Hello Community!
I'm a PR since 2019, currently working as a CTO and partner of an American tech services agency on a fully remote basis. I currently live in Pakistan with my wife and mother, no kids. I have 2 brothers, both living in Pakistan, and both have their own families as well.
I'm facing a challenging situation regarding the renewal of my Canadian Permanent Residency (PR) and am seeking advice or insights from anyone who might have experienced something similar. Due to a series of deeply distressing events, I've been unable to meet the residency obligations for my PR, which expires in July 2024.
Here's a condensed version of my situation and the timeline:
1. I got my PR in 2019, and I did my soft landing in June the same year. Stayed there for a week, and came back. I was to get married Jan the following year, after which I intended on moving to Canada.
2. After getting married in Jan 2020, COVID hit, travel got disrupted, and I had to delay my plans. All was well though, since I did believe I would be able to make a move in a few months.
Tragedy struck here though; firstly, our family home where myself, my parents, my first brother and his family used to live, got declared as an "encroachment", "illegally built on public park land", and should be "demolished instantly". We had purchased the house from the previous owners 20 years ago via 100% legal means, the house had a lease, and all legal NOCs and everything. The whole case is deeply distressing and reeks of injustice, but in a nutshell, the courts in Pakistan considered them to be illegal and ordered immediate demolition, thereby only punishing the people who had bought the house, not the housing society, or any of the official bodies who approved it. The ruling also asked to claim compensation in courts (which could take an eternity), and basically didn't give a dime about where we would go the next day and who would be responsible for our loss.
3. Amidst that turmoil, my father passed away in June due to COVID. Naturally, my mother's mental went into steep decline, especially considering we were already stressed about the whole house situation. It took a few months to slightly get better, and in that time covid lockdowns were at their peak so the house demolition order kind of got lost in the background, which was a relief. Taking that as a sign of normalcy, I decided to move to Canada.
4. Moved in October 2020. Got bank accounts made, driver's license, etc. Filed for my wife's spouse PR. Two months down the line, the whole house demolition thing started again, and it got really intense. My mother was already grieving due to my father's passing, my brothers had their own families to take care of as well, and see how unprecendeted the whole house situation was, the entire family needed all the help in the world.
5. At this point, I decided to travel back to Pakistan, withdrawing my wife's PR (since one can't travel away from Canada when a spouse PR has been applied). The next 4-5 months were a blur; us filing for stay orders, the court accepting, then rejecting, then more letters and notices of demolition. All until June 2021 when they actually came in and demolished our homes, leaving us on our own to figure out a way to live somewhere else.
6. The struggle of having nowhere to live and finding a instant temporary abode aside, the main factor here is that my mother's mental health literally crashed. My father and then the house. I couldn't leave her, so I decided to pause on my Canada plans. Yes my brothers were in Pakistan, but once again, they had their own families (first one has 5 kids and second one has 3). First brother barely had any space in his house, and the second one himself was a victim of the demolition as he used to live with us.
7. A couple of years later, while my mother is doing comparatively better, I'm 5 months from the expiry of my PR card and have only 2 months of visits on the record. I understand that if I do somehow manage to enter Canada right now, I'd have to stay there without travelling abroad for the next 2 years to renew my card. Considering my mother's health, I don't think I'd be able to do that. I think I can move now, thought I don't think I would be able to manage without frequent visits (which I can manage due to the remote nature of my work). I have an idea of what kind of effect a continuous 2 years absence could have on my mother, and I don't want to do that.
I'm reaching out for advice on how best to approach my PR renewal application under these extraordinary circumstances. Are there precedents for such cases? How should I present my case to the immigration authorities? Insights from those with knowledge of immigration law or similar experiences would be immensely helpful.
Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my situation. Your guidance could be a beacon of hope for me and my family during this challenging time.
I'm a PR since 2019, currently working as a CTO and partner of an American tech services agency on a fully remote basis. I currently live in Pakistan with my wife and mother, no kids. I have 2 brothers, both living in Pakistan, and both have their own families as well.
I'm facing a challenging situation regarding the renewal of my Canadian Permanent Residency (PR) and am seeking advice or insights from anyone who might have experienced something similar. Due to a series of deeply distressing events, I've been unable to meet the residency obligations for my PR, which expires in July 2024.
Here's a condensed version of my situation and the timeline:
1. I got my PR in 2019, and I did my soft landing in June the same year. Stayed there for a week, and came back. I was to get married Jan the following year, after which I intended on moving to Canada.
2. After getting married in Jan 2020, COVID hit, travel got disrupted, and I had to delay my plans. All was well though, since I did believe I would be able to make a move in a few months.
Tragedy struck here though; firstly, our family home where myself, my parents, my first brother and his family used to live, got declared as an "encroachment", "illegally built on public park land", and should be "demolished instantly". We had purchased the house from the previous owners 20 years ago via 100% legal means, the house had a lease, and all legal NOCs and everything. The whole case is deeply distressing and reeks of injustice, but in a nutshell, the courts in Pakistan considered them to be illegal and ordered immediate demolition, thereby only punishing the people who had bought the house, not the housing society, or any of the official bodies who approved it. The ruling also asked to claim compensation in courts (which could take an eternity), and basically didn't give a dime about where we would go the next day and who would be responsible for our loss.
3. Amidst that turmoil, my father passed away in June due to COVID. Naturally, my mother's mental went into steep decline, especially considering we were already stressed about the whole house situation. It took a few months to slightly get better, and in that time covid lockdowns were at their peak so the house demolition order kind of got lost in the background, which was a relief. Taking that as a sign of normalcy, I decided to move to Canada.
4. Moved in October 2020. Got bank accounts made, driver's license, etc. Filed for my wife's spouse PR. Two months down the line, the whole house demolition thing started again, and it got really intense. My mother was already grieving due to my father's passing, my brothers had their own families to take care of as well, and see how unprecendeted the whole house situation was, the entire family needed all the help in the world.
5. At this point, I decided to travel back to Pakistan, withdrawing my wife's PR (since one can't travel away from Canada when a spouse PR has been applied). The next 4-5 months were a blur; us filing for stay orders, the court accepting, then rejecting, then more letters and notices of demolition. All until June 2021 when they actually came in and demolished our homes, leaving us on our own to figure out a way to live somewhere else.
6. The struggle of having nowhere to live and finding a instant temporary abode aside, the main factor here is that my mother's mental health literally crashed. My father and then the house. I couldn't leave her, so I decided to pause on my Canada plans. Yes my brothers were in Pakistan, but once again, they had their own families (first one has 5 kids and second one has 3). First brother barely had any space in his house, and the second one himself was a victim of the demolition as he used to live with us.
7. A couple of years later, while my mother is doing comparatively better, I'm 5 months from the expiry of my PR card and have only 2 months of visits on the record. I understand that if I do somehow manage to enter Canada right now, I'd have to stay there without travelling abroad for the next 2 years to renew my card. Considering my mother's health, I don't think I'd be able to do that. I think I can move now, thought I don't think I would be able to manage without frequent visits (which I can manage due to the remote nature of my work). I have an idea of what kind of effect a continuous 2 years absence could have on my mother, and I don't want to do that.
I'm reaching out for advice on how best to approach my PR renewal application under these extraordinary circumstances. Are there precedents for such cases? How should I present my case to the immigration authorities? Insights from those with knowledge of immigration law or similar experiences would be immensely helpful.
Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my situation. Your guidance could be a beacon of hope for me and my family during this challenging time.
