousal sponsorship refusal. But hopefully for your sake CIC hasn't put two and two together. In order to qualify to sponsor a spouse for PR you don't just have to meet the residency obligation - you actually have to be physically living in Canada. Generally it's recommended that people keep trips outside of Canada to three weeks or less. You were out for around four months. This is a very long time.
If the PR visa has already been issued, which a Decision Made in visa office processing together with the passport request suggests it has, there
probably is no worry about the sponsorship application being refused on the grounds that the sponsor is not or has not been in Canada. This is not an issue to worry about.
The PR TD would have no bearing on that in any regard.
The real issue has to do with the impact of the Departure Order itself.
If the 44(1) Report and Departure Order preceded the visa office
Decision Made, it would have, as
zardoz suggested, at the least resulted in the sponsored application being suspended.
At this juncture it is not at all clear what will happen, including whether the visa office will or will not affix the PR visa in the passport. My sense is the odds are favourable, that they will still deliver the PR visa, but I do not know for sure. It could go either way. I very much doubt anyone else here knows. But that does not matter,
since your spouse will know fairly soon: your spouse will soon get the passport back and it will either have the PR visa affixed in it or it will not. Again, please let the forum know which way this goes.
That does not necessarily mean your spouse will be able to land and become a PR. Here too I doubt anyone here can say for sure how this is going to go. Again my sense is that if your spouse does indeed get the passport back with the PR visa affixed, your spouse will be able to go ahead and come to Canada and land and become a PR. But again I do not know this for sure. Again I doubt anyone here knows. Again it could go either way.
Conditional PR:
Beyond the questions about whether your spouse will still be able to land and become a PR, there then is the question about how the spousal PR condition will work given that the sponsor has been issued a Departure Order. How that works may depend on whether you win or lose the appeal. But here again, this is largely uncharted territory and I do not know how it will work and I doubt anyone else here knows either.
Of course, the big question is how the appeal will go, whether the Departure Order will be made final and enforceable, terminating your PR status.
As I observed above, you may be able to fashion an H&C case.
Again, see
ENF 23 Loss of permanent resident status.
URL: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/enf/enf23-eng.pdf
Link:
Link to ENF 23 Loss of permanent resident status
In particular, see section 7.7, beginning on page 26.
Further observations regarding H&C arguments:
I recognize that my perception of H&C determinations, in a PR RO breach case, is different from that of many if not most participants in this forum. Many, most even, often state that this or that
does not constitute H&C grounds, or is not considered to be H&C reasons.
At the risk of appearing arrogant, regarding this they are simply wrong. There is
no limitation precluding any factor from consideration in these cases. On the contrary, policy
requires ALL reasons proffered by the PR be considered.
Perhaps the difference is rooted in glossed over nuance, the difference between reasons or explanations which must be and will be
considered versus what constitutes
sufficient H&C reasons to warrant retaining PR status despite failing to comply with the PR Residency Obligation.
For example:
For example, many state that "economic reasons" do not constitute H&C grounds. That is simply not true. But it is true that mere economic reasons are generally
NOT sufficient grounds to, in effect, waive the breach of the PR RO.
The difference is important because what really matters is the totality of all the facts and circumstances, in the specific context of the individual PR's situation, and economic factors can constitute an important aspect of the totality of the PR's situation. That is, contrary to what many here assert, economic reasons can be an important part of making a successful H&C case justifying retention of PR status despite a breach of the PR RO.
Likewise relative to reasons rooted in being abroad due to getting married and being with one's spouse, although unlike economic reasons which have been addressed in a significant number of IAD and Federal Court cases, I have not seen this factor addressed much in the official, actual cases decided by the IAD or Federal Court. It may not be an easy case to make. Many other factors loom large. But it can at least form a key part of the H&C case since it can explain why the PR did not return to Canada sooner. That, after all, is the key to the PR RO breach case, the reasons why the PR did not return to Canada sooner and whether, given those reasons in the attendant circumstances (including the extent of the breach), Canada should forgive or waive the breach and allow the PR to retain PR status.
This is not to say, not at all, that making the H&C case is at all easy in the absence of an explanation based on a compelling force beyond the PR's control. The PR RO is considered to be very liberal, if not generous, precisely to allow sufficient flexibility for those PRs who encounter difficulties in getting settled in Canada; and indeed, it really is rather liberal, quite lenient if not generous, and allows PRs to retain
permanent resident status even though the PR actually resides outside Canada most of the time.
Nonetheless, the distinction between what is considered (that being
any and all reasons for not returning to Canada sooner) and what constitutes
sufficient reasons should not be overlooked or otherwise confused. This is especially true for a PR in your situation, already issued a Departure Order: the facts are what they are, and cannot be changed now; all you can do is fully examine and marshal
any and all reasons explaining why you remained abroad as much as you did, and organize that into the most persuasive argument you can make that you should be allowed to retain your PR status.
Thus, factors which might be important can include
-- reasonable mistake that once the PR TD was obtained, you had six months in which to return to Canada to fully settle in Canada
-- full intent to settle and remain in Canada, particularly once your partner is able to join you and live with you in Canada
Among any and other explanations for why you remained abroad as long as you did.
I am not suggesting how this will go, what the outcome will be. I am not advising you to make any particular argument. I offer the above to illuminate the range of what might be argued. Best thing to do is to hire a competent, reputable lawyer and follow the lawyer's advice as best you can.