Help with my father's immigration - PR problem

[MissE]

Hi there,

I was hoping to get Leon to help me out with my father's case. Leon, I read some of your responses and I really would appreciate your opinion. Our family got accepted to immigrate to Canada in 2008. Since then, I moved to Canada and have been living here and married and worked, so I have followed all the rules and can now apply for citizenship. However, my father's case was a bit different. He only entered Canada in total for two months - once in 2008, and once in 2010. Instead of living in Canada, he stayed in the Middle East for several reasons, but to be very straight forward the main reason was work and money obligations such as debt and supporting family in the Middle East. He is over 50 years old, so he was discouraged to quit his stable job with good income and pension benefits in ME to go to Canada and start over with absolutely no guarantees. While there, his mother also got very sick, and although he did not live in the same town as her; he did visit her often until she passed away about a year ago. Now he will retire in July 2013, and he wants to come to Canada to live here. His PR CARD expires in August 2013. He has only accumulated two months out of five years of residency in Canada. What is the best next step for him to take so that he can renew his PR status and not lose it? His intentions are really to stay in Canada after this. We are worried about:

1) him entering Canada, where an IO may give him a hard time and how he should answer difficult questions,
2) not being able to renew his PR card or being asked to leave the country for not meeting the obligations,
3) If he manages to come into Canada with no problems upon entry, and lives two years here with an expired PR Card before applying for renewal, we are worried he may get "caught" or something. He just doesn't want to do anything wrong!

I read on here that a wife can sponsor her husband to renew the PR Card. It may sound silly, but as his daughter would I be able to sponsor him similarly if his PR application gets refused? Our intentions are good and we are just trying to get our old man to finally live in Canada... especially now that he is expecting grandchildren, and given all the problems in the Mid East currently. He has valid health card, driving license, Canadian bank accounts, and has been filing income tax yearly. He also helped my sister and I rent flats here in Canada while he was in Mid East, he paid the rent through his bank account and it shows in our statements. I wonder if any of this is relevant at all or may help give him a boost. I really hope you can give me some insight on what steps to take to improve his situation. He is prepared to hire a lawyer and do what it takes to be able to make this work. I'd be very grateful for any advise you can give me. Thank you so much

 

[AAL1984]

Technically he has lost his PR, since he has not met the residency obligation. If an immigration officer is sharp and doing his job he will catch that, however he may not, its your luck.

Real problem will be when he tries to renew PR card, thats when they ask detailed history and you cant lie there.

 

[Leon]

1) The immigration officer absolutely might give him a hard time about it as he should because that is his job. However, the don't seem to report people often for not meeting the requirements so they will probably allow him to enter. When asked, he should say that he was taking care of his ill mother in old country which is true. He would not have been able to visit her so often had he been living in Canada.

Worst case, they do report him, they will let him enter and he can appeal for his PR showing proof that his mother was ill and when she died. So ok, it was a year ago that she died and he did not return immediately but he still has a chance to keep his PR. If he loses the appeal, he would have to leave. There is currently a stop on children sponsoring their parents but you can apply for a so called super visa for him if he loses his PR. It would allow him to visit for up to 2 years.

Best case, he is not reported, walks in and waits for 2 years to renew his card.

2. Not being able to renew his card might happen if he gets in and applies to renew right away. He should keep proof of his entry date, flight ticket, boarding card, passport etc. and if he stays in Canada for 2 years after that, he meets the residency requirements again and can apply to renew without a problem.

3. There is no law that says that a PR in Canada must have a valid PR card. If he gets asked for proof of being PR, he can show his landing documents. Immigration rules even take into account this possibility, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op10-eng.pdf on page 7 where it says:

For persons who have been permanent residents of Canada for more than five years, the only
five-year period that can be considered in calculating whether an applicant has met the residency
obligation is the one immediately before the application is received in the visa office. A28(2)(b)(ii)
precludes a visa officer from examining any period other than the most recent five-year period
immediately before the date of receipt of the application.

Even if a person had resided away from Canada for many years, but returned to Canada and
resided there for a minimum of 730 days during the last five years, that person would comply with
the residency obligation and remain a permanent resident. An officer is not permitted to consider
just any five-year period in the applicant’s past, but must always assess the most recent five-year
period preceding the receipt of the application.