marinka999 said:
So there are 2 options for application under SR:
1. Applying for a travel document outside of Canada (from Russia, in my case). I find this option risky... Although I fulfilled my RO, you never know what the officer may decide... Could anyone share their experience in getting this document?
or
2. Crossing a US-Canadian border by car. I could not find official information re what documents are required to cross the border. Could someone send me the link, please?
Also, is there official information on CIC site that SR applications are not eligible for the urgent review request?
As suggested by
CanadianME, it at least seems
unlikely that someone whose PR card application has been deferred to Secondary Review (IRCC uses the term "referred" but given the inordinately excessive processing time, "deferred" is more apt) will be given urgent processing. However, there is no overt regulation or such which prohibits urgent processing, and at least one participant here has reported receiving the PR card relatively soon after making a request for urgent processing, despite being in
SR (but note that the timeline in that instance was already well over a year, as I recall, and that individual's case may have been approaching a final decision even if the request for urgent processing had not been made).
I have no personal experience applying for a PR TD.
That said, in addition to following the reports in this and other forums for years, however, I have read scores of actual cases as reported in official decisions. (And I have cited and linked many of them in posts in other topics here.)
Obviously, if IRCC has concerns leading to
SR, the visa office which handles an application for a PR TD will also examine and consider those concerns (and yes, they will see the file and the notes, including any and all concerns). That said, how things are likely to go when applying for the PR TD depend a lot on the individual PR's circumstances and history. Hint: barely meeting the PR Residency Obligation does not make for a good case.
Note: if you are abroad and apply for a PR TD, that is essentially the whole ball game. Your PR status will depend on how that goes. If a PR TD is issued, that does not guarantee you will be issued your new PR card soon after returning to Canada, but it is almost certain your PR status is not at risk (unless there is some other admissibility concern, such as an investigation into misrepresentations previously made at a PoE upon returning to Canada, as just one example of some other potential issues).
If the application for a PR TD is denied, PR status will be lost unless you appeal and are successful in the appeal. Thus, in effect, the PR card application becomes totally irrelevant if you are denied a PR TD.
In short: if you apply for a PR TD, for the most part you will retain or lose PR status depending on the outcome of that.
While the risk of an adverse decision may be greater in some countries, the risk is mostly tied to the facts and circumstances in the individual PR's situation and history, dependent of course on submitting sufficient
proof in the PR TD application.
Travel via the U.S.:
For the PR who can arrange to travel via the U.S., and arrange to travel to the border by private vehicle, at the PoE all the PR needs to do is present proof of identity (valid passport) and proof of PR status (CoPR, expired PR card, even communication with IRCC with client number on it), and that will suffice to obtain entry into Canada.
However, the PR may be questioned some about admissibility, including in particular compliance with the PR RO,
and if referred to secondary for this, the examining officer has access to much of the PR's information including concerns in the PR card application processing. If the examining officer ascertains that the PR is not in compliance with the PR RO, the PR may be issued a 44(1) Report at the PoE. Obviously, how this goes depends on the particular PR's history. For a PR who is still cutting it close, better to carry actual proof of time in Canada (and carry this in one's hands, not left in the car if and when referred to secondary at the PoE, and be sure it is close to hand as one approaches the PoE . . . there is no time to dig into bags to retrieve papers and digging into bags after being referred to secondary tends to cause the border officers to get very nervous and suspicious -- they expect those referred to secondary to park the vehicle and directly proceed to the secondary counter).
There is insufficient reporting to draw a firm conclusion, but I wonder whether IRCC might more or less deliberately allow delayed processing of
SR cases anticipating that those PRs who have not actually settled permanently in Canada will be more or less compelled to go abroad, because that is where their life is centralized, or their means of earning a living is located, and then the PR will have to either apply for a PR TD to return to Canada or at least face a Residency examination at the PoE upon their next return to Canada. That is, I wonder whether the delay is in part a way to force PRs to, so to say,
play-their-hand.
Frankly, many PRs with PR card applications in SD may want to carefully consider the risks involved in traveling abroad.
How risky it is to travel depends on how strong your evidence of compliance with the PR Residency Obligation is (assuming there are no other admissibility issues at stake, such as criminality or investigation into potential misrepresentations, such as at a PoE when returning to Canada).
There is a tendency for some PRs to take for granted that reaching the 730+ days threshold means they should automatically be recognized as in compliance with the PR Residency Obligation. Not sure why so many overlook the obvious: that cutting it close is cutting it close, with predictable implications.
The most glaring implication is that any PR who has been outside Canada more than in Canada is more or less likely to appear
NOT to have settled permanently in Canada (it seems more than a few overlook the significance of what "permanent" means in being a "Permanent Resident"), and in particular, if there is any concern about any of the time the PR reports having been in Canada, in the absence of direct, objective proof the PR was in Canada during that time the reasonable inference is that the PR was where he or she was most of the time: outside Canada.
The arithmetic is simple: fewer than 913 days in Canada means out of Canada more than in Canada. The lower the number of days-in-Canada, the more important it is to have clear, direct, objective proof of actually being in Canada.
In any event, if you elect to travel: Either way, that is whether planning to apply for a PR TD or to travel via the U.S. to return to Canada, at the least gather some evidence and do some things shortly before leaving, so that you can easily show you were in Canada from last September until leaving in July, to show this in addition to carrying proof you have of presence in Canada for 730+ days in the five years prior to September 17, 2015.
