#Modifying PR residency requirements#

[C2008]

I’m writing this message addressing all PR holders who are afraid of losing their PR status due to the 2 years residency obligation within the 5 years, actually what encourages me to write such message is this recent article from CIC website:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2009/2009-10-30.asp

That article shows that Canada needs immigrants, and they keep modifying their immigration system, so I see the 2 years residency obligation needs also to be modified, because we are called according to the Canadian immigration system “Permanent Residents” NOT “Temporary Permanent Residents”, so I see the two years requirement is invalid.

We are not asking for Citizenship, we are asking only to have a PR card which does not expire, I encourage all current PR holders to come together in one hand and officially requesting that from the Canadian government according to “The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms” which is currently one of our rights as permanent residents.

So please reply to this thread if you are interested, and if we reach around 50 PR holders, then I think we can assign a good lawyer to participate us in this request.

Here is what I suggest (all suggestions are welcome):
1) Easing the 2 years requirements completely and making the PR card without expiry at all.
2) Reducing the 2 years requirements to 2 months within the 5 years if point one is not possible.
3) Increasing the validity of the PR card to 20 years instead of 5, if both points above are not possible.
4) If all the above points are not possible then modifying the current system to include that if someone has a property in Canada (e.g., Land, House, Shop), then he cannot loss his/her PR card.

 

[Alabaman]

I agree with you. However, you don't want to create a system where people get PRs just for convenience and sit in another country. Therefore Option 1 by itself would not be fair. It could be combined with with Option 4 or some other options as deemed appropriate.

The United States allow for you to be away for max 6 months to keep your residency. That way, you are forced to make trips back to the US every 6 months at a minimum. This makes sense to me.

In as much as I appreciate Canadian Immigration far better than that of the US, I think the Canadian PR residency requirement should be relaxed some. I don't understand why thousands loose PR for staying more than 3 years outside the country (in a given 5 year period) while you are encouraging new people to apply and come settle in Canada. I think it is counter productive. Yes, people violate this rule but that doesnt mean they are bad people. Sometimes, it is just circumstances.

I know some folks on the forum will jump and say: "Why did you apply in the first place when you weren't sure you were going to come live here?" However, It is not easy to immigrate. It is not easy to leave certainty for uncertainty. Immigrants go through alot. Making that decision sometimes is scary and makes people drag.

Having said this, I am not sure if changing it from this forum will be easy but I support a change.

 

[Leon]

Residency means living somewhere. Permanent residency means living somewhere permanently. When you apply for permanent residency of Canada, it means you want to live in Canada permanently. The rules used to be a lot more strict. When I got my PR in 2002, it was 6 months out of every 12 that you had to stay in Canada. The 2 out of 5 years is already quite relaxed. Also don't forget that it only takes you 3 years of living in Canada to get citizenship with all the rights and duties to go with it.

No country I know of gives you permanent residency that lasts forever if you leave. In the US, the general rule is that you are not gone longer than one year, preferably 6 months but they can actually take your green card at any time if they believe you are not living in the US so it's not enough there to just go to the US every 6 months although some people may get away with it.

 

[tegveer]

i think the residency obligations should be decreesed a little , like you have to stay for one year in every five year or two in every 10 year . immigrants have many convincing reasons to stay in their home country for longer (more than three) temporary period maintaining their PR status

 

[Crappydoc]

@ leon

What you are saying is not fair for everyone. I agree that applying for immigration when you are actually afraid to immigrate is not accepted. However, my case for example, I am a doctor and I applied for immigration after knowing that doctors are one of the professions allowed under the skilled workers category. I do want by all my heart to live in Canada. I passed all the Canadian exams. Then guess what happened ? I found that Canada admits thousands of doctors like me and give them 300 - 400 jobs per year to compete for !! The chance is actually 10 %.

So what about the 2 or 3 thousands who didn't find a job ? Should they drive cabs ? When I applied as a skilled worker, my skill was medicine. I suck at driving. I suck as a pizza delivery boy.

So, if I didn't get a job this year, isn't it better to return to my country and continue my practice as a doctor untill the time for next year's application comes ? What if I will not find a job untill after 4 or 5 years ? Why am I required to stay in Canada during that period ? As a doctor, I have to be in active medical practice, otherwise I will lose my skill.

I think the rules shouldn't be so stiff. There are a lot of things to be taken into consideration before applying such rules blindly. I believe there are others who also have very good reasons not to comply with residency obligations.

I do support the need for changing the current residency obligations.

