Entered Canada and not meeting PR requirements.

[fattal]

Hi

My landing was in June 2011, got my PR card in August 2011, returned to my work in a Gulf country in the same month (August 2011). My original plan was to complete my masters’ degree and return to Canada within the allowed time in order to meet PR requirements and be able to renew PR with no problem. What happened was that, my father (in Egypt) got very sick before I return to Canada. I found that he needed me near to him and every couple of months I used to spend with him 2 weeks or more and return back to my work in the Gulf country. In fact, it was easier for me to take care of him while I was in the Gulf country than in Canada because of the distance, cost of travel, and cost of unpaid work vacations, so I stayed in the gulf country until 2015 until my father passed away in May 2015. In August 2015 I took my family and flew to Canada to continue with my original immigration plan. I decided not to hide any information in my declaration and I wrote the exact date of leaving Canada (August 2011) and of course this caused me to meet the immigration officer in the airport. I explained him the situation as written above but he seemed not convinced with the reason that kept me away from Canada for 4 years especially that I was living in the Gulf country and not in my home country Egypt. After some debate, he left his seat and went to another back office area, it seamed to me that he might have consulted a higher authority immigration officer. When he returned back, he stamped my passport and my family passports with the arrival stamp and he wrote at the top of every stamp (Away since August 2011), then he told me that no further action will be taken (except for the stamp), but, he said, when I submit my and my family PR’s for renewal, there is a big chance that the PR status will be revoked because the reason is not convincing since I was not living with my father in the same country.

The question now is that, what does this stamp and comment (at the top of the stamp) means? does it affect the PR renewal by any means? And, what should I do?

 

[zardoz]

What he has done is to alert anyone looking at your passport that you don't meet the Residency Obligation requirements at the moment. The answer is simple. Stay in Canada until you have sufficient days to be compliant and only then apply for renewal. You do not have to be in possession of a valid PR card to live in Canada. Just don't leave the country again for 730 days.

 

[fattal]

Thanks Zardoz

dose this situation of not having valid PR card affect in anyway me and my family life in terms of rent, work, schools, university, etc

Wael

 

[ttrajan]

Yes some places they will ask for PR card to know our status in Canada.

 

[fattal]

thanks Ttrajan

anyone know what aspect of day to day life can be stopped if one doesn't have valid PR?

 

[ttrajan]

In Alberta PR card is required for getting medical card, driving license, getting loans and job etc.

 

[neutral]

You can throw your passports in the toilet so nobody will see the stamps note. Then you ask for new ones.

 

[Leon]

I'm afraid throwing your passport in the toilet will not help because the family is already flagged in the system so leaving Canada now, re-entering would probably cause them to get reported.

You can use your still valid PR cards now to get set up for everything you need, health card, drivers license, jobs etc. You generally will not need a valid PR card after that except for college, they tend to ask for them to make sure you are entitled to pay the PR fees instead of the international student fees which are much higher. However, there is nothing you can do about it at this point. Just wait until you have more than 2 years in Canada (more than 730 days) and then you can renew your PR card without a problem as you will meet the RO again.

Immigration rules allow for this situation. They actually state that even if you have been away for many years but return and stay for more than 730 days, you meet the RO again and keep your PR.

I agree with the officer that you have a weak case because you were not staying in your home country to take care of your father but only came to visit him. It could be argued that you could also have visited him if you were living in Canada. You can argue that you could visit him more often while living closer but he obviously did not need your daily care so they will think his condition was an excuse for you not to move to Canada.

Just stay clear of immigration for the next two years. That means don't apply to renew your PR card and don't leave Canada. Then you will be fine. After 2 years, you can apply to renew.

 

[dpenabill]

Some observations:

(Largely in agreement with observations by Leon, who posted while I was composing this post . . . although it appears to me that the supervisor did not find your reasons all that weak -- more regarding this below.)

Most passports belong to the government which issued it and it would constitute a serious crime to wilfully destroy or dispose of it. Generally a bad idea to commit a criminal act. Destroying the passport is not recommended.

And, generally, to lose the passport is more a disadvantage than any perceived advantage. CIC tends to make negative inferences about residency or presence for PRs, and citizenship applicants in particular, if a passport is missing . . . even if its loss was totally not the fault of the PR.


It appears you do have a currently valid PR card, to expire next year. (Summer 2016?) Be sure to apply for and obtain your SIN (if you have not already), provincial health care coverage, and drivers license. Once you have these, you should not have any problems after your current PR card expires.

