PR renewal-secondary review-urgent please

[karmanourouni]

I landed in Canada in mid 2011. I stayed for three months and then I left Canada for the year 2012 to my home country for out of control reasons (resolve some family issues). When I arrived to my home country, I tried to hide my entry in that date. I came back to Canada late 2012 and since then I have been living/studying in Canada. I sent an application to renew my PR card recently. I received a letter from the CIC informing me that my application was transferred to a secondary review. They also requested additional information regarding my travel history entry/exit from all countries I visited during the last five years. Actually, I visited my home country only but the problem is that I already have the first year of my entry to my country not present on my passport and I already didn't mention that in my PR application. I know that I have done something unethical and I regret it so much. I feel embarrassed while writing this but I am desperate and need an advice. Counting the last four years makes me eligible for PR renewal and even citizenship. I fulfill the residency requirements and even more.
They also mentioned that if I don't send the required documents within 30 days, my application will be abandoned.What does that mean?
Can anyone tell me what to do and how to proceed?
Thank you

 

[Buletruck]

So why, given you have 1,000ish days in Canada, would you try to hide you went home for a year? That makes no sense, unless you received your PR as a refugee. My guess is that IRCC has figured out that you have misrepresented (lied) on your application and want to follow up on the renewal. The fact you have sufficient days to meet RO probably won't be enough to overcome misrepresentation. The have a very dim view of that. I would find myself a savvy immigration lawyer first thing Monday and go over your options with them.

 

[karmanourouni]

Thank you for the advice Buletruck. I am not a refugee. I hid that because the entry was already not shown on my passport and I didn't want to get into questions of why I don't have that shown on my passport. But to me, since I came back and lived in Canada, I decided not to count that year of my residency. I repeat, I know that I have done something wrong. It was a mistake. But the circumstances that made me do this mistake were very hard on me.

 

[heeradeepak]

Thank you for the advice Buletruck. I am not a refugee. I hid that because the entry was already not shown on my passport and I didn't want to get into questions of why I don't have that shown on my passport. But to me, since I came back and lived in Canada, I decided not to count that year of my residency. I repeat, I know that I have done something wrong. It was a mistake. But the circumstances that made me do this mistake were very hard on me.

To avoid the future problems easy solution is withdraw the application and reapply only after more than 730 days physical presence in Canada.

 

[vop]

To avoid the future problems easy solution is withdraw the application and reapply only after more than 730 days physical presence in Canada.

I never thought someone with 4 years would ever go to secondary review. Also, didnt u have your entry records into Canada which showed you were away because of your second entry ? That might've raised a flag in itself.

Why didnt u just apply for citizenship ? If you have enough days, cant you just withdraw your PR application and apply for citizenship ? You can then, probably make the correction in the new application. A lawyer can surely guide you on the right approach. But for both, you would need to show all entry-exits for past 5 or 6 years depending on the application. So its best to correct the record especially if its an innocent mistake. They might ask you why you dont have an entry stamp on your passport but as long as you can provide an alternative record of entry into your country, it is okay. But its always best to put as accurate times on all applications because it becomes part of a written record that you are signing and submitting especially regarding accuracy. Maybe a lawyer can look through your entire application more thoroughly. On this forum and especially in secondary review, I have seen folks who have made minor errors of not remembering dates correctly in visits to the US etc and immigration officers have asked for clarification and once clarified, normally, they are almost always forgiven.

But blatant violations like pretending to work somewhere, fraudulent passport stamps etc, like recent residency investigation cases, they are coming hard on them because its wilful and also, its in addition to date mixup etc.

 

[karmanourouni]

Thank you heeradepak and vop. I appreciate your replies. The mistake was an outcome of a very tough situation on me. I am very honest about what I'm saying and that's why I am not counting this year as part of my residency and that's also why I didn't apply for citizenship.
Does anyone know what is the meaning of 'abandoned' because in the letter they mentioned for me that if I don't reply within the specified time, the application will be abandoned and then I will need a new application with new fees and documents.
Thanks,

 

[dpenabill]

I never thought someone with 4 years would ever go to secondary review.

As I have previously noted, many do indeed have the impression that Secondary Review is about compliance with the PR Residency Obligation, and that is not true, rather the opposite is the case. If the issue is compliance with the PR RO, the case goes to the local office for a Residency Determination, not into Secondary Review in Sydney.

karmanourouni: Best to take your copies of all your paperwork, including your copy of the application you made, and take these to a competent, reputable, immigration lawyer (not a consultant) for at least a consultation. Your mistake may be serious or not so serious, and it is not possible to discern that in the abstract, and this is not a venue suitable for fully disclosing such details. In particular, best to only go into the details with a lawyer, in a communication which will be protected by lawyer-client confidentiality.

If there was a substantial misrepresentation made to Canadian authorities, that can indeed be a very serious matter (even criminal). It can help to sort these things out sooner rather than waiting. So I disagree with the idea that withdrawing the application is likely to help much. But again, to know whether or not this is serious, best to consult with a lawyer about the details.