Permanent Residency (Need Advice Urgently!)

[Riasat94]

Me and my family went to Canada on 2005 and came back with our pr. We were unable to return to fulfill our residency obligations due to various reasons. I was 10 years old at the time and I had no say in the matter. I am 18 now and I'd like to go there to study. I've already got offers from two universities. My pr has obviously expired. Can I apply for a travel document by myself by writing an H&C letter telling them why I could not return? Or does my father have to apply again?

 

[Leon]

As you are 18 now, you can apply for yourself. Emphasize that you were removed from Canada as a minor by your parents and now want to return as an adult.

 

[Dalim]

Hi riasat,your case may be like to like to my son, just wondering, when you applied for uni have you applied as pr or international student?
Can you update what is the outcome of ur application.

Leon guru, can i get ur advice please, we are visa exempt to canada, if my son enters in canada (if lucky enough) without applying travel document and then if he tells uni that he is pr but card is expires, will he be able treated as home student to get reduced tution fee?

 

[Leon]

If he wants to enter without applying for a travel document, he needs some paperwork in order to prove that he is a PR but his landing documents should be enough.

However, I have also heard that in some cases, students are asked for PR cards, maybe it is only for financial aid. I have heard that there is a way around it but it is a hassle. Having a travel document would mean that he could apply for a new PR card right away based on that the embassy excused him for not meeting the residency requirements and gave him a travel document. Coming in without a travel document means that if he tries to apply for a PR card, he has nothing to base it on. They will call him for an interview and his application will take forever which means he might be just as well off waiting for 2 years until he meets the residency requirements again and then applying to renew.

In any case, as he is a PR, he will be treated as a PR student but he needs the landing documents to prove that he is a PR.

 

[computergeek]

At the root of this question is a common misconception: permanent resident status does not "expire".

A PR Card expires, but permanent resident status may be surrendered or removed - both of which are a "process".

Leon is referring to the best way to proceed here for someone in this situation: apply for a PR Travel Document from the visa office. The specific case of a child removed from Canada and returning at the earliest opportunity is a well-known case for granting an exception to the PR residency obligation because such a person did not have the option of remaining in Canada as a minor child. Now that she or he is an adult the action of returning as soon as reasonable practical is generally excused.

When a visa office considers humanitarian and compassionate grounds for granting a PR travel document the permanent resident should then apply for a new PR card once back in Canada (PR cards are only sent to addresses inside Canada barring extraordinary circumstances).

The PR granted H&C grounds for returning to Canada will generally not be granted a second H&C exception, so anyone in this situation should plan on spending 730 days in Canada in the next five years - and the sooner the better.

If a PR travel document is refused the applicant has a period of time to appeal that decision or it becomes permanent, in which case the individual becomes a "foreign national" once again.

As for proving it to a university, I think a copy of your expired card and a PRTD should be sufficient, but that's up to the institution.

 

[Riasat94]

Dalim I applied as a pr. As computergeek stated even if the pr card has expired your status is still a pr so thats how you have to apply. I got accepted to McGuill and UBC. Applied as a pr. You need to prove it after arriving at the universities. But if for some reason your son's pr status is revoked and he becomes a foreign student, he will have to give the full international tuition fees.

computergeek please reply to this: My whole family was granted their PRs under H&C grounds once before but were unable to stay there even after that to fulfill the residency obligation. I was a minor then. Now if I apply as an adult for H&C consideration do you think they will grant me an exception?

 

[computergeek]

computergeek please reply to this: My whole family was granted their PRs under H&C grounds once before but were unable to stay there even after that to fulfill the residency obligation. I was a minor then. Now if I apply as an adult for H&C consideration do you think they will grant me an exception?

Because you were a minor child, your inability to meet the PR residency obligation might be overlooked - again, these are grounds on which visa offices do grant H&C exceptions. However, I'd suggest you need to do it at the EARLIEST possible date. If you are 25 and asking, they are unlikely to grant it. If you are 18 or perhaps 19 it is far more likely.

In the end, the only way to find out is to apply for a PR travel document and explain that this is the first opportunity you've had to return to Canada and it is your goal to live there permanently.

 

[Leon]

If you look at Operational Manual 10 on PR Residency requirements, it does look like the immigration officers are supposed to give you leeway even if you are over 22 and returning at the earliest opportunity after becoming 22. As you get older, your chances drop but you should still try it. Never know if you don't try.

• Are the circumstances that led to the person's remaining outside of Canada compelling and beyond their control?
• Was the person prevented from returning to Canada? Why? By whom or by what event?
• Are they now returning to Canada at the earliest possible opportunity?
• Did the person leave Canada as a child accompanying a parent?
• Are they now over 22 years of age and are returning at the earliest opportunity since becoming 22 years of age?
• Is the person over 22 years of age dependent on the parent they are accompanying because of a mental or physical disability?

 

[Dalim]

Many thanks Leon, Computergeek and Risat for sharing, valuable tips, these are really informative and helpful to take my decision.

 

[Dalim]

Hi Risat, one more thing, how did you applied for student loan , sorry i have no knowledge of it, in fact these are all my homework a bit ahead for my son uni. Any info of this much appreciated

 

[Riasat94]

Thank you Leon for the information.
Dalim: well i am not really sure if there are any loans available for international students. :S I'll let you know when i find out more

 

[Dalim]

Hi Riasat, i mean student loan for home student as you have applied as pr student, like as osap for ontario residents. Have you applied for any of those?