PRC expires before residency obligations are met, must travel soon

[AmandaK]

Hello senior members..

• My PRC will expire on April 1st 2013.
• I will only be able to meet the residency obligations of 730 days by June 1st 2013 (assuming I remain in Canada continuously until then)
• I don't have a good excuse for not meeting the residency obligations before my PRC expires,
• But I may have good compassionate reasons for needing to travel from March to July.
• I looked extensively into applying for a PR Travel Document, but concluded it is not an option in my case.
• I'm thinking I should apply to renew my PRC on an urgent basis in order to be able to travel by March.

Questions:

1. Is it a bad idea to apply for a PRC renewal on an urgent basis if I haven't yet met the residency obligations and will not meet them by the time my PRC expires?
2. Will I risk being denied renewal because I'll have applied before meeting the residency obligations?
3. Will my compassionate reasons for needing to travel be considered in renewing my PRC? Or will they be discarded because they don't justify why I haven't met the residency obligations so far?

Thank you!

 

[scylla]

1. It's a very bad idea to apply for PR renewal if you haven't met the residency requirement. If you apply on an urgent basis without meeting the residency requirements, you can expect processing to far exceed the stated processing times and you'll probably have difficulty being approved. You really really need to wait until you meet residency obligations before applying.
2. Yes - you certainly risk being denied because you haven't met the residency obligation.
3. No - I don't think they will be considered.

 

[Leon]

Look at it this way.. if you leave and end up outside Canada applying for a travel document, you can only explain this last short trip as having compassionate grounds to it. The rest of your absences which must be more than 1095 days if you are unable to meet your 730 day requirements do not have compassionate grounds and therefore you will likely be denied a travel document and lose your PR.

 

[Msafiri]

Hello senior members..

• My PRC will expire on April 1st 2013.
• I will only be able to meet the residency obligations of 730 days by June 1st 2013 (assuming I remain in Canada continuously until then)
• I don't have a good excuse for not meeting the residency obligations before my PRC expires,
• But I may have good compassionate reasons for needing to travel from March to July.
• I looked extensively into applying for a PR Travel Document, but concluded it is not an option in my case.
• I'm thinking I should apply to renew my PRC on an urgent basis in order to be able to travel by March.

Questions:

1. Is it a bad idea to apply for a PRC renewal on an urgent basis if I haven't yet met the residency obligations and will not meet them by the time my PRC expires?
2. Will I risk being denied renewal because I'll have applied before meeting the residency obligations?
3. Will my compassionate reasons for needing to travel be considered in renewing my PRC? Or will they be discarded because they don't justify why I haven't met the residency obligations so far?

Thank you!

1. What are the compassionate reasons for your travel? What an applicant believes these reasons to be can often be different to what the case law is.
2. Are you a citizen of a country that is visitor visa exempt to Canada?
3. Do you hold a valid US visa?

 

[AmandaK]

thanks Scylla and Leon. I have another question for you..

If my application for a Travel Document gets denied, how badly does that affect my chances of renewing my PR when I apply with 730 days in hand? I remember reading a question in one of the forms about whether "an officer has decided that you do not meet residency obligations before", or something like that.

Msafiri: my compassionate grounds is that I had a terrible accident/surgery during my last visit to that country, and now I need to go back there for post-surgery follow up and to file a lawsuit etc. I have all medical records to prove it.
I dont have a US visa and I'm not exempt from a visit visa to canada.

 

[Msafiri]

thanks Scylla and Leon. I have another question for you..

If my application for a Travel Document gets denied, how badly does that affect my chances of renewing my PR when I apply with 730 days in hand? I remember reading a question in one of the forms about whether "an officer has decided that you do not meet residency obligations before", or something like that.

Msafiri: my compassionate grounds is that I had a terrible accident/surgery during my last visit to that country, and now I need to go back there for post-surgery follow up and to file a lawsuit etc. I have all medical records to prove it.
I dont have a US visa and I'm not exempt from a visit visa to canada.

Sorry to learn of your situation. Case law shows accidents/ surgery and legal issues such as those you mention are considered under H&C grounds. Are you able to have the surgery in Canada...my understanding is that usually countries that are not visitor visa exempt to Canada will have a less developed medical system. Also can you delay your lawsuit or start the process whilst in Canada?

Being visa exempt means you can travel to Canada without a Travel Document and take your chances with the CBSA agent at the border. There are posts on the forum of those who got in with little or no questioning but then there are some that got reported which is the start of CIC revoking your PR. Having a US visa means you can enter via a land border with Canada and again take your chances at the border. These options are not available to you.

