Moving Back to Canada but not meeting RO

[TrailBaker]

Good afternoon!

I’m hoping to get some advice on my PR status and residency obligation.

I lived and worked in Canada between 2016 and 2020 and received my PR in July 2019 (PR card expires July 2024).

I left the country during the pandemic in late 2020 to move back to the UK to support my family and care for my mother who has Alzheimer's. Care services dropped off a cliff during the pandemic and I was forced to move back to look after her.

Things are now in a better place and I’m looking to move back to Canada to live and work. I have an upcoming trip in March for two weeks to start looking for apartments and job interviews. After that, I would look to move back permanently sometime around April/May.

My PR card is still valid, but I no longer fulfil the residency obligations. I’ve been in Canada around 600/730 days in the last 5 years.

I can’t apply for an eTA for my trip in March as I still have PR, but I don’t want to have to renounce it as I believe my future is in Canada.

So my questions:

1. Can I be refused entry at the border during my trip in March? I’ll be travelling by air, arriving at YVR.

2. If IRCC starts the process of revoking my PR can I fight to keep it given the circumstances in which I was unable to fulfil my residency obligations?

Thanks for any help on this matter, your time is really appreciated.

Let me know if you need any more information from me.

Cheers!

 

[Naturgrl]

Good afternoon!

I’m hoping to get some advice on my PR status and residency obligation.

I lived and worked in Canada between 2016 and 2020 and received my PR in July 2019 (PR card expires July 2024).

I left the country during the pandemic in late 2020 to move back to the UK to support my family and care for my mother who has Alzheimer's. Care services dropped off a cliff during the pandemic and I was forced to move back to look after her.

Things are now in a better place and I’m looking to move back to Canada to live and work. I have an upcoming trip in March for two weeks to start looking for apartments and job interviews. After that, I would look to move back permanently sometime around April/May.

My PR card is still valid, but I no longer fulfil the residency obligations. I’ve been in Canada around 600/730 days in the last 5 years.

I can’t apply for an eTA for my trip in March as I still have PR, but I don’t want to have to renounce it as I believe my future is in Canada.

So my questions:

1. Can I be refused entry at the border during my trip in March? I’ll be travelling by air, arriving at YVR.

2. If IRCC starts the process of revoking my PR can I fight to keep it given the circumstances in which I was unable to fulfil my residency obligations?

Thanks for any help on this matter, your time is really appreciated.

Let me know if you need any more information from me.

Cheers!

1. No. May ask a few questions.
2. Your PR card is not expired so IRCC would not start process. You need to move back prior to July 2024.

You are not eligible for a ETA since you are PR.

 

[TrailBaker]

Thanks for the quick reply!

If I was questioned at the border and found to not meet my RO, could they start the process to revoke my PR in March?

 

[Naturgrl]

Thanks for the quick reply!

If I was questioned at the border and found to not meet my RO, could they start the process to revoke my PR in March?

Doubt it. You still have a valid PR card. You have 600 days so will meet RO very soon.

 

[TrailBaker]

Okay cool - thank you!

Given I've been out for the last three+ years. I'd only hit RO after staying in the country for two years!

 

[Naturgrl]

Okay cool - thank you!

Given I've been out for the last three+ years. I'd only hit RO after staying in the country for two years!

Honestly your chances are very slim to be reported. You may be asked but let in. When you return then stay until you meet RO.

 

[TrailBaker]

Thanks for putting my mind at ease!

I was starting to worry I'd be refused entry and turned around if they found out my RO wasn't being met.

 

[Naturgrl]

Thanks for putting my mind at ease!

I was starting to worry I'd be refused entry and turned around if they found out my RO wasn't being met.

You have a valid PR card so will not be denied entry.

 

[aopisi]

Please help update your flight!

 

[Besram]

1. No. May ask a few questions.
2. Your PR card is not expired so IRCC would not start process. You need to move back prior to July 2024.

You are not eligible for a ETA since you are PR.

Some incorrect advice here. You are in breach of the residency obligation, so that means they can start the process of revoking your PR at the border. Whether or not they will is a different question, but as I have posted in another thread - people with valid PR cards do get reported for failing to meet RO, and they do lose appeals as well.

That said, it is possible, perhaps even likely, that you will be admitted into the country with only a warning, or not even questioned at all.

But it isn't a good idea to then leave again. If you are able to enter without being reported, common advice in the forum is to stay in Canada without leaving until you meet the RO again. This is because you don't want to take chances twice, and it's even more important if they do issue you a verbal warning on your first entry, because in that case it is likely they would have left a note in your file - which means almost guaranteed secondary inspection you travel the next time and a high chance you will get reported that time.

What is true is that as long as you are a PR (which you will be even if reported, because you get a time window during which a potential removal order is not enforceable yet), you will be admitted into the country.

Best advice in your situation, assuming you truly want to move to Canada: travel here as soon as you can, and stay here until you meet the RO. The longer you wait, and the closer you are to the expiry date of your PR card, the higher the chances of getting reported.

 

[TrailBaker]

Thank you for this reply and for confirming that I will be allowed to enter in March - this is my main concern at the moment!

Your points about reporting/revoking are closer to what I was expecting. I guess it will depend on who I speak to at the border - each time I cross the border, I risk losing my PR status.

I'll be sure to update this thread on my experience if it would be useful to others.

 

[canuck78]

Some incorrect advice here. You are in breach of the residency obligation, so that means they can start the process of revoking your PR at the border. Whether or not they will is a different question, but as I have posted in another thread - people with valid PR cards do get reported for failing to meet RO, and they do lose appeals as well.

That said, it is possible, perhaps even likely, that you will be admitted into the country with only a warning, or not even questioned at all.

But it isn't a good idea to then leave again. If you are able to enter without being reported, common advice in the forum is to stay in Canada without leaving until you meet the RO again. This is because you don't want to take chances twice, and it's even more important if they do issue you a verbal warning on your first entry, because in that case it is likely they would have left a note in your file - which means almost guaranteed secondary inspection you travel the next time and a high chance you will get reported that time.

What is true is that as long as you are a PR (which you will be even if reported, because you get a time window during which a potential removal order is not enforceable yet), you will be admitted into the country.

Best advice in your situation, assuming you truly want to move to Canada: travel here as soon as you can, and stay here until you meet the RO. The longer you wait, and the closer you are to the expiry date of your PR card, the higher the chances of getting reported.

Would add that if you are warned about not meeting your RO when you reenter the first time your chances of being reported the next time you enter Canada again goes up significantly. If you are given a lecture about not meeting your RO and questioned about not meeting RO I would be much more reluctant to leave and attempt to reenter again. You will also have reapply for a new health card when you return to Canada and settle in a province permanently even if you still have a valid health card since you haven’t met the residency obligation to qualify for healthcare in any province.

 

[Maaz Arif]

Hi. I hope you have now travelled to Canada. What did you experience at the airport and where did you land ?

 

[TrailBaker]

Hello!

Yes, I've been and returned to the UK! Absolutely no issue at the border. At YRV I used my PR card on the machine before passport control and was waved through with the other PR card and Canadian Passport holders so I didn't have to go up to speak to a border control agent at a booth. No questions asked by anyone.

It seemed unlikely I would be asked any questions as long as I had a valid PR card, but I guess there's always a chance I can be stopped and questioned.

 

[Maaz Arif]

Hi. Can i ask why did you return back to UK ? Traveling back to Canada will be risky now ?