PR Card Renewal Delays....What is the next step !!!!

[Volvo]

Ill start with a little background before coming to the question.

I immigrated to Canada in 2004, but due to work related issues I was outside Canada and was unable to meet the required 730 in the 5 years. So in 2009, 3 month before my PR Card was expiring I came to settle down permanently in Canada.

I applied for the renewal of PR Card in late 2009 and when I went to pick it up at the local office around March 2010 they saw my passports and doubted my residency and refused to give me the renewed card. My case was then transferred to the agent and I went in for an interview in Aug 2010 and he refused to approve the renewal and said that the application could not be approved as I don't meet the residency requirement.

Hence since Aug 2010 I have resided in Canada, payed taxes, have a driver license and health card. In Aug 2012 I have reapplied for PR Card renewal as I had fulfilled the requirement of 2 years in the past 5 years. However I have not heard anything from immigration. The status online says it is in process. I called the call centre and was informed that in January 2013 my file came to the local office but I have not received any letter from the indicating that the PR Card is ready.

I have 2 question:

1) Has anyone experience the same situation and if yes, then what was the result. I am concerned that they will refuse the application again. Are they taking this long of PR Renewal application because I read that under the new pilot project they were actually mailing them out.

2) Can I apply for Citizenship in Aug 2013 (I will have complete the 1095 days requirement) even if I don't receive my renewed PR Card? What should I say when they ask about the PR Card?

By the end of this year I have to travel outside Canada and I am hoping that I hear good news very soon.

 

[steaky]

1) One poster in this forum is similar to you. Search by the profile of "farid".

2) Yes, you can. But a lot of posters in this forum received RQs which you might experience further delay.

Unless you have a visa exempted passport, US visa or received your renewed PR card, I suggest you not to travel outside Canada.

 

[Volvo]

Thank steaky for the reply. I did go through "farid" profile and found some answers. However I would still like to know if file is in the local office how long does it take them to send out a letter for you to come pick up the renewed pr card?

Also what should I say on the citizenship application regarding the pr card attachment as the renewal process is still in process. Would applying for citizenship without pr renewal complicate stuff??

Confused

 

[farid-]

Ok I am the one in almost,the same situation with the only difference that they accepted h and c grounds in rq interview. I asked couple of lawyers n my situation they said,as my status on pr will be changed to humainatarian basis thts why its taking long but max. Can take is 6 to 8 months. My file is stil in local office since jan. 2013. If something comes up I,will let u know. About citizenship I m not sure becoz ur case is slightly diff. Then mine in a way tht u got rejected first time n for citizenship ur status for pr shouldnt be in question. So wait for pr renewal n then apply for citizen. Please keep intouch n update the forum if something comes up. N I will also do the same. Thanks

 

[farid-]

Just wondering when u got rejected the next step is appeal so what happened when the agent didnt approve ur rq?

 

[Msafiri]

Ill start with a little background before coming to the question.

I immigrated to Canada in 2004, but due to work related issues I was outside Canada and was unable to meet the required 730 in the 5 years. So in 2009, 3 month before my PR Card was expiring I came to settle down permanently in Canada.

I applied for the renewal of PR Card in late 2009 and when I went to pick it up at the local office around March 2010 they saw my passports and doubted my residency and refused to give me the renewed card. My case was then transferred to the agent and I went in for an interview in Aug 2010 and he refused to approve the renewal and said that the application could not be approved as I don't meet the residency requirement.

Hence since Aug 2010 I have resided in Canada, payed taxes, have a driver license and health card. In Aug 2012 I have reapplied for PR Card renewal as I had fulfilled the requirement of 2 years in the past 5 years. However I have not heard anything from immigration. The status online says it is in process. I called the call centre and was informed that in January 2013 my file came to the local office but I have not received any letter from the indicating that the PR Card is ready.

I have 2 question:

1) Has anyone experience the same situation and if yes, then what was the result. I am concerned that they will refuse the application again. Are they taking this long of PR Renewal application because I read that under the new pilot project they were actually mailing them out.

2) Can I apply for Citizenship in Aug 2013 (I will have complete the 1095 days requirement) even if I don't receive my renewed PR Card? What should I say when they ask about the PR Card?

By the end of this year I have to travel outside Canada and I am hoping that I hear good news very soon.

Your situation situation serves as a warning to PRs who apply to renew their PR Card when they have not met the Residence Obligation (RO) of a minimum 730 days of physical presence in the relevant 5 year obligation period.

You really do not need a PR Card other than for travel purposes so if you don't meet the RO avoid dealing with CIC/CBSA as this only brings attention to your breach leading to a potential loss of PR i.e. no travel, no sponsorship, no PR Card renewal until you are no longer in breach. (I'm ignoring recent trends by Provinces to ask for a valid PR Card as proof of PR status e.g BC for issuing DLs...I'd rather keep my PR than get a DL.)

Your situation depends on what action CIC took after refusing to renew your PR Card in Aug 2010.

