I do not know much about if and when, or under what conditions travel to Canada is or will be available for non-Canadians (that is, Foreign Nationals), like your parents. (Note, in contrast, as PRs you are Canadians, not Foreign Nationals.)
But in regards to keeping your PR status, you are
cutting-it-close.
Hi Everyone,
I have couple of queries related to PR status / its renewal. Me and my family(wife & kid) did a soft landing on 22nd December 2017(basis COPR) in Canada and got our PRs in February 2018 (expiration being Feb'2023). Due to some medical emergencies back home we had to travel back in mid June'2018 making around 5 1/2 months of our stay in Canada. Since then we have been staying in our home country.
We are now planning to travel during last week of May'2021, keeping couple of months(of 2023) as buffer for the renewel process. Also, I would want my parents to stay with me(as they would be totaly alone here and they are quite aged now) in Canada. Keping them alone during covid times might not be good.
But keeping a tab on current covid scenarios(with second wave even more critical) my family is very relunctant to board the flight and move to Canada (as we have 6 year old kid with us).
So, Is there any possibility that an extension can be given atleast till the time vaccination process is through or till the time situation is stabilised a bit. Also, if this ain't possible then can someone please tell me if my parents can also travel with me . They do have valid visitor's visa with them (expiration 2024).
PS: Basis our PR expiration date (and our last day in Canada which was mid june'2018) , I am assuming that we need to spend 1 Year and 7 months (minimum) till Feb'2023 to
reinstate our PR status / extend the expiration date. Please do clear this If I am wrong!!
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks
UPFRONT and IMPORTANT CAUTION: if you remain outside Canada for more than 1095 days since you left in June 2018, you will be in breach of the PR Residency Obligation. You are rapidly approaching this. You are, so to say,
cutting-it-close.
There is no procedure for obtaining an extension to the PR Residency Obligation. The RO is dictated by statute. IRCC has no authority to modify the RO.
The date the PR card expires is NOT relevant.
IRCC, or CBSA officers at a PoE, can allow relief from a breach of the RO if there are sufficient H&C reasons for granting such relief. This is NOT available in advance. And there are no guarantees. But it does offer a decent chance to keep your status even if you fail to get here on time to avoid being in breach of the RO.
Currently it appears that border officials are approaching enforcement of the RO leniently, at least for PRs within the first five years since landing who are making a reasonable effort to come and settle in Canada. There is no formal policy or practice regarding this, at least not any disclosed to the public. So there are no guarantees once a PR has remained outside Canada so long as to be in breach of the RO. Best, safest approach is to avoid a breach of the RO. For you, that means getting to Canada by mid-June at the very latest. (And even then, since you will be
cutting-it-so-close, be sure to have some documentation showing you remained in Canada until mid-June 2018, that is, so you can show evidence tending to prove the days you have been in Canada so far.)
Beyond that:
If, as you say, you landed and became PRs December 22, 2017, your compliance with the PR RO depends on the total number of days you have been IN Canada since then, to date, PLUS the number of days left on the calendar until December 22, 2022, the fifth year anniversary of the date you landed. There are two ways of looking at this:
-- the PR needs to spend at least 730 days in Canada during the first five years, so you can count days IN Canada so far, and add to that the number of future days it is possible you will be in Canada, up to December 22, 2022 (the fifth year anniversary of landing), and if that total is 730 or more, you are in compliance, OR
-- easier way to look at it is to realize the PR cannot spend more than 1095 days outside Canada during the first five years, so until that fifth year anniversary, the PR can keep track of the number of days outside Canada since landing and be sure that number does not go over 1095 (if it goes over 1095, the PR is then in breach and can be issued a Departure Order for inadmissibility, even if the PR card is still valid for many more months, or even more than a year -- again, date PR card expires is NOT relevant)
As of December 22, 2022, and going forward, your compliance with the PR RO will be based on the number of days you have been IN Canada in the five years before the day the calculation is being done. Thus, for example,
-- if you are passing through a PoE on a return trip to Canada on December 28, 2022, to be in compliance with the RO you will need to have been IN Canada at least 730 days between December 28, 2017 and that day at the PoE, December 28, 2022.
-- if you apply for a new PR card February 3, 2023, the initial calculation of RO compliance will be based on the number of days you have been IN Canada between February 3, 2018 and the date of the PR card application, February 3, 2023, and again you will need to have been IN Canada at least 730 days during that period of time.
It gets more complicated if you are not going to make it here by mid-June. That gets into the H&C stuff. That gets into unknowns in regards to how strict border officials will be in even examining you as to RO compliance. If it looks like things are headed in that direction (after all, yeah, making the move right now may be rather difficult), there will be competing interests and priorities to consider, and how you approach things will probably depend on some very personal decision making.
In regards to when it comes time to apply for a new PR Card:
I am assuming that we need to spend 1 Year and 7 months (minimum) till Feb'2023 to reinstate our PR status / extend the expiration date. Please do clear this If I am wrong!!
PR status and PR card validity are different things. As already noted, the expiration date on the PR card is NOT relevant for purposes of evaluating RO compliance. The only thing the expiration date on the PR card matters for is when using the PR card to obtain permission to board a flight to Canada. The PR needs a valid PR card to board a plane flying to Canada.
PR status does not expire. PR status does not need reinstating.
As I noted previously, when you apply for a new PR card, what will matter will be how many days you have been IN Canada within the previous five years as of the date the application is made. (Technically it is different if you apply for a new PR card before the fifth year anniversary, but that discussion would be more a distraction than helpful.)
Bottom-line, if you get to Canada before the third year anniversary of the date you left, and stay, so that you never reach that 1095 plus days outside Canada threshold, you are OK. You will be OK applying for a new PR card just about anytime within a few months before your current cards expire.
If you go past the 1095 days outside Canada threshold, it will take a full TWO YEARS to get back into compliance. Remember, those days you were here in late December 2017 and the first part of 2018 will start dropping out of the calculation as of December 22, 2022 . . . they will no longer count when they are more than five years ago.
