Appeal on Residency Obligation

[primaprime]

i am close to 45 days short of 730 days Residency Obligations.
is it luck by chance the RO? or random
do officers check the no of days?

It depends a lot on the officer you get and how they're feeling that day. Some are naturally more inclined to ask about RO compliance than others. But in general, the longer you've been gone, the more likely you are to be further scrutinized, whereas if you're just 45 days short, they may say nothing or give you only a verbal reminder. Or if you're incredibly unlucky, they may formally report you. However, if you've only become a bit out of compliance this year, I would hope to expect some more leniency due to COVID.

 

[kri772020]

Do the officers at POE check for RO for every PR card holder?

 

[IndianBos]

The first assumption they make is that you live in Canada as a PR. They will simply ask you how long you were gone (tell the truth here, coz they can verify). If you say you have been living outside and moving to Canada now, they look at your landing date and how many years it has been.

Anything more than 3 years since landing is usually a flag to refer to secondary where they check in detail. Usually, lesser days out of compliance and they let you off with a verbal warning.

 

[dpenabill]

The Long and In-depth Response:

Do the officers at POE check for RO for every PR card holder?

I agree with the observations posted by @IndianBos

But to be clear, NO, PoE officers do NOT check Residency Obligation compliance for every traveler who is a PR ("PR card holder"). NO WHERE NEAR.

That is, the vast majority of PRs screened at a PoE upon arrival from abroad are NOT asked RO compliance questions.

That's because for the vast, vast majority of PRs traveling abroad, and returning to Canada, there is no hint, no concern, no suspicion that they are not complying with the RO.

There are scores of PRs who are registered with NEXUS and allowed to routinely drive across the U.S. and Canadian border with minimal screening. Usually NO questions asked.

While I was still a PR I passed through a PoE many dozens of times without ever being referred to Secondary . . . well, except a few times for customs related matters, having to do with paying duty on items I was importing. I was never examined in regards to the RO.

Even the occasions I was returning to Canada within weeks of the expiration of my PR card, I was NOT asked about RO compliance. But I was just returning from a short trip to the U.S., driving a vehicle licensed in Canada, the same vehicle I had driven across the border thirty or fifty times in the previous five years. (My PR card expired before I became a citizen but I did not travel abroad during the relatively short period of time between then and when I took the oath.)

As @IndianBos noted, perhaps one of the most common questions asked, in one form or another, is "how long have you been outside Canada?" (Example of another way, among several, in which this is asked: "When were you last in Canada?")

This is typically asked at the PIL (Primary Inspection Line), and is also the most common question asked of Canadian citizens as well. As with most questions asked by officers generally, including border control officials, such questions have multiple purposes, ranging from simply observing the manner in which the traveler responds to looking for signs or indications of reasons to question the traveler more, which may be about what the traveler is bringing into Canada, corroborating the traveler's identity and status, or indications of any other reason to screen the traveler more thoroughly. Including, for PRs, RO compliance.

The longer it has been since the last time a PR was in Canada (the longer the PR has been outside Canada), the more that can indicate a situation in which the PR's compliance with the RO may be in question. Note, for example, if it has been three years since the PR was last in Canada, that is on-its-face an indication the PR is in BREACH of the RO. In particular, unless the PR is accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse abroad (or is a minor accompanying a parent), being abroad for three years is an OBVIOUS breach of the RO (it is impossible to meet the 730 days in Canada obligation if a PR has been abroad three full years).

But even if it has been a shorter but lengthy enough period it indicates the PR has been living abroad, as in not living in Canada, then of course that can trigger at least some further questions and/or a referral to Secondary for a more in-depth examination as to RO compliance.

There are other factors that can trigger the referral to Secondary for more questions about RO compliance. A flag in the PR's GCMS records, for example. And there are many various things which can trigger putting a flag, or "alert" notice, in a client's GCMS records.

In any event, no, not every PR is examined as to RO compliance upon arrival at a PoE. Most are NOT.

That said, PRs who are in breach of the RO, and even those cutting-it-close, can reasonably anticipate the likelihood they will be asked questions related to RO compliance and depending on the situation formally examined as to RO compliance. CBSA and IRCC figure things out far, far more often than it appears many apprehend. Sure, more than a little gets past them. Anyone counting on that, however, is gambling, and typically gambling against the odds.


For photo of an especially wily traveler being handed traveler's declaration form at a PoE, see:
https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/animal-instincts-take-over-at-pigeon-river-border-crossing-2816517

 

[funloving]

i am close to 45 days short of 730 days Residency Obligations.
is it luck by chance the RO? or random
do officers check the no of days?

Is your PR card expired? If not that should be fine.

 

[piedpiper]

Someone who has at least 730 days of presence complies with their RO even if they spend the majority of their time abroad, do not intend to develop any further ties to Canada, and have no particular affection for Canada.

Conversely, someone who has fewer than 730 days of presence has not complied with their RO, even if deep down in their heart, they intended to make their home in Canada, because they did not spend enough time actually doing that.

Unfortunately this is true, going by the rule book. I wish there is solution to this. Something like 'Once a PR, always a PR till renunciation'. May be I am dreaming.

I have always wondered if a PR spends most of his/her time abroad, who is the loser? Is it Canada or the PR? I feel it is the PR who is losing in the long term. So logically, Canada should not really bother about RO.

I have a friend who is a Canadian citizen but living abroad for a long time. What do you say about this? Is he maintaining any ties with Canada?

 

[scylla]

Unfortunately this is true, going by the rule book. I wish there is solution to this. Something like 'Once a PR, always a PR till renunciation'. May be I am dreaming.

I have always wondered if a PR spends most of his/her time abroad, who is the loser? Is it Canada or the PR? I feel it is the PR who is losing in the long term. So logically, Canada should not really bother about RO.

I have a friend who is a Canadian citizen but living abroad for a long time. What do you say about this? Is he maintaining any ties with Canada?

Your expectations are unrealistic. You are looking for PR status to convey the same privileges as citizienship. It doesn't.

Almost all countries have residency requirements for those who have PR status and are not yet citizens. Canada is by no means unique here. Canada's policies are already extremely generous. If you held a U.S. green card, your green card status would have been automatically revoked as soon as you spent more than a year outside of the U.S. In contrast, a Canadian PR can spend three years outside of Canada without losing PR status. Even someone who spend more than three years outside of Canada can still manage to keep PR.

Once you are a Canadian citizen, you can live wherever you want to and there is no residency requriement. You will have that same priviledge if you ever become a Canadian citizen.

Here's the reality: (1) The PR rules are not going to change to suit your situation. (2) You are in this situation due to the choices that you made knowing Canada has a residency requirement. (3) You have to make a decision about what you are going to do based on the PR rules and the choices you have made which have resulted in you not meeting the residency requirement.