Howe to apply for PR renewal?? just meeting obligation but was out of Canada for 3years owing to injury & covid

[Sn111]

Hi All,
I became a PR in Dec 2016 and was broadly in Canada except for once 88 days and then got a job here too with a Canadian employer. But in Jan 2019 I got injured and was bed ridden and was not getting surgery here. So I went to my family in home country to get treatment and support. But my injury was complicated and majority doctors were not in favor of surgery in home country too. I went on leave without pay after going to home country. Then covid happened and my treatment got stuck and flights to Canada were suspended. I asked my employer for work but they didn't give me. Then end of 2020 I resigned. In 2021 after taking a lot of injections I could come back to Canada when direct flights opened but I got delayed by a few days and was stopped at the airport. I told the immigration officer my story and he let me in without saying anything but wrote something in the computer. Now I have completed 750days and would like to file for pr renewal. But I read some places that many times people who stayed outside for long in recent past before applying or who just meet residency obligation or who had interaction with CBSA or who don't look settled (no job) go into secondary investigations. I need surgery soon and may take it in Canada or outside depending on how soon I get or if I have anyone to support me. I consulted a couple of lawyers and everyone had different views. Some said since you completed the days you just submit a normal application with only passport and photo and don't give your backstory else you will complicate things, some say give proof of residence in addition to passport and photo but don't give your backstory, some say give your backstory since you were stopped at the border. Some say if you give medical records you may show unable to contribute to economy or may indicate you might go on social assistance since no job which will be negative for your application.

Should I give my backstory or not if I meet 750 days when I submit my application since I got stopped at the border or should I not give it to not complicate my application and delay my processing? I don't have a job here and have not had one since I resigned from my Canadian employer. I do not want to go into secondary investigation since I need surgery soon. Also, if I apply for urgent processing to go for surgery outside the country will I face any issues since I just returned a few months back? Also, what documents should I be submitting? Thanks for your help.

 

[vjdua]

Hi All,
I became a PR in Dec 2016 and was broadly in Canada except for once 88 days and then got a job here too with a Canadian employer. But in Jan 2019 I got injured and was bed ridden and was not getting surgery here. So I went to my family in home country to get treatment and support. But my injury was complicated and majority doctors were not in favor of surgery in home country too. I went on leave without pay after going to home country. Then covid happened and my treatment got stuck and flights to Canada were suspended. I asked my employer for work but they didn't give me. Then end of 2020 I resigned. In 2021 after taking a lot of injections I could come back to Canada when direct flights opened but I got delayed by a few days and was stopped at the airport. I told the immigration officer my story and he let me in without saying anything but wrote something in the computer. Now I have completed 750days and would like to file for pr renewal. But I read some places that many times people who stayed outside for long in recent past before applying or who just meet residency obligation or who had interaction with CBSA or who don't look settled (no job) go into secondary investigations. I need surgery soon and may take it in Canada or outside depending on how soon I get or if I have anyone to support me. I consulted a couple of lawyers and everyone had different views. Some said since you completed the days you just submit a normal application with only passport and photo and don't give your backstory else you will complicate things, some say give proof of residence in addition to passport and photo but don't give your backstory, some say give your backstory since you were stopped at the border. Some say if you give medical records you may show unable to contribute to economy or may indicate you might go on social assistance since no job which will be negative for your application.

Should I give my backstory or not if I meet 750 days when I submit my application since I got stopped at the border or should I not give it to not complicate my application and delay my processing? I don't have a job here and have not had one since I resigned from my Canadian employer. I do not want to go into secondary investigation since I need surgery soon. Also, if I apply for urgent processing to go for surgery outside the country will I face any issues since I just returned a few months back? Also, what documents should I be submitting? Thanks for your help.

I think if you have sufficient number of days i.e more than 730 days and have sufficient documentation to substantiate it, there should not be any problem. And if you are not going out of Canada in the near future, you can wait for some more time and add number of days to your account which would be more than 730 days required and you will have no problem and there would not be any need to add any explainations when you meet the requirement.

 

[Sn111]

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. I have completed over 750days now and I plan to submit by next week my application. What documents do I need to submit to substantiate that I spent 730 days in Canada? Also, will submitting more documents than IRCC asks (passport,photos,) hamper my processing time? Will appreciate an early response as have to submit documents next week. Regards.

 

[armoured]

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. I have completed over 750days now and I plan to submit by next week my application. What documents do I need to submit to substantiate that I spent 730 days in Canada? Also, will submitting more documents than IRCC asks (passport,photos,) hamper my processing time? Will appreciate an early response as have to submit documents next week. Regards.

Have you actually gone through and checked the application and how you demonstrate time in Canada?

