applying for citizenship and leaving country with canadian spouse

[tranquil]

i have a question. My husband has a valid PR and has applied for citizenship in may 2010 after completing his days in canada and then left the country for certain unavoidable reasons, and has been abroad since . now its been two and half years since he applied and has his fingerprints taken twice (the first time they expired before they were processed and had to be taken again). so its been a long process. he is planning on coming back to canada permanently in may 2013 because he feels like the citizen ship process is taking longer since he is not in the country although there is no such rule that says so as per my research. i was reading the rules on citizen ship and i came across somewhere that says that if someone with a valid PR is out of the country accompanied with a canadian spouse , each day he spends outside the country with the canadian spouse counts as a day spent in canada. it does not say anymore. does my husband risk his Pr status if he stays out of the country even if he stays with me if he doesnt come back ?
last time he came to canada (a few weeks ago) for a visit, border services gave him a really hard time and said that it doesnt matter if he lives with his spouse abroad even if his spouse is a canadian citizen, and that next time they could take his PR if he comes back, because he's not living in the country anyway. i don't know if they were just threatening him with empty threats, but it does sound like they do have the authority to take someones valid PR without reason.

So does it matter at all if some one with a PR card leaves the country with a canadian spouse ? the CIC people keep giving us mixed answers so i don't know who to believe anymore.

 

[steaky]

I suggest the next time your husband arrives Canada, he should carry in person the relevant CIC webpage and proofs that he is accompany a Canadian citizen (you) outside Canada. I found lots of Canadian law enforcement officers doesn't always follow the rules.

 

[Leon]

You can find this here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op10-eng.pdf on page 7. His PR is protected if he is living with a Canadian spouse outside Canada. He should print that out and show it if he has a problem next time he enters Canada. If the immigration officer says they want to take his PR card anyway, ask to speak to their supervisor. If they still take his PR card, tell them that he will simply apply for a new one because he does meet the requirements and has nothing to worry about.

 

[plutohall]

In question #7 of the (RQ) residency questionnaire, it asks if a spouse accompanies me on my trips. My wife accompanied me on most of my many visits. She is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States and carries her US Passport. Will the (CBSA) Canada Border Services Agency be able to verify that my wife accompanied me on my many visits?

 

[Msafiri]

Make an ATIP request to CBSA under the Privacy Act for records of entries into Canada for both of you. Do the same with CBP...their sites have the info on what is required. Match this with passport stamps and any boarding passes/ car rental etc you have. This will show any match up's in travel dates but is not in itself conclusive proof that you were with your spouse outside Canada.