PR renewal or citizenship application ??

[ICEBERG2014]

Hi everybody,

I have a situation that confused me a lot and I need your urgent help, I will start with my timeline:

May 14, 2009 Landed and become PR stayed for 3 months then left.
Nov. 02, 2010 Returned to Canada and stayed for 2 months and left again
Aug. 15, 2011 Returned to Canada with My wife and kids who are staying here since then but I left after 2 months.
Sep. 15, 2012 Returned to Canada and stayed here since then with many short trips to the the state.

My PR card will expire on May 04, 2014
My wife will be eligible for Citizenship on Aug 2014
I am eligible for PR renewal now

So my questions as follows:

1- Shall I apply for the whole family PR renewal or shall I apply for myself only and wait tell August to apply for my wife citizenship since she doesn't have any plan to travel soon ?
2- I am self employed and have many many stamps on my passport in and out for the absence periods and the frequent trips to the USA shall I fill out in application every stamp or just the final destination ( for an example in one trip I visited 5 or 6 countries shall I mention all ??)? in case that i have to mention all countries can i attach an excel sheet in the same format with the application???
3- I wonder if it will be more convenient for the officer to have the whole family applications specially that my wife and kids have nice records than just reviewing my application ?!!
4- Regarding the additional documents of proof of residence in Canada in the document checklist, shall I submit with my application or wait tell they request it ???

Thank you.

 

[Msafiri]

1. Its always useful to have a valid PR Card - you may have to travel at short notice or be asked for proof of PR Status and find that landing documents are not accepted..the latter is legally questionable but unless you want to challenge whomever is asking for it you got to suck it up.

2. List all absences and go with the excel sheet.

3. They don't care either way but you should have separate applications for CIC (other than minors tagged to a parents in a grant of Citizenship application) - in this way if there is an issue with one applicant it doesn't impact on the other/s.

4. Send what is asked for...if you don't then your application can/will be considered incomplete and can be sent back to you or else CIC will RQ you and that's what you need to avoid if at all possible..don't second guess them is the message the guide is clear as to what is required. If something is missing explain why.

 

[ICEBERG2014]

Thank you Masfari for your valuable advice

I have one more question please
in the travel history section and under the period to assessed I choose the period from Aug 2011 tell application date which will be more than enough to fullfill the RO 730 days taking into consideration the absences. so shall i submit my passports copy before that date or the the passport which cover this period will be enough

Thanks and Best Regards,

 

[ICEBERG2014]

Sorry Msafiri I misspell the name
:-X

 

[Alurra71]

Thank you Masfari for your valuable advice

I have one more question please
in the travel history section and under the period to assessed I choose the period from Aug 2011 tell application date which will be more than enough to fullfill the RO 730 days taking into consideration the absences. so shall i submit my passports copy before that date or the the passport which cover this period will be enough

Thanks and Best Regards,

Ummm, I don't think you get to choose what period gets assessed. They go back 5 years from the date you sign the application, unless I am mistaken. So, if you signed the application today, they would go back to March 10, 2009, however, since you only became a PR On May 14, they would go back to that date and require ALL of your travel information.

 

[Msafiri]

Sorry Msafiri I misspell the name
:-X

And here I thought you were icecool...it's all good I've been called worse!

Alurra71 on the money...its 5 years from landing date to 5th year anniversary of landing date if PR less than 5 years (as in your case). CIC will add the days out to the 5th year anniversary to your 'In Canada' days that are in the application. You need to make sure the sum of the 2 adds up to a minimum 730 days. A point to note that is often missed is that any day or part day in which you are in Canada counts as a full day in Canada...your calendar day reference point is midnight! Most applicants give themselves a cushion to cover travel in and out over the multiple time zones we have.

 

[ICEBERG2014]

And here I thought you were icecool...it's all good I've been called worse!

Alurra71 on the money...its 5 years from landing date to 5th year anniversary of landing date if PR less than 5 years (as in your case). CIC will add the days out to the 5th year anniversary to your 'In Canada' days that are in the application. You need to make sure the sum of the 2 adds up to a minimum 730 days. A point to note that is often missed is that any day or part day in which you are in Canada counts as a full day in Canada...your calendar day reference point is midnight! Most applicants give themselves a cushion to cover travel in and out over the multiple time zones we have.

thanks msafiri and alurra71,

Here is an update regarding my application
I have received a letter from CIC local office that my new PRC has been received and been asked to visit the local office with the original documents on a set date and time.

Is there anything to worry about ??
Why they didnt send the new PRC directly to me ???
What is the nature of the interview and what i could be asked ??

Your response is highly appreciated.

thanks

 

[PMM]

Hi

thanks msafiri and alurra71,

Here is an update regarding my application
I have received a letter from CIC local office that my new PRC has been received and been asked to visit the local office with the original documents on a set date and time.

Is there anything to worry about ??
Why they didnt send the new PRC directly to me ???
What is the nature of the interview and what i could be asked ??

Your response is highly appreciated.

thanks

1. Either quality control, or they have doubts that you have met your residency obligations.

 

[Msafiri]

My take is that its more likely to be quality control to double check as you had many stamps. If they had concerns about your residency they would have likely referred to Local Office and you would have been issued an RQ form as well as an absence history form.

 

[carryoncanada]

in reply to your original question DO BOTH

i didnt as citizenship was underway and then a year later needed to travel urgently for a family illness. being in another country and having to get pr travel documents sucks.
just get it.