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Entry from USA Borders vs H&C PR renewal

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
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But on a pure 'which provides better chance of retaining PR status' - land border.
Because @canuck78 brought up a related point, I'd like to emphasize something related:

Discussions above and in response to this question mostly about the mechanics of / policy surrounding arriving in Canada with out-of-compliance RO and settling.

Hasn't been much emphasis on whether it makes sense and is realistic. That's mostly up to the individual to decide. Pointless to ask about how to arrive if it doesn't make sense to arrive and stay.

But I want to underline this particular point: for the most part, for those who arrive out of compliance with the RO (and especially when out of compliance for many years) - this situation is mostly NOT COMPATIBLE with travelling outside of Canada a lot and retaining PR status. The risk of issues goes up dramatically the more frequently, and the longer, the PR who is seriously out of compliance travels.

So if work, life, family, especially dealing with aging parents, whatever - if it requires a lot of travel abroad and for longer periods, it just might not be realistic to think you remain a PR in Canada without serious issues. Sponsoring a spouse or children may be difficult and (even more) lengthy than usual - and possibly not without risk either. As @canuck78 noted, it is simply not realistic to think that your parents are going to be able to immigrate and become PRs (small numbers/lengthy and demanding process, random selection), and visiting for lengthy periods may not be either.

There are lots of issues. But if you absolutely need to travel a lot and for longer periods - that simply may not work, and/or occasion a lot of restrictions and possibly cost a lot (if you get stuck abroad).

The residency obligation (730 days out of 1825 or only 40% of the time) in Canada is already extremely lenient. If you haven't been able to maintain the RO in the past, you will probably need a rather dramatic change in life circumstances to maintain it going forward. If that isn't realistic, then counting on getting EXTRA leniency on an ongoing basis may not be realistic either.

And if you're not going to be able to comply with the RO over the long-term, then it may simply not be feasible to maintain PR status. It is an obligation, even if a lenient one.
 
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