bruneian said:
Hi everyone,
I became PR two years ago, currently still have my PR card and PR status.
My husband and I both emigrated to New Zealand so now we are living overseas. I have already fulfilled my PR obligations for the current 5 years because the past two years I am physically present in Canada.
1) When do I have to show proof that I am accompanying a Canadian citizen overseas?
2) Would it be when I apply for a travel document when we want to visit Canada again?
3) Am I not allowed to apply for a PR card anymore because I no longer have a permanent address is Canada?
4) Can I use my husband's parent's address when we are back for a visit?
Thank you! :-*
1) When do I have to show proof that I am accompanying a Canadian citizen overseas?
During any transaction with IRCC or CBSA in which your compliance with the PR Residency Obligation is at issue, if you are short of proving presence in Canada for at least two years in the previous five, you may need to show you are eligible for the exception currently given to PRs accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse, including proof of the relationship, proof of spouse's Canadian citizenship, and proof of cohabiting for a sufficient period of time to meet the PR Residency Obligation.
Obviously, availability of this exception, like most of the rules governing PRs, is always subject to change. So it is important, if keeping Canadian PR status is important to you, to stay informed about PR obligations.
Typical transactions with IRCC would be an application for a PR Travel Document or an application for a new PR card.
Typical transaction with CBSA would be a PoE examination upon arriving in Canada.
Any PR may be questioned about compliance with the PR RO any time the PR is at a PoE seeking to re-enter Canada, even PRs carrying and presenting a valid PR card. PRs living in Canada rarely are examined this way when they are returning to Canada from a short trip abroad. PRs living abroad, or who have otherwise been abroad for a lengthy period of time, are more likely to be asked questions related to compliance with the PR RO.
2) Would it be when I apply for a travel document when we want to visit Canada again?
Assuming you are abroad when your PR card expires, you will then need a PR Travel Document to board a flight to Canada. When you apply for the PR TD you will need to document your compliance with the PR RO. If you have been in Canada more than 730 days in the preceding five years, no need to prove eligibility for the accompanying a Canadian citizen exception. If you are short of 730 days in Canada, then you will need to submit proof to document your eligibility for the exception.
Good news for PRs accompanying Canadian citizen spouses abroad is that it appears IRCC has adopted, or is in the process of implementing, a policy of issuing PR TDs valid for more than a single use. The only source I am familiar with confirming this is the guide for applying for a PR TD. See http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5529ETOC.asp#5529E7 and go to the very end, under a heading that says:
"What if I am living outside Canada on a long-term basis?" There it says the PR can request a long-term multiple entry PRTD, and it specifically refers to PRs accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse as an example of those eligible for the long-term multiple entry PRTD.
(I am not sure, but I think this was part of the changes to IRCC's information about PRTDs made in July this year. But there had been some sporadic reports of PRs getting long-term PR TDs previous to that.)
3) Am I not allowed to apply for a PR card anymore because I no longer have a permanent address is Canada?
The current policy only allows a PR to make the application for a new PR card from within Canada. Yes, PRs temporarily in Canada can make the application. But as your final question illustrates, there are issues with doing this.
4) Can I use my husband's parent's address when we are back for a visit?
Use it for what? I do not mean to be coy. But the questions in the application are specific.
To be clear, it is important to provide complete and accurate information, to be truthful. The penalties for misrepresentation, including misrepresentation by omission, are more serious now; IRCC is more diligent in screening for misrepresentations now, and IRCC appears to be stricter in enforcing penalties for misrepresentation.
For a PR accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse abroad, the convenience of obtaining a new PR card is
NOT worth making misrepresentations.
In addition to those items in response to which you need to provide an address history, work history, and travel history, item 12 in the current application form requires the PR to declare his or her
"current residential address in Canada". This is the address where the PR
lives in Canada.
If you are in fact living at the in-laws' address while visiting, sure you can use that address as your current residential address. But remember, the signature box on the form includes your declaration that you
will immediately inform Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada if any of the information or the answers provided in [the] application forms change.
So, if you leave Canada after applying for the PR card, and thus are no longer living at the in-laws' address, you are obligated to promptly notify IRCC of this. And if you notify IRCC you are no longer living in Canada, there is a risk processing the application could be suspended until you are back in Canada.
In the past many played a bit loose in this regard. Perhaps many are still playing this a bit loose and, in effect,
getting away with it. I think some still suggest it is OK to do this. But, to be clear, that suggestion is based on how easy it is to get away with this.
Prudent PRs follow the instructions, play by the rules, and don't make misrepresentations, don't play games with IRCC.
And, now that a long-term multiple-entry PR Travel Document is available, it would be downright foolish, if not stupid, to play games with IRCC just for a chance to have the convenience of a PR card.