Do that first. Basically you give travel history. Make it accurate. If they do not ask you to show evidence of those days, don't provide it. They generally have access to entry/exit records and will likely confirm the basics themselves.

And in general, providing additional information is not necessary unless it is crucial to explaining something that is otherwise not clear.

 

[Sn111]

What do you mean by how you demonstrate time in Canada in the application?

 

[armoured]

What do you mean by how you demonstrate time in Canada in the application?

Have you actually gone through and read the instructions? Do dat.

 

[Sn111]

Yes I did that many times. Can you please be more specific to what you are referring to? Thanks

 

[armoured]

Yes I did that many times. Can you please be more specific to what you are referring to? Thanks

You originally asked "What documents do I need to submit to substantiate that I spent 730 days in Canada?". Your subsequent questions seem to be asking the same thing.

The answer is: you need to submit the documents that the instructions require you to submit. If they do not ask for anything more, you do not - at this stage - need to submit anything more.

This is why I wrote "If they do not ask you to show evidence ... don't provide it."

So go back to the instructions. Do dat.

 

[Sn111]

I understand what you are saying although some ppl say that and others say provide all evidence that you have.

I asked what you meant by'
Have you actually gone through and checked the application and how you demonstrate time in Canada?

Here it seems that I need to demonstrate in form how I spent time in Canada. But word limit is limited

 

[armoured]

I understand what you are saying although some ppl say that and others say provide all evidence that you have.

Yes, we are saying different things. I am saying: look at the instructions. Read them. Do dat.

I asked what you meant by'
Have you actually gone through and checked the application and how you demonstrate time in Canada?

Here it seems that I need to demonstrate in form how I spent time in Canada. But word limit is limited

Could you specify which part of the form you are talking about?

[I note right now I only have access to the recently updated version, which I understand is quite a bit different.]

The principal way you demonstrate this in the current form is to provide dates of your absences from Canada. They do not ask you to prove it. If they don't ask for it - don't do it.

The other box in same section to provide additional information is for H&C reasons - and you do not need to fill it out if you are compliant with the residency obligation.

Since that's the case - according to you above - there is NO word limit that would seem to apply to you. It does not seem that the form - and the instructions - ask or require you to do anything more.

Therefore, I conclude you are either not reading, not understanding, or not following the instructions. Or the info above about your compliance is wrong.

I'm putting this bluntly - no offence intended - because I do not understand what you are asking otherwise.

[Note, possible I've also missed something due to the new form being different from the old.]

Of course, if the underlying question is still "well someone told me something else so I figured I'd ask about how not to follow the instructions", I'm going to repeat: follow the instructions.

 

[Sn111]

I thought you meant demonstrate via personal history.thete is a word limit in new form try entering the data and you will see it yourself. I was asking wat you meant by demonstrate. If you mean absences that is there in the form and in cbsa entry exit data but they still keep asking ppl to prove or send ppl for secondary review. And some ppl give extra documents some don't.so I am trying to find which works best.

 

[armoured]

thete is a word limit in new form try entering the data and you will see it yourself.

Please specify where.

 

[armoured]

In 2021 after taking a lot of injections I could come back to Canada when direct flights opened but I got delayed by a few days and was stopped at the airport. I told the immigration officer my story and he let me in without saying anything but wrote something in the computer. Now I have completed 750days
...
Should I give my backstory or not if I meet 750 days when I submit my application since I got stopped at the border or should I not give it to not complicate my application and delay my processing?

I decided to look at this thread again and go back to 'first principles' i.e. your post.

I'm going to give maximally specific questions - I encourage you to try to answer them clearly, factually, so that I or others can give you the best possible answers. Because what you are writing is not very clear - and so hard to understand what exactly your concern is.

-when exactly did you return to Canada?
-were you out of compliance with the residency obligation when you returned to Canada?
-did the border officer specifically say you were out of compliance? What were the questions? Any warning of any kind?
-it seems your absence was somewhat less than three years - could you give the dates of your absence (eg Jan 2019 to October 2021)?
-apart from that long stretch outside of Canada (roughly 2019 to 2021), any other absences?
-were you ever out of compliance?

My suggestions will depend partly on the answers above, but in short:
-if you were not out of compliance when you crossed and never out of compliance, go ahead and apply whenever you like without additional explanation or documentation.
-if you are concerned, your easiest step is to wait a bit until you have more days in Canada. You said you had 750 days in early May, do you now have more? are your days increasing? (They should be, I think). If you had - for example - 800 days - less chance of getting increased scrutiny. Perhaps not necessary, but if you're concerned, it's something you can do, and really only a matter of a month or so.
-I repeat what I said before: check CAREFULLY your actual dates and other info. Not making mistakes is another good thing you can do.
-if you have no plans to leave soon, all the better.

Good luck.