 

[C2008]

Member "Crappydoc" raised a good point here, let us not forget that Doctors & Engineers who immigrate to Canada CANNOT even use the title (Dr.) or (Eng.), they are required to be licensed first in order for them to put that title in their business card.

So in order for the immigrant to comply with Canadian rules, he/she needs time, time to get recertified to obtain practice license in Canada, time to search for Jobs wisely, and because Canada is so big we need also time to research for best city to live in.

All those tasks can be done while the immigrant is still in his/her home country and traveling back and forth regularly to Canada till he/she completes them.

 

[PMM]

Hi

Member "Crappydoc" raised a good point here, let us not forget that Doctors & Engineers who immigrate to Canada CANNOT even use the title (Dr.) or (Eng.), they are required to be licensed first in order for them to put that title in their business card.

So in order for the immigrant to comply with Canadian rules, he/she needs time, time to get recertified to obtain practice license in Canada, time to search for Jobs wisely, and because Canada is so big we need also time to research for best city to live in.

All those tasks can be done while the immigrant is still in his/her home country and traveling back and forth regularly to Canada till he/she completes them.

You would think that the OPs in registered profession in Canada would do a little research to find out if they will be able to practise in Canada. I personally believe that 2/5 is pretty generous. There are too many immigrants who just want Canada as a backup (H1Bs in the US are a prime example, just in case they don't get their green card) As an earlier poster pointed out, you are applying for "permanent residence" not convenient residence.

PMM

 

[Leon]

Then guess what happened ?

You are not supposed to guess what happens. You are supposed to research before you apply. I am not saying you should deliver pizzas or anything like that but it will not be easy to find a job in Canada unless you at some point move to Canada.

 

[Alabaman]

There are too many immigrants who just want Canada as a backup (H1Bs in the US are a prime example, just in case they don't get their green card) As an earlier poster pointed out, you are applying for "permanent residence" not convenient residence.

PMM

Permanent Residency is in itself, convenience residency even if you stay permanently in Canada. Every body applies for a reason which 99.9 % of the time is "convenience" related.

 

[bubs1121]

I think it is easy to comply with the residency obligation if the PR can easily get a job in Canada. I think the Canadian gov't. should focus on how to make it easier for the PR to get their qualification certified for them to qualify to work on their field of expertise.

 

[tegveer]

I think it is easy to comply with the residency obligation if the PR can easily get a job in Canada. I think the Canadian gov't. should focus on how to make it easier for the PR to get their qualification certified for them to qualify to work on their field of expertise.

TRUE

 

[PMM]

Hi

I think it is easy to comply with the residency obligation if the PR can easily get a job in Canada. I think the Canadian gov't. should focus on how to make it easier for the PR to get their qualification certified for them to qualify to work on their field of expertise.

TRUE

One problem, it is the provincial/national societies of licensed professionals who set the standards for foreign applicants to practice. They set the rules as to what is required to qualify not the Federal or Provincial governments.

PMM

 

[toby]

There is some fuzzy thinking in this topic.

Newbie cites an article that Canada wants more immigrants (IN Canada, we can assume). Bu then he leaps to the conclusion that Canada should award Permanent Residency to those NOT planning to be in Canada. This is surely a contradiction.

Alabaman agrees with Newbie, then contradicts himself by saying Canada should not award residency for convenience , allowing residents to sit in another country, which is exactly what Newbie wants to do.

Tegveer says the minimum period to maintain residency should be decreased. Well, the period has already been decreased, so where do you stop? If the it were already 1 year for every ten years, would he be advocating 5 months as a minimum?

It may be true that immigrants have many reasons to stay in their own country, but why, then, apply for Canadian residency, thus bogging down the system for hose who really do want to come to Canada?

I do think that Crappydoc makes a good point. Canada wants immigrants with expertise, so it is a waste of their talents to make them drive cabs while they re-qualify. (No this is not a slam against cab drivers.) The problem is, as PMM notes, that different bodies are responsible for setting professional qualifications. But this does not mean they could not collaborate to ease the way.

That said, I am a bit reluctant to mandate government with more tasks. In theory government is the way to make these things happen, but in practice government gets bloated, inefficient, and expensive.

So, bottom line, I’d leave things as they are for now, investigate how to re-qualify professionals more quickly, and perhaps extend the permanent residency period where a professional can show effort to find work, and progress toward re-qualification in Canada.

 

[tegveer]

yeah! maybe toby is actually right , the problem is within us and not in the PR system