Permanent residence status

[Edmonton_Boy]

Hi All,

My family and I immigrated to Canada on April 2005. Due to some personal reasons (I stayed and I got my citizenship) my parents and my little brother (5yr old) had to go back to Hong Kong on Dec 2006 and haven't come back since then. As you all notice my parents & my little brother's PR card are way beyond expired (should be April 2010?). Recently my little brother (15yr old) is planning to come back to Canada for school and my mother is planning to move back as well. However I am a little confuse of their permanent residence status since they have not come back for years and their PR cards were expired. I read some posts on this forum your PR status will get cancelled automatically if you stayed out of Canada for too long, but I also visited the CIC website and it says PR status cannot be cancelled unless go through the official documentation work.

My question is:
1: Does my mother and my little brother still consider as permanent residence?
2: Do they need to go through some process to redeem their status or just simply go back and renew their PR card?

Please help, thank you
regards

 

[scylla]

It's a complicated situation. Technically they have not lost their PR status - at the same time, they do not meet the residency requirement (living in Canada for 2 out of every 5 years) for retaining PR status.

When they arrived at the airport in Canada, one of two things will happen - they will either be reported by the border official for failing to meet the residency requirement or thy will be allowed into Canada without being reported. If they are allowed into Canada without being reporting, they will have to remain in Canada for two straight years (without leaving for even one day) before they will be able to renew their PR cards. If they are reported for failing to meet the residency requirement, they will have to appear at a hearing to argue why they should be able to keep their status. Your brother should be able to retain his status by arguing that he was removed from Canada as a child (i.e. it wasn't his decision). Your mother will lose her PR status and will be asked to leave Canada. If your mother then wishes to get her PR status back, she will have to apply again from scratch through one of Canada's immigration programs here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/apply.asp

Note that if they are able to enter Canada without being reported, they may find it difficult to do certain things while they wait out the two year period to renew their PR cards. For example, they may find it difficult to obtain free health care - and your brother may find it difficult to attend school without paying international student fees.

 

[Edmonton_Boy]

Hey scylla,

Thank you for your reply, that helps alot.

So the worst case is if my mother is asked to leave Canada, can she still able to visit Canada as a visitor? or it will be depending on the decision after the hearing? (assuming things went bad)

Regarding on remain in Canada for two straight years for PR card renewal, if what there is any legitimate reason to leave Canada for a couple of weeks, ex: close relative has serious health issue, can they still leave Canada without being reported?

Thanks

 

[Leon]

Hey scylla,

Thank you for your reply, that helps alot.

So the worst case is if my mother is asked to leave Canada, can she still able to visit Canada as a visitor? or it will be depending on the decision after the hearing? (assuming things went bad)

Regarding on remain in Canada for two straight years for PR card renewal, if what there is any legitimate reason to leave Canada for a couple of weeks, ex: close relative has serious health issue, can they still leave Canada without being reported?

Thanks

As they are visa exempt, they are not in the situation of having to apply for a travel document in order to enter Canada so they can come and see what happens. If they don't get reported, like scylla said, they can put their PR status back in good standing by staying for 2 years at which time they will meet the RO again (residency obligation) and can apply to renew their PR cards.

Should they leave Canada before they have met the RO, they have no guarantee that they will not get reported when returning.

If they do get reported, they can appeal. They should in that case appeal separately. Your brother will have a stronger case appealing based on having been removed from Canada as a minor. Your mother would likely have a weak case but it depends on her reasons for not returning. They can stay in Canada as PR's as long as the appeal processing takes which may be 1-2 years. They can even renew their PR cards for a year at a time but they should not use the opportunity to leave Canada during this time as it is important for the appeal process to show that they are ready to settle in Canada at this point.

If they lose the appeal and lose their PR's, they will be asked to leave. They will however still be visa exempt to Canada and can come and visit you if they want to.

If they lose their PR's, you can sponsor your parents and their minor child which is your brother for a new PR. You would have to show that you have enough income to support your own family as well as them and you would have to show that income for the past 3 years in a row before you apply.

If the application needs to include your brother, it would have to be received by immigration before his 19th birthday because at that point, he is no longer a minor and you can no longer sponsor him along with your parents. You can expect that your application to sponsor your parents will not be fast. Also keep in mind that if they ever happen to go on social benefits, you will be on the hook to pay it back to the government. For the parents until 20 years after they get the new PR. For your brother until he turns 25.

If you don't have enough income but you have a spouse who is willing to co-sign your sponsorship application, you can use your spouses income too.

 

[Jerry1410]

Hi

I want to ask one question related to this subject. Is it possible for a person to sponsor his Parents on PR basis or the Super Visa rule applies to this.

I am asking this because I have 2 childeren in Canada and I want to know if they can sponsor me as a PR.
I understand that persons on Super Visa do not get medical benefit and also they cannot work in Canada.

Thanks for your replies.

 

[scylla]

Hi

I want to ask one question related to this subject. Is it possible for a person to sponsor his Parents on PR basis or the Super Visa rule applies to this.

I am asking this because I have 2 childeren in Canada and I want to know if they can sponsor me as a PR.
I understand that persons on Super Visa do not get medical benefit and also they cannot work in Canada.

Thanks for your replies.

Your children have to be adults in order to sponsor you and must also be making sufficient information for three years in a row to meet the Low Income Cut Off. CIC only accepts 5,000 parent sponsorship applications each year starting in January. This year the cap was reached in a day and a half.

 

[Jerry1410]

Yes my children are adults and are working full time. Do you know the income limit that is required.
Also is this Parent's sponsorship is as PR or under Super Visa.
How the cap was reached in a day and half. Do people have to make online applications and they only pick up the first 5000 or how does this work.
Thanks for providing additional info if you know.