I'm living in Ireland the past two and a half years and applied for citizenship last year inithe hopes of returning in the next year or so.
Got called for my test on the 26th June and will be travelling to Toronto for a few days to do this. Will still be covered by my PR card before it expires.
My PR card expires on July 2nd so if I get called to do the oath, about the end of July, I won't have PR status any longer.
Is this okay, can I travel back to Canada for the oath ceremony if I no longer have an in date PR card. Or is there something else I should do?
A Canadian PR carrying an Irish passport should be able to travel to the U.S. by air, and then to Canada using land transportation, and thereby avoid the need to have a valid PR card or PR Travel Document. So the travel angle, itself, does not pose that big a hurdle.
To be clear: expired PR card does NOT mean PR status is expired. So if everything is in order and goes smoothly, and you can travel via the U.S. on your Irish passport (for example: flying into a city like Buffalo or Detroit or Seattle, and from there taking land transportation to the border, such as renting a car or having family or friend provide a ride), no problem.
There are, however, other risks. Other potential problems.
For example:
The caution proffered by @itsmyid warrants taking seriously.
In particular, there is a significant risk you may NOT be scheduled for the oath for several or many more months (will address this risk more below). So if you continue to mostly be abroad, in the meantime, there appears to be a real risk you could breach the PR Residency Obligation before becoming a citizen. In particular, if at any time prior to taking the oath you have been outside Canada for more than 1096 days during the previous five years, as
@itsmyid cautioned, the failure to comply with the RO could result in the loss of your PR status, making you INELIGIBLE for citizenship.
Moreover, it appears you already are, or soon will be, absent from Canada more than you have been present in Canada during the previous five years, so there is real chance of elevated scrutiny when you enter Canada, or apply for a new PR card, or apply for a PR Travel Document. Additionally, there is some risk, potentially a substantial risk, this situation is going to trigger elevated scrutiny of your citizenship application. Which could result in some delay or even a lengthy delay in processing your citizenship application.
Remember, the burden is on the PR to prove presence in Canada, for purposes of showing compliance with the RO as well as meeting the citizenship actual physical presence requirement.
NOTE: If you are entitled to credit toward the PR Residency Obligation while living abroad (such as for accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse), that reduces the risks a great deal . . . and you could largely ignore these cautions. And not worry about the expiring PR card if it is OK for you to travel via the U.S. (to avoid need to have valid PR card or PR TD).
There is, nonetheless, still a risk that your situation will invite elevated scrutiny and potentially non-routine processing following the test and PI Interview. If you filed a strong case, and there is no prospect of a PR RO breach issue, this would mostly be about a potential delay between the test date and the oath date. If in contrast there are some potential weaknesses in your case (such as a very small margin over the minimum presence requirement, or concerns about the completeness and accuracy of your declared travel dates, or such), the outcome of the citizenship application could be at risk.
To be clear, however, if you do not have credit toward RO compliance for the time you are abroad, the day you are outside Canada more than 1096 days within the previous five years, as of that day the risk of being reported for being INADMISSIBLE goes up considerably, and if reported that would make you PROHIBITED from a grant of citizenship. So, for example, if you return abroad after the test and the oath is not scheduled for months,
IF in the meantime the total amount of time you have been abroad in the last five years exceeds three years, no matter how it is you travel back to Canada, there is a real risk you will be reported (or denied a PR TD if you apply for one) AND not become a citizen, EVEN IF THE OATH WAS ALREADY SCHEDULED.
Citizenship Application Processing and the risk of elevated scrutiny and potentially non-routine processing following the test and PI Interview:
For purposes of the physical presence requirement, TECHNICALLY what matters, what counts, is the number of days credit for presence during the five years prior to the date of your application. 1095 days meets the cut.
PRACTICALLY, however, many other factors can influence whether IRCC is readily satisfied that the applicant's accounting of days IN Canada is accurate. If a PR has been living abroad and outside Canada MORE than in Canada during the last five years, obviously that is a situation which, potentially, could raise some concerns and invite more scrutiny, a more thorough review of the proof of actual presence. The extent of this risk is very difficult, if not impossible, to quantify. BUT some factors which can increase the RISK are obvious; most of these relate to the strength of the case -- ranging from IRCC's perception of the applicant's credibility to particular details like how much of a margin over the minimum the applicant had. Obviously, if IRCC finds discrepancies between the applicant's accounting of travel dates and what other sources indicate, that will increase the risks of at least elevated scrutiny and non-routine processing.
