Applying for PRTD and chances to get approved if RO is not being met

[A.Baig]

Hello,
We are in a situation and need some guidance. We are a family of 4, the youngest, 3yrs old holding Canadian Citizenship while me, my husband and elder daughter, 5yrs old, are PR holders. Now our PR cards are expiring mid of June 2021. Our total RO is 5 months in Canada. The reasons that we were unable to travel are mainly my husband's father being handicapped due to ALS, which started during our last visit to Canada in 2018. ALS effected both his hands leaving his hands with 0% functionality. His other 2 sons were in Canada, therefore back home it was only my husband and a sister to take care of him. We have all the documents for his current condition and disease prognosis.
Apart from that, we had also booked a property which was under construction, in Canada in 2019, all the mortgage papers are available and the property was handed over in 2020. Our initial plan was to be back once the property was handed over but then covid struck.
Apart from the above mentioned information, we decided to still move back and then get our father in law to Canada as he already holds a Visa and his immigration is also in process, but all the flights got canceled or the countries barred entry for people travelling from South Asia. We have ticket bookings, visa's applied for the transit countries, and cancelation details with us for the record.
Looking at the above information, do we have a compelling case to apply and hope to get PRTD on H&C basis?
Also we have not paid any taxes in Canada for the last 5 yrs, since we did not reside in Canada for the minimum number of days in Canada rendering you eligible to file taxes, but we also did not avail any benefit that a tax payer is entitled to while we were there, no child benefits, no medical benefits. All our medical bills were paid by us during our stay.
Thanks in advance.

 

[steaky]

It's not compelling because your FIL has two sons. They could have take turns to care for their dad. Also FIL has TRV and could travelled before the ban with your family. But you might get lucky and received the PRTD. These things are irrelevant: 1) Whether you paid taxes in Canada or not; and 2) the home construction - you could buy or rent somewhere else in Canada!

 

[A.Baig]

It's not compelling because your FIL has two sons. They could have take turns to care for their dad. Also FIL has TRV and could travelled before the ban with your family. But you might get lucky and received the PRTD. These things are irrelevant: 1) Whether you paid taxes in Canada or not; and 2) the home construction - you could buy or rent somewhere else in Canada!

The other two sons are in Canada not where the father is, one is a student, studies cant be left in between, his Masters will be completed later this year, the other is working, it is not practical to travel to take turns for months at an end, no employer will be that lenient, therefore we had to travel back to take care of him.
We bought the property for the sole reason to live in it. It has been 8 months since it was handed over and we have not rented it out as we wanted to move and stay in it.
Also the bans were never announced well in advance, one day the travel is open, the 2nd it is not.

 

[steaky]

The other two sons are in Canada, not where the father is, we had to travel back to take care of him.
We bought the property for the sole reason to live in it. It has been 8 months since it was handed over and we have not rented it out as we wanted to move and stay in it.

Well aware that the other two were in Canada. But many would left Canada to home country to take care of parents back home. I don't see why they are exception. Yes, you bought the property for the sole reason to live there. But you could have rent or buy somewhere else and live in Canada during the construction process. If you done so, you could easily meet the RO of physically living in Canada for 730 days in 5 years period.

 

[steaky]

The other two sons are in Canada not where the father is, one is a student, studies cant be left in between, his Masters will be completed later this year, the other is working, it is not practical to travel to take turns for months at an end, no employer will be that lenient, therefore we had to travel back to take care of him.

We've seen in these forums people quit their jobs and returned to home country to take of aged parents back home. Also, why couldn't you and your children live in Canada (live somewhere else while family home is in construction)? Your husband stay alone taking care of his dad?

 

[armoured]

Looking at the above information, do we have a compelling case to apply and hope to get PRTD on H&C basis?

To be blunt, does it matter what anyone here thinks about your chances? You clearly won't be able to travel before the current cards expire - which means if you wish to return to Canada, you must apply for a PRTD.

Therefore if you wish to proceed and attempt to return, the question is how to improve your chances. Particularly since it seems like you have eg assets in Canada that are at risk.

So my suggestion would be: hire a competent and experienced lawyer to make the best case possible. You can float your ideas here to get some feedback if you wish, but really, you're going to have to think of it all and lay it out for a lawyer to assist with making the case for you.

After that it doesn't really matter whether your hypothetical 'chances' are 1% or 99% - you either get granted the PRTD or you do not.

(There are a lot of things you perhaps could have done in the past to improve your chances, but those suggestions are mostly irrelevant now)

 

[A.Baig]

To be blunt, does it matter what anyone here thinks about your chances? You clearly won't be able to travel before the current cards expire - which means if you wish to return to Canada, you must apply for a PRTD.

Therefore if you wish to proceed and attempt to return, the question is how to improve your chances. Particularly since it seems like you have eg assets in Canada that are at risk.

So my suggestion would be: hire a competent and experienced lawyer to make the best case possible. You can float your ideas here to get some feedback if you wish, but really, you're going to have to think of it all and lay it out for a lawyer to assist with making the case for you.

After that it doesn't really matter whether your hypothetical 'chances' are 1% or 99% - you either get granted the PRTD or you do not.

(There are a lot of things you perhaps could have done in the past to improve your chances, but those suggestions are mostly irrelevant now)

Yes we plan to consult a lawyer and see how things go from there. Thanks alot for your suggestion.

 

[A.Baig]

Well aware that the other two were in Canada. But many would left Canada to home country to take care of parents back home. I don't see why they are exception. Yes, you bought the property for the sole reason to live there. But you could have rent or buy somewhere else and live in Canada during the construction process. If you done so, you could easily meet the RO of physically living in Canada for 730 days in 5 years period.

