non-residents moving to Canada as visitor for less than 186 days in calendar yr

[bobrakhee]

My wife and I live outside of Canada with our child. Myself and our child are Canadian citizens but non-residents. Wife is Indian. She has applied for PR outside of Canada which should be coming end of 2016 according to timeline. Can we move to Canada as non-residents?
Idea is to live in Canada but not work. She'd be a visitor for 183 days then leave and come back for another 183 days as a visitor in 2017 (so not more than 183 days in Canada in same calendar year). If PR comes through she leaves and re-enters as new PR and I declare myself resident at that point also. Our son will go to primary public school in Canada during our stay. Idea is we are visiting Canada but still retain our residency abroad.
Any issues here?

 

[scylla]

Has your wife already secured a visitor visa? If not, this could be one wrinkle.

Assuming she has, make sure she takes out private health insurance coverage. You and your son may also need private insurance coverage for the first three months after your return to Canada if you have been outside of Canada for some time (or, in your son's case, never been to Canada).

Note that you don't have to be a non-resident or living abroad to file an outland PR application. Plenty of people do this from within Canada (in case that's your concern).

 

[bobrakhee]

Thanks for the reply.
Yes my wife has a visitor visa and we all visit Canada once or twice a year. We have lots of private health insurance.
We've filed for an outland PR and waiting for it to come through around Dec 2016 according to how long it should take (18 months). In meantime, we should be able to live as visitors in Canada for not more than 185 days in a calendar year, then leave and reenter a week later for another 185 days in next 2017?
Our son should be able to go to school in Canada while we're visiting?

 

[scylla]

Thanks for the reply.
Yes my wife has a visitor visa and we all visit Canada once or twice a year. We have lots of private health insurance.
We've filed for an outland PR and waiting for it to come through around Dec 2016 according to how long it should take (18 months). In meantime, we should be able to live as visitors in Canada for not more than 185 days in a calendar year, then leave and reenter a week later for another 185 days in next 2017?
Our son should be able to go to school in Canada while we're visiting?

I see...

First of all, it's 183 (not 185) - so you would want to spend 182 or fewer days in Canada. Secondly, you and your child will be able to re-enter without issue. While your wife is still a visitor, how long and if she is allowed into Canada will depend entirely on the CBSA official she encounters at the border. (FYI - PR should not take 18 months if your wife is from India. It should be less than that.)

To avoid being classified as residents, you would want to avoid establishing ties with Canada. This means you should avoid buying property, avoid Canadian bank accounts and credit cards, avoid getting a driver's license. Sending your son to school for most of a school year may very well be viewed as establishing ties and could potentially lead CRA to state you are residents. More specifically, CRA may classify you as a factual resident - in which case I believe you still have to file taxes as a resident. IMO - sending your child to school is likely to be the biggest issue. This is something a resident does - not a non-resident.

 

[bobrakhee]

The Canada immigration web site said for Indians PR would take 18 months. You know otherwise?

 

[scylla]

The Canada immigration web site said for Indians PR would take 18 months. You know otherwise?

You should join the Family Sponsorship section of the forum and look for the New Delhi thread to get a more realistic sense of the processing time you can expect. Any further questions regarding the spousal sponsorship application should be asked there as well.