Does the number of days of residency beyond 730 play a role in speed of your processing. For example would the processing time for applications having numbers in the region of 750, 760 be higher versus applications with higher residency example 1200 days. For my family we are in the mid 800's so just wondering .....
For a family that did a soft-landing and subsequently made the move to Canada a few months before the third year anniversary of their landing, and thus has been living in Canada for the last two plus years, and otherwise they are well-established in a more or less PERMANENT residence in Canada scenario, the odds should be good the PR application will be routine and not encounter any significant delays. There is some but not a big risk that it may take a few weeks or a couple months longer than the fully routine PR card application, and relatively low risk of a type of non-routine processing that causes the really lengthy delays in getting a new card.
In regards to the fully routine PR card application, the typical actual processing timeline between opening the application and the decision to approve issuing a new PR card is probably in a range measured by parts of the hour, and is probably a one-agent one-task-event procedure; thus overall most PR card applications result in a decision to issue the new card within the day or several days, or within a week or two of when the application is opened, that is the same date as or fairly soon after the AOR date.
So how long it takes from the date a PR card application actually arrives at CPC-Sydney to the date a new PR card is issued, for most applications, is about the timeline between its receipt and AOR, plus a few days or a week or two.
Applications that involve any non-routine processing will take longer.
Although it is likely that most applications are routine, many applications encounter non-routine processing. (Remember that "most" is merely one more than half or more; and can be way less than nearly all, and in regards to PR card applications routinely processed, most but way less than nearly all are routinely processed.)
There are different types of non-routine processing. How much longer an application takes if it encounters non-routine processing will vary widely, ranging from just weeks or a few months, up to a year (and it can go much longer, but that is unusual and typically involves an admissibility issue apart from Residency Obligation compliance or an H&C relief case bogged down for some reason; see active thread where PR card application triggered 44(1) Report which has remained pending for four years now).
There is likely to be a significant correlation between number of days and the
RISK of non-routine processing. However, so far as we can see there is no direct correlation. For example, some PRs with just 735 days presence might still sail through routine processing while we occasionally see PRs with over a 1000 days presence referred for Secondary Review, which typically add many months up to a year to the processing timeline.
That is, while there is a bigger chance the
cutting-it-close PR's application will encounter non-routine processing, and the closer the PR is cutting it, the bigger that RISK, whether or not the particular PR's application is subject to non-routine processing will also depend on other factors. In particular, the variability is because there are many factors which can and will influence whether the processing agent or officer reviewing the application sees a reason to make further inquiries or conduct a more probing examination of the facts in that specific PR's case.
We are aware of some of the big ballpark factors. This includes a bigger margin over minimum generally means a lower risk. But obviously, the nature, extent, and strength of ties to a life IN Canada compared to ties to a life outside Canada can have a lot of influence. So of course employment and address history are big factors.
Settled in Canada now and for the last two years makes a stronger case than a pattern indicating the PR is not actually settled permanently in Canada, even if the latter PR claims many more days in Canada over the five year time period.
Frequent travel can be a significant factor, but it can go in diverging directions. It can actually help. But it can also hurt. See discussion here:
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/pr-card-renewal-approved-with-810-days-in-physical-presence-extensive-cross-border-travel.768666/ for some in-depth observations about frequency of travel and more importantly the pattern of travel.
Another factor is whether this is the PR's first time renewing their PR card or a second or later time. This is a factor which likewise can have either a positive or a negative influence depending on other factors. For a PR who is clearly well settled in Canada PERMANENTLY but not applying for citizenship, the history of being well-settled should help make that a routine application that sails through quickly. In contrast, someone who has been a PR for ten years and is still
cutting-it-close, meaning still spending more time abroad than in Canada, the odds go up considerably that IRCC will want to take a closer, more probing look that will take longer.
What I believe but I am NOT sure about is that it appears there is a low-level review process for some PR card applications. In other words, the agent or officer who opens and processes the application initially probably has authority to approve applications for which they are satisfied there is no reason for further inquiry or examination, and those PR card applications are almost immediately approved and result in the issuance of a new PR card within days or a week or two. If this first tier agent or officer is not sufficiently satisfied with the application, I believe the application is then put into a queue for a second tier agent or officer to review (I would not call this "Secondary Review"). This queue is probably in the range of weeks or months (varying from time to time), and this may not be considered non-routine, but adds a few weeks or months to the timeline. Here again, at this tier, the agent or officer can approve the application and enter a decision to issue a new PR card. This usually results in the PR card being mailed, but in some cases this officer can add a non-routine layer of screening by requiring the PR to do a in-person PR card pick-up. Otherwise (if there are questions or concerns, and the decision is not to approve and issue a new card) the agent or officer at this tier would make the referral to one of the various types of non-routine procedures, which could involve a referral to a local IRCC office to conduct an RO compliance interview or investigation, or a referral to Secondary Review which is largely a process behind the curtain; either of these tends to result in a significantly longer timeline. There are other possibilities. The PR and PR card application can be referred to CBSA for its NSSD to conduct background investigating for example, and this too can result in a lengthy delay.
My impression is that I differ some from several other forum participants who put stock in a so-called "buffer," suggesting that waiting ten or thirty days more can make a significant difference. In contrast, I think other factors will have more influence and outweigh any difference of a month or three. For example, appearance as to degree of settlement, I think, will have far more influence than whether the application is made with 740 days presence or 790 days.