There is NO requirement to maintain a currently valid PR card.

There may be requirements, as others suggest, to prove status for this or that benefit in Canada, for which the PR card may be required (noting, though, that for example Ontario allows the use of an expired PR card, up to five years expired, for proof of status at the least in the renewal of OHIP coverage and no proof of status appears to be requested when renewing an Ontario drivers license). So, again, be sure to obtain such things while your PR card is still valid.

Obviously, if you leave Canada any time in the next two years your status will be at risk.


Regarding the POE exchange: your report is interesting and illustrates the variety of ways these things can go. But it also illustrates what appears to be the tendency of CBSA border officials to still approach PRs within the first five years after landing at least somewhat leniently . . . especially those who appear to intend to make Canada their home and who have a reasonable, even if not legally sufficient explanation for their delay in coming to Canada to settle. I do not know of course, but your report at least hints that the supervisor did not agree with the interviewing officer, or at least was inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt.


Caution: A 44(1) Report was not issued at the POE (or, at least it appears none was . . . you should have been given a copy if one was). Thus, you are probably OK . . . and as others noted, stay in Canada for two full years before applying for a new PR card or traveling abroad and your status should be fine.

BUT, but . . . it is possible the POE officer made a referral to the local CIC office which could initiate an inquiry or investigation. At the least (almost for certain) the officer made a NCB entry into your FOSS/GCMS record (which would render the loss of your passport meaningless, as the same note as in your passport is, in essence, quite likely noted in your FOSS records) . . . so the question is whether the officer did more than that, such as, again, making a referral to the local CIC office.

Thus: be prepared to document and argue your H&C reasons for delaying your return to Canada. Hopefully you will not be subject to a local office residency investigation, but you want to be prepared in case you are. Be sure to have medical provider documentation as to your father's condition and related information to explain why you remained abroad so long . . . and including, say, documentation of date of death . . . and of course this should include documentation to prove the parent-child relationship. When it comes to H&C grounds which are raised as reasons why a PR should be allowed to retain PR status despite a breach of the PR Residency Obligation, there is far greater range in what is considered than in other H&C contexts. (This may explain why the supervisor decided no action should be taken.)

 

[eileenf]

You can throw your passports in the toilet so nobody will see the stamps note. Then you ask for new ones.

This is terrible advice.

As others have noted, a lost passport does not erase the note. The note is in the CIC computer system as well.

A lost passport also triggers suspicion and, in many cases, years-long wait times in any interactions with CIC. Citizenship applications, PR renewals, etc.

 

[royalking]

hi every one

need to know ,

see if the principal applicant and spouse come to Canada together, get there PR card , can spouse stay back alone in canada and work while the principal applicant go back and come after a 1 year or so???? kindly advice

 

[ttrajan]

Yes possible.

 

[Msafiri]

....The question now is that, what does this stamp and comment (at the top of the stamp) means? does it affect the PR renewal by any means? And, what should I do?

You got the mother of all breaks as it seems the CBSA agent decide not to report you. Your H&C grounds are weak..as has been pointed out you weren't even in the same country as your father so the "I was taking care argument" will be thrown out real quick by any half decent CIC lawyer. Don't interact with CIC or CBSA until you have 730 days of actual physical presence in Canada. So no travel outside Canada, PR Card renewal or Sponsorship.

 

[Leon]

hi every one

need to know ,

see if the principal applicant and spouse come to Canada together, get there PR card , can spouse stay back alone in canada and work while the principal applicant go back and come after a 1 year or so???? kindly advice

Yes, no problem. After they have landed, they are both full PR's in their own right and if the dependents want to stay in Canada while the principal applicant leaves, they can do it.

 

[Msafiri]

hi every one

need to know ,

see if the principal applicant and spouse come to Canada together, get there PR card , can spouse stay back alone in canada and work while the principal applicant go back and come after a 1 year or so???? kindly advice

If PR obtained via say FSW/QSW type PR application then all good...if its a PNP application or one of the Investor Programmes that has conditional requirements then there may be issues about 'settlement'/ fulfilling conditions. Since the new Citizenship Act(SCCA) has introduced a new concept requiring that even conditional PR situation be resolved as a pre-requisite to submitting a citizenship application this may be an issue for some PRs if under investigation/ haven't fulfilled their PR conditions where this is not necessarily a breach of the RO or some other inadmissibility.