It is not about the place under construction therefore we not being able to live there. That was not a reason for us not being able to live in Canada. That was just a piece of information to give maximum amount of information. Offcourse if a house is under construction, people can live else where.
People quit their jobs and go take care of their parents, totally agree, but more or less that is what we opted to do and be there for him! And since we decided to take the responsibility.

 

[Buletruck]

It is not about the place under construction therefore we not being able to live there. That was not a reason for us not being able to live in Canada. That was just a piece of information to give maximum amount of information. Offcourse if a house is under construction, people can live else where.
People quit their jobs and go take care of their parents, totally agree, but more or less that is what we opted to do and be there for him! And since we decided to take the responsibility.

For future reference, property ownership in Canada is one of the primary conditions CRA looks at to determine residence status. You might want to consult a Canadian tax specialists about 2020 taxes.

 

[armoured]

It is not about the place under construction therefore we not being able to live there. That was not a reason for us not being able to live in Canada. That was just a piece of information to give maximum amount of information.

You should definitely be sharing this type of information with lawyer and discussing. I don't think anyone will say outright that chances of H&C consideration are nil - just that the obvious argument against (having spent only five months in Canada in five years) is ... weighty. On the other hand there is covid and your father's illness and probably other factors. Perhaps the house as evidence of intent to return that was disrupted by external factors helps the case - but perhaps not much given that you would already have been out of compliance in 2019. Then there are children and other factors.

I don't think anyone's going to argue that it sounds compelling at first, but it's also not nil.

The task for the lawyer is to present the best possible case based on the info you provide. (And to know also what documentation to support the case)

You should also keep in mind that even though the F-i-L has a TRV, and you say 'his immigration in process' - well, it's not a given that he'll be able to remain in Canada (quite possibly not) and you may have to look at long-term care options (likely in home country) that might conflict with keeping your PR status in the long term. Getting the PRTD won't magically resolve that.

And if he has 'zero percent functionality' of his hands and needs full-time care, the attempt to bring him to Canada may not be the best angle to take( again, speak to lawyer). YOu may have some tough choices ahead in that respect - some of which may not be compatible with residing in Canada permanently.

Good luck.

 

[YVR123]

Just want to highlight that witih your FIL's current condition, he won't be approved for his medical exam for immigration. (if he passed his medical already, he still needs to inform IRCC for his major change of medical condition.)
If he travels to Canada, he will need to pay all of his medical care out of pocket and it may be hard to arrange frequent and regular medical care for him (even if he plans to pay out of pocket)

Apart from the above mentioned information, we decided to still move back and then get our father in law to Canada as he already holds a Visa and his immigration is also in process,

 

[canuck78]

Also wanted to stress that your plan to bring your FIL on a flight doesn’t guarantee him entry to Canada. He could be refused entry if CBSA has concerns about his medical condition, lack of health insurance and need to access to healthcare in Canada. He will not be able to qualify for health insurance especially to cover anything related to ALS. I also don’t see what your plans are if you were attempting to bring him to Canada. If ge has been sponsored he is unlikely to pass medical inadmissibility. You really need to think of a plan B when it comes to your father because the chance of him getting PR through PGP is very low if he has ALS.

 

[A.Baig]

Also wanted to stress that your plan to bring your FIL on a flight doesn’t guarantee him entry to Canada. He could be refused entry if CBSA has concerns about his medical condition, lack of health insurance and need to access to healthcare in Canada. He will not be able to qualify for health insurance especially to cover anything related to ALS. I also don’t see what your plans are if you were attempting to bring him to Canada. If ge has been sponsored he is unlikely to pass medical inadmissibility. You really need to think of a plan B when it comes to your father because the chance of him getting PR through PGP is very low if he has ALS.

FIL dsnt plan to come to Canada for treatment or medical reasons. Our plan B is that his son whose studies will end in Canada later this year will come to be with him and then we can pursue our plan to move by applying PRTD.

 

[armoured]

FIL dsnt plan to come to Canada for treatment or medical reasons. Our plan B is that his son whose studies will end in Canada later this year will come to be with him and then we can pursue our plan to move by applying PRTD.

I may be misinterpreting what you're saying, but - I'm not sure that FIL planning to come 'for treatment or medical reasons' matters. In that the authorities will mainly assume that someone quite ill may need treatment, and that treatment will not be denied, and hence cost to public, whatever the 'plans'. So you may need expensive health insurance, possibly prohibitively expensive for him to come to Canada at all.

As for timing: however uncertain all of this is, I would not delay speaking to a lawyer (and applying for PRTD). For the time being, the case would likely be more convincing if you apply sooner; eg inability to return to Canada coinciding with the travel ban (at least part of time) makes some sense; applying at earliest opportunity reinforces that intent to return is serious; etc.

Delay (for example) for a year before applying and/or well after travel ban is lifted - the benefit of the doubt is less likely to go your way. The process is not likely to be fast at any rate, and the PRTD if granted will give at least some time to return (six months or a year? not certain).

 

[canuck78]

FIL dsnt plan to come to Canada for treatment or medical reasons. Our plan B is that his son whose studies will end in Canada later this year will come to be with him and then we can pursue our plan to move by applying PRTD.

Very confused. If you aren’t able to travel by June 2021, you will need to apply for the PRTD based on H&C from your home country not Canada. As others have explained not having health coverage that covers a very serious disease is likely to be a concern. Your reason for not being able to return to Canada is that your father’s health is so severe he needed heal that required both you and your sister to live with/close to him but that also translates to concerns that he could need to access expensive medical care in Canada. If your father has significant savings then that may allow him to visit because he won’t be able to get insurance that covers his ALS. The other issue that CBSA will want to see when deciding whether you4 FIL can enter Canada is his plans to return home. The airline will also want to see a return ticket home when allowing a visitor to fly to Canada. ALS patients will certainly be considered medically inadmissible.