Expired PR card. What now!?!

[iamjoeyjo]

Hello, my wife's PR card expired in 2014 and she did not meet the requirement to obtain the PR during that time and now we seriously want to return to Canada and are making plans to do so in July.

As I have read she would need to renew that card to get on the flight into Canada but that would probably be the end of her PR status once they realize she didn't qualify.

Are there other ways to do this legally. For example: is it legal for her to apply for a tourist visa at the same time as owning this card or is it possible to fly to the USA on a tourist visa and drive across the border with the expired PR card?

We have since had 2 children and we are now more interested in settling down permanently.

 

[scylla]

You don't stay what your status is. Are you a Canadian citizen? Has she been living outside of Canada with you?

No - she cannot apply for a tourist visa. She would have to officially give up her PR status first.

Overall - you would be far better posting your questions to the Permanent Residency Obligation section of the forum.

 

[iamjoeyjo]

I am a Canadian citizen. She has been living outside Canada with me.
We only came back to Canada for short visits.
She did apply for and receive a SIN

We went through the border near the expiry in 2009 and the guard told us that she wouldnt qualify and we said that we knew that and he decided not to send us to immigration but said he normally would have done that so I imagine her pr status is still intact as had no notice of any kind.

 

[jomz]

I am a Canadian citizen. She has been living outside Canada with me.
We only came back to Canada for short visits.
She did apply for and receive a SIN

We went through the border near the expiry in 2009 and the guard told us that she wouldnt qualify and we said that we knew that and he decided not to send us to immigration but said he normally would have done that so I imagine her pr status is still intact as had no notice of any kind.

The officer was not correct. If you are a Canadian citizen and have been a citizen during the time your wife was with you abroad (which you can prove that you resided together out of the country) than her time spent with you as a Canadian citizen out of canada is counted towards her residency obligation therefore she can easily apply to renew her pr card.

See situation 1 in the below link.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5445ETOC.asp#appendixA

 

[Ponga]

Jackpot for the OP!