PR Renewal Obligations Question

[canadapr98]

I am almost close to receiving my COPR and visa, and planning to land in Oct / Nov 2012. Please help me with the below questions. I really appreciate it. It will help me to plan for my future.

1) I am planning to land in Nov 2012, and come back to USA to take care of some stuff; and plan to move permanently to Alberta in Jan / Feb 2013. The question I have is once I come back to USA, do I have to wait until I receive the PR card to reenter Canada, or can I enter Canada without the PR card?

2) I am planning to move in 2013, and stay for 2 years in Canada and then move to India to take care of my parents. Will I be eligible to renew PR card after 5 year term? I understood that the 2 years requirement need to be met during any part of total 5 years to renew PR, but not in certain order. Is that correct?

3) Does the principal applicant need to be in Canada to renew PR or can I do it from India? Also, if the principal applicant has to be in Canada, is it sufficient for me to be there or the whole family members in the application need to be there?

4) I know I have to stay in Canada for 3 years in out of 4 years to meet the citizenship requirements. Do I need to be in Canada after I am done with the 1st 3 years in Canada, to apply for citizenship? OR can I do it from India?

5) If my parents need to visit while I am in Alberta, how many months of visa they can get per visit? What is the max. time they can stay in Alberta each visit?

Any advise is really appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Leon]

1. You can enter Canada again without a PR card if you get a travel document at a Canadian embassy in the US or on your landing papers if you enter Canada by private or rented car. Since you are Indian, you would normally need a visa to Canada so an airline or bus company will not let you board a bus without a visa, PR card or travel document.

2. As long as when you apply to renew your card, you had 2 years in Canada in the past 5 or if you have been a PR for less than 5 years when you apply to renew, that you have not been outside for more than 3 years since you got your PR. Watch out however that after you renew your PR card, if you continue to stay in India, you will be in breach of the residency requirements soon because the 2 years you stayed in Canada will move outside the 5 year window and so after 2 more years in India after renewing, if you lose this PR card or it gets stolen or destroyed somehow and you need a travel document to return to Canada, you will be applying for it with 0 days in Canada in the past 5 years and that is not likely for success. Although if you are taking care of your parents and your parents are sick and you can prove this, they will probably excuse you on humane and compassionate grounds.

3. Once your whole family has landed, there is no principal applicant any more. Each member of the family must meet their own obligations. A PR renewal application must originate within Canada so if you fill it out from India and send it to your family, they could send it in for you. It is however possible that you will have to show up in person to pick up your PR card. They have recently started to mail out renewals just like they do with new cards but some people are still called randomly to come in person and pick up their card. If you are very close to the 730 day limit, it is also more likely that they give you a residency questionnaire which means your application can take forever as they investigate whether you really stayed 730 days or not.

4. You need to be in Canada when you apply for citizenship, after that you can leave. You will however not be given much notice to appear for the test and oath so you have to be ready to go back for that at the drop of a hat. If you fail your citizenship test and end up in an interview, you will have to convince a citizenship judge why they should give you citizenship when you no longer live in Canada.

5. If you want to apply for a super visa for them, you must be in Canada yourself working so you can show that you have the funds to support them. They also need health insurance for that. With a super visa, they can stay for up to 2 years and if they ever reopen the program to sponsor parents again, you may be able to sponsor them for PR. You would then be financially responsible for them for the next 10 years.

 

[canadapr98]

1. You can enter Canada again without a PR card if you get a travel document at a Canadian embassy in the US or on your landing papers if you enter Canada by private or rented car. Since you are Indian, you would normally need a visa to Canada so an airline or bus company will not let you board a bus without a visa, PR card or travel document.

2. As long as when you apply to renew your card, you had 2 years in Canada in the past 5 or if you have been a PR for less than 5 years when you apply to renew, that you have not been outside for more than 3 years since you got your PR. Watch out however that after you renew your PR card, if you continue to stay in India, you will be in breach of the residency requirements soon because the 2 years you stayed in Canada will move outside the 5 year window and so after 2 more years in India after renewing, if you lose this PR card or it gets stolen or destroyed somehow and you need a travel document to return to Canada, you will be applying for it with 0 days in Canada in the past 5 years and that is not likely for success. Although if you are taking care of your parents and your parents are sick and you can prove this, they will probably excuse you on humane and compassionate grounds.

3. Once your whole family has landed, there is no principal applicant any more. Each member of the family must meet their own obligations. A PR renewal application must originate within Canada so if you fill it out from India and send it to your family, they could send it in for you. It is however possible that you will have to show up in person to pick up your PR card. They have recently started to mail out renewals just like they do with new cards but some people are still called randomly to come in person and pick up their card. If you are very close to the 730 day limit, it is also more likely that they give you a residency questionnaire which means your application can take forever as they investigate whether you really stayed 730 days or not.

4. You need to be in Canada when you apply for citizenship, after that you can leave. You will however not be given much notice to appear for the test and oath so you have to be ready to go back for that at the drop of a hat. If you fail your citizenship test and end up in an interview, you will have to convince a citizenship judge why they should give you citizenship when you no longer live in Canada.

5. If you want to apply for a super visa for them, you must be in Canada yourself working so you can show that you have the funds to support them. They also need health insurance for that. With a super visa, they can stay for up to 2 years and if they ever reopen the program to sponsor parents again, you may be able to sponsor them for PR. You would then be financially responsible for them for the next 10 years.

Leon, first of all, thank you very much for your help. I sincerely appreciate it. Just wondering, whether do I need a travel document or the landing papers just enough. Please advise.

 

[Leon]

Like I said, because you are Indian and would normally need a visa to Canada, you will not be able to go to Canada by plane or any other commercial carrier without either a valid PR card or travel document.

If you are able to come to Canada by private or rented car from the US, you would not need a travel document because you arrive at the border yourself and then deal with immigration directly. Just show your landing papers and say you had to leave to take care of things before your PR card arrived in the mail and they will let you in.

 

[canadapr98]

Like I said, because you are Indian and would normally need a visa to Canada, you will not be able to go to Canada by plane or any other commercial carrier without either a valid PR card or travel document.

If you are able to come to Canada by private or rented car from the US, you would not need a travel document because you arrive at the border yourself and then deal with immigration directly. Just show your landing papers and say you had to leave to take care of things before your PR card arrived in the mail and they will let you in.

Got it!!! Thank you, Leon.