Please advise: Applying for PR card renewal 60 days short.

[i5rider]

Hello,
My deep respect for the people who take their time to help others on this forum. Please bear with me if someone has discussed a similar topic in a different thread, I've read thru a lot of them but still wanted to explain my situation and see what others think.

My PR card will expire in a few days. After doing my calculations, I realized that I'm short about 60 days of the required 730 days. Most of the time outside Canada during the last 5 years, was due to a job I took in the US for almost 3 yrs, I'm back in Canada since 1 1 1/2 years ago. Due to the timing of my absences of Canada, If I wanted to comply with the 730 days, I would need to wait until September of this year to apply for the PR card extension. I was stupid, since I came back I didn't pay attention to the dates and took some trips that could have waited (e.g. vacations).

So I'm on this dilemma. If I apply now and I'm brutally honest, I'm basically telling CIC that I couldn't fulfill my residency obligations. Will they tell me I've lost my status and ask me to leave? I wonder whether it would help somehow to explain that I've built my life in Canada since I came back? I have here my RRSP, all my belongings, my full-time job, driver license, saving accounts, etc. I have a very good income and pay a lot of taxes (not sure if that'd be of any help) and I have no criminal record or anything like that. When I got my residence, I got it through the PNP program. Also, some of the trips I've done were business trips. Could any of this be of some help when applying?

I guess I could also try to "adjust" the dates and make it look like I've complied with the obligations but I'm nervous about doing that. Some of my absences were as far as 2005 and I don't see any stamp in my passport. The reason why I would like to apply for the PR now instead of September, is because I may need to do a business trip again in May/June, and because I've read how long it is taking to process the applications. If I wait until September the PR card may not be ready for Christmas...

Can anyone comment on this? Anybody has had an experience with applying when being very close to the 730 days of requirements?


thanks in advance,
-I

 

[Alabaman]

You said some of your absences were due to Bussiness trips... right? So if you were working for a Canadian company then you should be able to count those time towards your 730 days.

 

[i5rider]

Thanks for the answer.. I work in Canada (my payroll is in Canada) but the company is actually from the U.S. I work off a virtual office so I don't think the business trips will qualify.. right?
Luis

 

[PMM]

Hi

quote author=i5rider link=topic=36299.msg237081#msg237081 date=1268170017]
Thanks for the answer.. I work in Canada (my payroll is in Canada) but the company is actually from the U.S. I work off a virtual office so I don't think the business trips will qualify.. right?
Luis
[/quote]

To be on the safe side, don't apply for an renewal until you have the 1035 days of residency.

PMM

 

[Alabaman]

To be on the safe side, don't apply for an renewal until you have the 1035 days of residency.

PMM

Did you mean to say 730 days??

 

[PMM]

Hi

Did you mean to say 730 days??

Yeah, sorry 730

PMM

 

[i5rider]

Thanks. Yeah, I think that's the wisest thing to do, I'll wait a few months before applying. Just another question, I didn't find (or maybe I never got) my for IMM 5292 form (Confirmation of PR) so I'm going to request a certified copy. I want to keep it in case I need to travel by car south of the border. Has anyone done that before? Driving and coming back by car using that form when your card is expired ?

-I

 

[Leon]

It would be safer to stay in Canada until you get your PR card renewed. Your PR is safe while you stay in Canada as long as you don't apply for your PR card renewal too early but if you leave, you can be questioned about your PR status when you arrive at the border again. If they have a suspicion that you do not meet the PR residency requirements such as why have you not renewed your PR card, they can challenge you to prove that you meet the requirements or otherwise lose your PR.