Physical Presence test to Maintain PR - When to Relocate to Canada

[Nirkap]

Hi there fellow forum members,

I wanted to check and get some guidance on how long post PR issuance can I stay outside Canada?

Background:

1. I worked in Canada from July 2015- Nov 2016 and while there, I applied for PR for me and my wife in Canadian Experience Class. While the PR process was going on, I had to relocate back to US for my work.

2. We received my COPR in January 2017 and completed landing in March 2017. After completing my landing we returned back to US in a few days and have been living here since.

3. We received our PR cards in a couple months and the back of the card says PR since March 2017.

4. It is now Jan 2019 and I am closing up on 2 years outside Canada since my PR status became active (March 2017).

5. As I understand, to maintain PR, once has to stay in Canada for 730 days (2 years) in a rolling 5 year period. Based on this understanding, I had some basic questions:

Q1. Can I stay back in US and relocate to Canada in Jan-Feb 2020? As I understand, Staying in Canada from Jan 2020 to March 2022 will allow me to complete my physical presence test and maintain PR. I am trying to line up employment/relocation and will take me some time to finalize.

Is my understanding correct?

Q2. Will my stay outside Canada for almost 3 years since issuance of PR present any obstacles in our relocating to Canada permanently?

Q3. In case of any further delay in our relocation that makes us fail the physical presence test, what are the implications when I try to renew my PR? Lets say, we move in October 2020 instead of Jan 2020 and can only complete 500 odd days in Canada. What kind of issues can I anticipate in this scenario?

Will I be able to enter or my entry be blocked at Port of Entry?
Will my PR renewal request be automatically rejected or will I get a chance to present my case to IRCC


Any suggestions/guidance on above would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Nir

 

[Bs65]

Q1.you must be in Canada a minimum of 2 years from March 2017 through Feb/March 2022. So if you return in Jan/Feb 2020 that would be right on the limit and you would need to stay put without leaving for 2 years plus.

Note that after the initial 5 years from landing the 5 years becomes a rolling 5 years where you need to be prepared to show at each new entry you have been in Canada for 2 years in the previous 5.

Q2.always a chance you could be subject to extra scrutiny/ inspection if you arrive on the limit of how long you can stay away from initial landing. There is no way to predict and given you still have valid PR cards you may not even be asked the question. Even so as PRs you are entitled to enter the country regardless

Q3PR cards expire, PR status never expires and can only be renounced or revoked so you would not be renewing your PR status as such.

As PRs you are entitled to enter the country but if it is discovered at the POE you have failed the RO then you could be reported leading to your PR status being revoked subject to appeal. There is no way to predict this in advance and can just be down to the CBSA officer whether they pick up the fact.

Financial or work reasons for failing the residency obligation are generally not accepted and anyway would not be asssesed by CBSA at the border if they decide to report.

In resetting your residency obligation it is generally advised to have no contact with Immigration until you are in compliance again, so no applying for a new PR card before then.

 

[Nirkap]

Thank you so much Bs65 for the detailed response. Things look a lot more clear at your response.

Q1.you must be in Canada a minimum of 2 years from March 2017 through Feb/March 2022. So if you return in Jan/Feb 2020 that would be right on the limit and you would need to stay put without leaving for 2 years plus.

Note that after the initial 5 years from landing the 5 years becomes a rolling 5 years where you need to be prepared to show at each new entry you have been in Canada for 2 years in the previous 5.

Your above point brought up an interesting scenario in my mind. Lets say I move back to Canada in Jan 2020 and need to take a short trip outside the country for a week or so in June 2020. In this scenario would reentry be a problem since the rolling 5 years has kicked in? Basically, what I want to understand is below:
Does moving to Canada right on edge of RO (ie Jan 2020) makes even short 1-2 day trips outside the country a challenge when it comes to entry? I know I will need to keep track of days so if I keep a buffer of 30-60 days, does that give me any leeway for short work trips?


PR cards expire, PR status never expires and can only be renounced or revoked so you would not be renewing your PR status as such. In resetting your residency obligation it is generally advised to have no contact with Immigration until you are in compliance again, so no applying for a new PR card before then.

Do you mean that as long as I am in Canada, even if the PR card has expired, my PR status does not expire? I always assumed its ties to the validity/expiry of the actual card. In this case, lets say the card has expired and I am short on my Residency obligation, I can still stay in the country and continue to work as usual? I contact IRCC only once the RO has been fulfilled?

Apologize if the questions are too pointed but I am stuck in a bit of a quandary and trying to weigh my options.

Thanks and Regards,
Nir