Can I still move back to Canada

[Jlobis1982]

I moved to canada in july 2012 under the pvt visa, then I switched to young professionnal on July 2013 then got the permaneny residency in March 2015. In late june 2016 I moved to Los Angeles and I got married. I am about to divorce and want to go back to Canada. Is my permanent residency status still valid? The expiration date is august 2021.
Please help.
Thanks

 

[foodie69]

Your card is valid, but...

As a permanent resident, you may travel outside Canada after you arrive. However, you must meet certain residency obligations to maintain your status as a permanent resident. To meet these residencyobligations, you must be physically present in Canada for at least 730 days (2 years) in every 5-year period.

 

[Bs65]

If you initially landed in Canada March 2015 and spent 14-15 months in the country through June 2016 then you need to be in Canada for another 10 months at least through Feb/March 2020 which means I guess you need to be back in the next month and then stay put.

Your statement that your PR card , which are usually issued for 5 years validity , doesn’t expire until August 2021 doesn’t make sense with the above dates given that implies you may have completed an initial PR landing May/June 2016 with the PR card processing time.

 

[evdm]

Forget the expiration date of your PR card, just ignore it (for now).
These are the questions you need to answer before a determination on your compliance with the Residency Obligation (RO) can be made:

What day did you become a PR?
Since that day, how many days have you been in Canada?
What day will you be coming back into Canada?

Now, using the answers to the questions above you can determine whether or not you meet (/can meet) the RO.
The laws regarding the RO state that on the date of examination (i.e. crossing the border, applying for any document from IRCC, etc) you must have been physically present in Canada for at least 730 days in the 5 years immediately preceding that day.

However;

Presumably, in your case, you have not yet been a PR for 5 years. In that case, you count the days you've been in Canada since you became a PR, and add to that the number of days still left until the 5-year anniversary of you becoming a PR from the day that you return to Canada. That number must be 730 or more, or you are in breach of the RO and you risk being reported on entry, or examination.

If you are reported for a breach of the RO, the process will start to revoke your status and remove you from Canada.


Where the expiration date of your PR card becomes an issue is if you wish to travel to Canada by a commercial carrier (plane, bus, train). In most cases, you cannot board a commercial vehicle with an expired PR Card as a PR unless you have a Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD). From what you describe, this shouldn't be an issue if your PR Card is valid until 2021 and you wish to return before then. However, that's the only relevance to the expiration date on the PR Card. Like a passport, it is a TRAVEL DOCUMENT and not your status.

 

[Jlobis1982]

Your card is valid, but...

As a permanent resident, you may travel outside Canada after you arrive. However, you must meet certain residency obligations to maintain your status as a permanent resident. To meet these residencyobligations, you must be physically present in Canada for at least 730 days (2 years) in every 5-year period.

I know but from what point should I start counting the days? Since I got my permanent resident or since July 2012 when i was under other work visa?

 

[dpenabill]

I know but from what point should I start counting the days? Since I got my permanent resident or since July 2012 when i was under other work visa?

Work visa time in Canada is NOT relevant for purposes of compliance with PR Residency Obligation.

Residency Obligation compliance is calculated based on presence/absence from Canada since the date the PR became a Permanent Resident UNTIL the fifth year anniversary of that date, the landing date. After the fifth year anniversary of the landing date, compliance is calculated based on the five year period of time immediately prior to the date the calculation is done.


For a PR who landed (date they became a PR) less than five years ago, the easiest way to calculate Residency Obligation compliance is to simply count the days absent from Canada. If that number is more than 1095 (give another day or so for leap years), the PR is in breach of the RO (not in compliance with the RO).

Any PR not in compliance with the RO is at RISK for being reported upon arrival at a PoE. No matter how much longer the PR card is valid.

That said, the longer the PR card is still valid, the better the chance a PoE official will waive the PR through . . . unless the breach of the RO is obvious (for example: any PR who has been abroad three years since last time in Canada is obviously in breach of the RO, no arithmetic necessary).

How many days over 1095 days absent can also make a difference in whether (1) there will be questioning about RO compliance at the PoE, and (2) if questioned, how that will go. Less days over is better. Obviously.