PR obligations.

[rush fan]

hello all,
i recently discovered i was infact STILL a permanent resident of canada after arriving from england in June 2015. My PR card ran out in 2011. i have been reading alot from these forums and have spoken to various people so i have a vague understanding of the grey area i'm in. i have been working here since then and am going to school here in BC in january. i am fully commited to re-establishing my residency, as i was told i was within my rights to do...however it has proved difficult for me to do things like get a drivers license etc. without my PR card.
I have not yet met my Residency Obligations.
The time has come that i need to sign up for medical services plan, and upon looking at the application, it says that they will be in communication with CIC and stuff... my worry is that as i have not yet met Residency Obligations that i will somehow be prodding the beast and i will suddenly be dragged infront of some review board.
i'm aware that MSP is a legal requirement here in BC so my questions are; is filing or MSP something i should be concerned about? will they flag me up as some kind of defector?
also, am i 'safe' now as a permanent resident of Canada as i live and work here now and have no intentions to leave. what will lead to me being made to leave?
can i be forced to leave?
many thanks,
rush fan.

 

[kateg]

MSP is a legal requirement, so you should sign up. Getting a license can be difficult, but it beats losing P/R.

It sounds like your best bet is to meet the requirements of the law, then wait until you have met the residency obligations (and can prove it) before applying for a card.

 

[rush fan]

MSP is a legal requirement, so you should sign up. Getting a license can be difficult, but it beats losing P/R.

It sounds like your best bet is to meet the requirements of the law, then wait until you have met the residency obligations (and can prove it) before applying for a card.

thank you for a response. so you think i should wait until i have met the residency requirements before i apply for msp?

 

[kateg]

thank you for a response. so you think i should wait until i have met the residency requirements before i apply for msp?

Signing up for MSP is the law, so you should follow the law.

Applying for a Permanent Residence card is not legally required, and is risky when the PR obligation is not met, so I would personally wait to apply for a PR card until a little after the R/O was met (in case there is an error with the calculation, there is a margin of error).

 

[kateg]

If you look at the MSP form:

http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/forms/102fil.pdf

HOLDER OF PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS – Record of Landing, Permanent OTHER – Work or Study Permit, etc. Canadian Citizenship Card or Passport Resident Card (front & back) or Confirmation of Permanent Residence

Canadian citizens and holders of permanent resident status (landed immigrants) returning from the USA may also be asked to provide evidence of having established residence in BC and/or having abandoned their status in the USA.

Be prepared to show that you have residency in BC - something like a rental agreement, bank statements, phone bills, etc.

Based off what I've seen, they won't be contacting CIC in any way that could trigger a residency examination.

A formal examination of residency status is generally done as a result of an application for a PR card or Travel Document - there is no formal way for you to request an examination if you want. It can also be done at a Port of Entry, if you are referred by the officer for such an examination.

If you apply for the MSP, they may query the CIC database. If they do, it will show you as a valid permanent resident, as long as that status was never formally revoked. Your file would look the same whether you simply relocated from Ontario, or from another country, and BC is only concerned with residency.

ICBC is a pain in the rear, certainly, but you should be able to get a temporary paper license while "waiting" for your PR card. When it doesn't arrive, you can apply for another paper license.