Family Immigration & PR Renewal

[sivadevaki]

I am canadian PR card holder but never lived in Canada apart from visiting initially when I applied for my PR. I still have validity for less than a year (till June 2009). I currently live in United States.

I have two questions.

1. Can I renew my PR card even though I never lived in Canada. If not, is there any alternative like living in Canada for few months and apply for renewal while living in Canada.

2. Can I sponsor my family members (spouse, children). We all live in United States. My wife and I are Indian citizens and children are US citizens

 

[Leon]

If you have not been outside Canada for more than 1095 days total in the last 5 years or since you became PR, whichever is shorter, you can go back to Canada to live and apply for your PR card renewal and family sponsorship.

If you have been outside Canada for more than 1095 days in that period, you will have already lost your PR status due to perceived lack of interest but you can try to apply again.

 

[sivadevaki]

Does it mean that I will have to apply for Canadian PR again from scratch. Is there any concession or different process for existing PR card holders ?

 

[Leon]

You can appeal to them why they should let you keep your PR on humane and compassionate grounds but apparently there's a very low success rate for that, probably depends on if you had good humane and compassionate reasons to be gone. PR is issued to people who plan to live in Canada. Unlike citizenship, you can't keep it forever if you don't live here.

You can try and see if you can get into Canada without being noticed and in that case stay for a full two years without leaving so you can apply for a new PR card only at the point that you will meet the residency requirements but that means you can't sponsor your family for 2 years.

 

[RobsLuv]

Actually, it depends on how you came to Canada in the first place. Normally you must reside in Canada for at least two years of every five year period - as Leon explained - to maintain your PR status. But if you were sponsored by a spouse or common-law partner and you're living with that spouse/partner outside of Canada, it's the same as being in Canada and the 2/5 years residency requirement is waived.

Other than that, if you never really settled in Canada and you've been in the States for the past four years, you've already lost your PR status so, no, you could not apply to sponsor your family members to Canada. And you would not be able to do that from the US anyway - you'd have to be living and working in Canada in order to be eligible.

 

[sivadevaki]

I am the primary PR holder and lived in Canada only for a week in the past 4 years.

Thanks for all who clarified my question.

 

[RobsLuv]

Pretty sure that your PR is no longer valid - you should contact CIC to verify that, but you would have had to come back to Canada and live for at least two years before your third year of PR was up. You're in year 4 now without having come back., so I don't think there's much hope if you weren't sponsored by a Canadian citizen and living with them for the last 4 years.