zhyc1989 said:
Hi guys I have a question about my PR
I became a PR last year and my wife is a Canadian ciitzen. Recently, we decide to move to China due to my job issue. I was told that accompanying a Canadian citizen outside Canada also count to my PR residency requirement.
My questions is:
Is it matter who is accompanying whom? Does my wife must find a job or she just simply live with me is enough to keep my PR?
short answer:
Yes, so long as the two of you are
living together abroad, time together counts toward meeting the PR Residency Obligation.
Longer explanation:
Current law and policy (this is IRPA section A28(2)(a)(ii) in the Act, and IRPA Regulation 61(4), in particular) specifically gives PRs a credit toward compliance with the PR Residency Obligation for days the PR is abroad
accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse
with whom the PR is ordinarily residing.
Thus,
current practice allows the credit based on showing the couple are living together abroad. The applicable operational manual, ENF 23 Loss of Permanent Resident Status (see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/enf/enf23-eng.pdf and section 7.5 in particular) states:
"In the case of a permanent resident outside Canada accompanying a Canadian citizen, it is not necessary to determine who is accompanying whom, nor is it necessary to determine for what purpose. In other words, [under the applicable statute and regulation], as long as a permanent resident is accompanying a Canadian citizen, the intent and purpose of their absences are not relevant as the residency obligation is met."
Historically there were some isolated cases where who accompanied whom was an issue, but those were in unusual circumstances and involved PRs who had been living abroad a long time and then married a Canadian citizen, among other very particular circumstances triggering concerns in their specific situations (the two I am thinking of also involved some concerns about the genuineness of the relationship itself).
Note: The law is always subject to change. There are no suggestions this might change in the foreseeable future. No reason to think there will be any changes to this. But if you end up living abroad long-term, obviously you should keep track of any prospective changes in the law.