1. If CIC reported you as per Sec 44 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act(IRPA) and no appeal was received from you within 30 days then your PR status was revoked once the 30 days run out and you have been out of status all this time.

2. If CIC did not report you then your PR was back on track after 730 days in Canada from your entry prior to the expiry of the Card and subject to never have left Canada since then. It appears this is your situation because had you been reported CIC would have now been trying to remove/deport you from Canada. My take is that the 8 month PR card processing time to interview likely saved you by adding to your residence obligation days...in effect CIC did you a favour when they scheduled you for interview.

AFAIK through case law PR Card renewals referred to a local CIC office take 12-18 months to be reviewed/processed. Don't sweat on the citizenship issue your major concern is if you still have PR status! If yes then you will be eligible to apply for citizenship after 1095 days in the 4 years prior to application date.

You urgently need to review your file/ records at CIC to see if there was ever a Sec 44 report - check their website for ATIP requests. In your shoes I'd pay for a quality lawyer to deal with this and not leave Canada before I have a PR Card in hand.

 

[Volvo]

Just wondering when u got rejected the next step is appeal so what happened when the agent didnt approve ur rq?

Thanks farid, I do intend to wait for PR card renewal to come in before applyig for citizenship, but the situation is getting very tiring and stressful.

As for the appeal, when the agent did not approve my rq I did not file for an appeal. I was advised not to file for the appeal because in my situation the appeal would also not be approved. I waited for 2 years, did not leave the country, completed my PR obligation days and filed for PR Renewal in August 2012.

Will keep you posted if anything comes up, Good Luck to you

 

[Volvo]

Your situation situation serves as a warning to PRs who apply to renew their PR Card when they have not met the Residence Obligation (RO) of a minimum 730 days of physical presence in the relevant 5 year obligation period.

You really do not need a PR Card other than for travel purposes so if you don't meet the RO avoid dealing with CIC/CBSA as this only brings attention to your breach leading to a potential loss of PR i.e. no travel, no sponsorship, no PR Card renewal until you are no longer in breach. (I'm ignoring recent trends by Provinces to ask for a valid PR Card as proof of PR status e.g BC for issuing DLs...I'd rather keep my PR than get a DL.)

Your situation depends on what action CIC took after refusing to renew your PR Card in Aug 2010.

1. If CIC reported you as per Sec 44 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act(IRPA) and no appeal was received from you within 30 days then your PR status was revoked once the 30 days run out and you have been out of status all this time.

2. If CIC did not report you then your PR was back on track after 730 days in Canada from your entry prior to the expiry of the Card and subject to never have left Canada since then. It appears this is your situation because had you been reported CIC would have now been trying to remove/deport you from Canada. My take is that the 8 month PR card processing time to interview likely saved you by adding to your residence obligation days...in effect CIC did you a favour when they scheduled you for interview.

AFAIK through case law PR Card renewals referred to a local CIC office take 12-18 months to be reviewed/processed. Don't sweat on the citizenship issue your major concern is if you still have PR status! If yes then you will be eligible to apply for citizenship after 1095 days in the 4 years prior to application date.

You urgently need to review your file/ records at CIC to see if there was ever a Sec 44 report - check their website for ATIP requests. In your shoes I'd pay for a quality lawyer to deal with this and not leave Canada before I have a PR Card in hand.

Thank Masafiri,

As mentioned earlier, when the agent did not approve my rq I did not file for an appeal. I was advised not to file for the appeal because in my situation the appeal would also not be approved. I waited for 2 years, did not leave the country, completed my PR obligation days and filed for PR Renewal in August 2012.

Please advice if the only way of finding if Sec 44 report was filed is to call CIC or can I find this information on my online account?

I do want to wait out before filing for citizenship and I can definitely postpone my plans of leaving the country because right now the most important thing for me in renewing my pr card.

 

[Msafiri]

Thank Masafiri,

As mentioned earlier, when the agent did not approve my rq I did not file for an appeal. I was advised not to file for the appeal because in my situation the appeal would also not be approved. I waited for 2 years, did not leave the country, completed my PR obligation days and filed for PR Renewal in August 2012.

Please advice if the only way of finding if Sec 44 report was filed is to call CIC or can I find this information on my online account?

I do want to wait out before filing for citizenship and I can definitely postpone my plans of leaving the country because right now the most important thing for me in renewing my pr card.

1. Who advised you not appeal? Did the same person inform you of the risk you were taking by not making an appeal? Why did they advise you not to appeal? Why the rush for PR Card renewal?

2. Did the CIC Officer at interview upon refusal of your application give you any paperwork? Did you sign any document? Have you moved since the refused PR Card application was made? CIC may have mailed the report to your previous address.

3. Get your GCMS/FOSS notes via ATIP request on the CIC website (Privacy Act is free don't apply via Freedom of Info Act). It will show your dealings with CIC including any Sec 44 reports - I wouldn't be depending on asking a Call Centre agent about a Sec 44 report since you will get an answer that may be incorrect.