If you apply for a TD it will take some time to make a decision and depending on the H&C grounds then you may or may not be succesful. If its denied then you can appeal within 60 days. If you have been in Canada as you would in the 365 days prior to the TD application then you will get a TD to attend the hearing when its listed anywhere between 12-18 months from appeal date. You will be stuck outside Canada until the hearing though. If you can't get into Canada then a PR Card application is moot. If you do get into Canada then if you have the 730 days next time you apply for a PR Card you will be successful. Under the Immigration Law (IRPA) CIC must only look at the 5 years prior to your application date. Doesn't matter if you did not meet the RO before then.

Either apply for the PR Card now with the H&C grounds in detail and substantively (not adviceable without having the details of the lawsuit/surgery) or sit it out in Canada (best option) until you meet the RO. IMHO a TD appplication is too risky.

For the benefit of others on the forum this thread highlights the risk of not having a buffer for those that enter Canada at the 3/post 3 year mark in the 5 year Residence Obligation window.

 

[AmandaK]

Thanks Msafiri, that was really helpful.

Do you think I have good grounds to apply urgently for my PRC renewal though? considering that my H&C grounds can only justify why I need to travel now, but they do not justify why I will not have met my residency obligation by the time my PRC expires.

Another note: I do not yet have any papers or proof to show that the intent of my trip is to file a lawsuit etc. My plan is to go there and start all the legal work. Will the lack of those legal documents weaken my H&C case?

 

[steaky]

I dont have a US visa and I'm not exempt from a visit visa to canada.

Then apply one and try to take your chances in a land border, if you really need to file the lawsuit.

 

[Leon]

thanks Scylla and Leon. I have another question for you..

If my application for a Travel Document gets denied, how badly does that affect my chances of renewing my PR when I apply with 730 days in hand? I remember reading a question in one of the forms about whether "an officer has decided that you do not meet residency obligations before", or something like that.

Msafiri: my compassionate grounds is that I had a terrible accident/surgery during my last visit to that country, and now I need to go back there for post-surgery follow up and to file a lawsuit etc. I have all medical records to prove it.
I dont have a US visa and I'm not exempt from a visit visa to canada.

As you can not apply for a travel document beforehand from within Canada, you have to apply for it from the outside when you want to return, if you were denied a travel document, you would be unable to return to Canada and therefore you would be unable to ever reach your 730 days. It is also commonly so that being refused a travel document starts the proceedings automatically to revoke your PR.

If you had an accident while on your last trip, would that not be a H&C reason why you could not return to Canada in time to be able to meet your residency requirements? How long did you have to stay outside Canada after your accident? This would really help your chances of getting a travel document if you can claim that you could have met the residency requirements if it weren't for your accident. However, since you can't apply in advance, you would be taking a risk by leaving that you might not be able to return.

Applying now to renew your PR card on an urgent basis will not help. Since you do not meet the residency requirements, there is no urgent basis for you. Your application will almost certainly require an interview and this can take a year or even longer in some cases. In my opinion you would be better off waiting until June and applying then. Is there no way you can postpone this operation and legal proceedings until then? Even if you do not have a PR card yet at the time you leave, you would be able to get a travel document to get back if you have 730 days in Canada in the past 5 years when you apply.

 

[AmandaK]

Hi Leon

The accident resulted in me having to stay much longer than I had planned in that country to recover from surgery etc. But I had already exceeded 1095 days outside Canada before I took the trip that resulted in the accident. So I guess the accident will not justify why I wont be meeting the residency obligations by the time my PRC expires.

I think sticking it out in Canada until I cover 730 days is the safest and most logical approach in my case, unfortunately. Even though I will be risking losing the opportunity for a legal proceeding if I wait until June.

The problem is: if they consider how many days I spent inside Canada from the date I landed to the date my PRC expires (which is a window of 5 years and 20 days), I would've been able to cover 730 days if it werent for the accident. But because they only look at the last 5 years, and not the validity duration of my PRC, I come up short on my physical days in Canada. Unless I'm wrong about this, I may have a chance.

any ideas?

 

[Leon]

They only look at a 5 year period so if you were to apply now, they look at from the day you landed until 5 years later and have you been outside Canada for 730 days or are you still able to by your PR anniversary.

Can you appoint a representative for your legal proceedings?

I'd like to agree with Msafiri that this is one example why people should try to avoid cutting it close with the residency requirements. Unexpected things can always come up.

 

[AmandaK]

Thanks Leon.

Final question: if I renew my PRC once I've met the RO, how long should I expect the new card to be valid for? another 5 years?

 

[scylla]

Thanks Leon.

Final question: if I renew my PRC once I've met the RO, how long should I expect the new card to be valid for? another 5 years?

Yes - five years.