Pr visa is in final stage, can my husband land in canada then return to Ireland?

[pmb]

My husband has just been notified that he will be getting the PR visa. If he lands in Canada within the specified dates, can he return to Ireland to settle up our personal affairs and his business contract? If so, how long does he have to settle personal affairs before returning to Canada? Once he gets the PR can he enter and exit whenever he wants? We have a business in Ireland and he still wants to keep up with the managing side of things. Will immigration send us the information on getting settled in Canada once the visa is ready?

 

[rhcohen2014]

yes, your husband is free to travel whenever and whereever he wants. what people get concerned about is the "condition 51" and the number of days a person must live within canada to maintain pr. If your husband spends months apart from you in another country, then it *may* be a concern. short trips for business or vacation that a normal person would do are ok. no one knows how condition 51 is going to be handled in the future, and your husband has plenty of time to aquire the specific number of days to maintain pr status. i believe he needs to be in canada 2 out of 5 years.

Your husband is now a pr. he has all the priveledges of living and working in canada, that includes the freedom to travel for business or vacation. if he's not with you on these trips, and if he's not permanently stationed overseas for work, then these days can't be counted toward his total days in canada. that is all that means.

 

[pmb]

Thank you for clearing up that issue. Do we have to arrive together or can he come alone? I was thinking of moving with the children (who are Canadian citizens ) a few weeks before to look for housing.

 

[rhcohen2014]

i don't think it's a requirement for the sponsor to be with the pr applicant when landing. if it was, it would be listed on the COPR, which it's not. the sponsor won't be able to do anything at landing except wait for the PR to finalize the process. if the sponsor accompanies the pr at landing, i think it's more for "emotional support" or because they are also moving to canada. i'm not even sure if they let the sponsor into secondary with the PR when the paperwork is being done.

 

[Rob_TO]

Since you have children together that means he most likely doesn't have "condition 51" PR, so you shouldn't have to worry at all about cohabitation. So he would be able to return to Ireland on his own for an extended time with no problems.

Just keep in mind it will take around 2 months for CIC to mail him the PR card to a Canadian address after he lands. He can still travel back to Ireland, but when returning to Canada will need to consider:
- When PR card arrives in Canada, you can courier it to him in Ireland
- If he want to return but with no PR card, he may need to travel as a tourist on his visa-exempt passport with the airline, since airline may not recognize the COPR. Some airlines are picky about traveling on 1-way tickets to Canada with no PR card. Once back in Canada though, only COPR + passport is needed at immigration.