Moving Back To Canada?

[Tee76]

Here's a question im having trouble trying to get answers to:

I was born in Michigan and at age 7 moved to Ontario because my mother married a Canadian.I have landed immigrant/permanent resident status in Canada.I lived in Ontario from age 7 up until age 29. I moved back to Michigan midway through 2005 at age 29 and have been here since (I'm 33) so 4 years. Recently i've been thinking about moving back to Canada, can i freely move back seeing as i lived there for so long or do i have to start over from scratch so to speak? Do i still have status in Canada or am i just considered 100% American Citizen again? I still have my Canadian ID and SIN # etc.

Just wondering what i would have to do to move back. Been told different things from different people, the main thing i'm hearing is i can move back hassle free seeing as i was a permanent resident and because i lived in Canada already for over 20 years. I had no problems coming back to the US (didn't even get my U-haul pulled in at Customs or asked for paperwork etc.) After being gone for so long so I'm wondering if it would be the same trying to move back to Canada

Another thing someone told me was: "Being a permanent resident means it´s permanent. You can go back with no hassle unless you got yourself deported." Also my parents as well as other family members and friends and my son live in Ontario.

I don't even have a PR card or anything of that sort,never have.Only ever have the old Landed Immigrant papers from the early 1980's.Which have no expiration date unlike these PR cards they have nowadays.

Any help would be greatly appreciated thanks.

 

[Leon]

It doesn't matter when you became a PR or for how long you have been a PR. Once you leave Canada for more than 3 years, you have lost your PR status. Just because you don't have a PR card with an expiry date actually puts you in a worse position. Did you not know that they they started with the PR cards, I think back in 2003 or 2004, they made it a requirement that you have a PR card if you want to travel outside Canada? It was a huge thing in the media. Everybody was applying because they didn't want to get stuck outside Canada without a PR card. It can be a major hassle to get into Canada without one.

Does it mean you can try it, sure. If you get away with it, stay in Canada for 2 full years, then apply for PR card and once you have been in Canada for 3 years, apply for citizenship right away. If you don't get away with it, you will have to apply for PR again.

PR status is only permanent while you stay in Canada and even then, if you commit a crime, they can still deport you. What you should have done when you had the chance was apply for Canadian citizenship. You could have had dual citizenship and that is really permanent. Moving back to the US is different because you are a US citizen so you are entitled to move to and from the US any time you want to.

 

[MARLENA]

Once you are PR and you leave the country more than 3 years you loose your PR again if you decide to come back to Canada. That means you have to re-apply again?

 

[Leon]

Once you are PR and you leave the country more than 3 years you loose your PR again if you decide to come back to Canada. That means you have to re-apply again?

Yes, that means you have no PR anymore. Just like if you never had one.

 

[Tee76]

I never had any problem getting back into Canada without one, they never asked actually.Now if i need to reapply for PR status what happens to my SIN #? do i have to get a new one or do i still get to keep my old SIN?

There's been many times i've gone to visit and thought about just not leavin, i got a SIN card, health card all that, so finding work wouldn't be a problem.Is it still possible to file for duel citizenship even thought i'm leaving in Michigan now (where i was born)

 

[Leon]

So are you going to Canada as a PR, showing your papers or are you going to Canada with your US passport as a visitor?

It's possible that you can get away with just going to Canada and staying and nobody will notice. If you do that, do not apply for a PR card until you have lived in Canada for a solid 2 years. The reason is that if you apply sooner and list your absences from Canada in the last 5, you will basically be telling them that you lost your PR status.

To apply for citizenship, your PR status must not be in question and you must have lived in Canada for 3 years out of the previous 4.

 

[Tee76]

Is it still possible to apply for dual citizenship even though i'm living in the US?

 

[Leon]

Did you actually read my last post? I will repeat:

To apply for citizenship, your PR status must not be in question and you must have lived in Canada for 3 years out of the previous 4.

Right now, you meet neither criteria since you have lost your PR status for not fulfilling the residency requirements and you have not lived in Canada for the last 3 out of 4 years.

 

[Tee76]

Thanks Leon, but what about the keeping the same SIN # and all that jazz? If i reapply for PR status and move back will i keep my old SIN # or will i be issued a new one and basically start from scratch? I'm mainly asking because when i moved back to Michigan a few years ago my credit in Canada was good, i don't want to have to start over building it up..ya know? I figured by getting a new SIN # (if that's what would happen) i'd basically have no credit at all and it would be like i never lived in Canada at all either.

What about everything else tied to my SIN as well? It seems like a pain to have to start completely over with a brand new number.

 

[Leon]

I do not know if you would keep the same SIN.

 

[J1visa]

You dont need to re-apply for PR again. Just get in Canada by US passport, do some paper works as evidence of your resident in Canada now (working, renting....). 2 years later apply for PR card.