Renounce PR through cic web site or enter Canada with an unfulfilled RO

[englishpatient2006]

Dear all,

I cannot fulfill the residency obligation and my wife and daughter are still staying in Canada as PR. They should have completed for 4 years' residency obligation this Sep/16 and can apply for citizenship. I need to go to Canada this Aug and then fly with my daughter to the US. Since I cannot fulfill residency obligation, I am wondering which is the better way:
(1) Renounce my PR status through CIC web site
(2) tell the situation to immigration officer at the port of entry i.e. Vancouver.

I think I can save a lot of hassle if I go for alternative 1. If I go for (2), will I run the risk that they will not allow me to enter Canada?

Kindly advise

Thanks

 

[Leon]

They can not forbid you from entering Canada. Worst they can do is either report you for not meeting the RO which will lead to loss of PR or offer you to renounce your PR on the spot.

If you renounce your PR now, if you are not visa exempt, you would need to apply for a TRV to go to Canada in August and there is no guarantee that you would get one. If you are visa exempt, for example if you are actually English like your username indicates, then you would not need a visa, however, after September, you will have to apply for an eTA but that is not a big deal.

 

[roopakamath]

Hi Leon

I would be grateful if you could help us to resolve my query.

My husband, myself and my child of 7 years got Canada PR 2 years back. We had Indian passports then. We landed in July 2014 spent a week and our PR card came in Sep 2014 and shows expiry of Sep 2019. So 2 years have passed and 3 years are pending. Now in Sep 2016, I am moving with my child to Canada. I and my son are still Indian passport holders. My husband recently took Portugal passport which is visa exempt to Canada and surrendered his Indian passport.

My questions are
1) Since 3 years(valid till sep 2019) are still pending for expiry of card will I face any problems to enter Canada?

2) My husband plans to visit us once every 2 months for the next few years. Can my husband enter Canada with his PR card for next 3 years until Sep 2019 i.e. fly from Dubai to canada and visit us? I believe he should not face any problem till Sep 2017. What will happen between 2017 and 2019 since his PR card is valid till 2019? Does the cbsa interview PR card holders or is there an automated machine at airport where he can scan his PR card and enter?

3)If he is flying from Dubai to Canada I believe now he needs ETA for Portugal passport holders. Since he has a PR card he will not be give ETA. Can he then surrender his PR card and apply for ETA. What is the chance he will not be given an ETA despite having European passport. An important update is that Indian passportholders in Dubai who have UAE residence visa on their passports are not being given tourist visas even to visit their families to Canada. If he has UAE residence visa on his passport will he be give an ETA if he surrenders his PR card?

4)instead of applying for ETA he can fly to USA and enter by bus into Canada with a visa exempt passport and honestly declare he is PR but he wishes to surrender his PR and enter Canada as a tourist on visa exempt passport. Will he face any problem and can he be disallowed entry as a tourist on visa exempt passport through land border of USA?

5)My husband has no interest in PR or citizenship of Canada. It is only for our son we will sacrifice. But will he be able to meet us every few months for the next 4 years till we meet our residency requirement? What is your suggestion?

regards
roopa


It seems for Indian passport holders in Dubai they are not giving tourist visa to visit Canada.

They can not forbid you from entering Canada. Worst they can do is either report you for not meeting the RO which will lead to loss of PR or offer you to renounce your PR on the spot.

If you renounce your PR now, if you are not visa exempt, you would need to apply for a TRV to go to Canada in August and there is no guarantee that you would get one. If you are visa exempt, for example if you are actually English like your username indicates, then you would not need a visa, however, after September, you will have to apply for an eTA but that is not a big deal.

 

[ASAINI]

Hi Leon

I would be grateful if you could help us to resolve my query.

My husband, myself and my child of 7 years got Canada PR 2 years back. We had Indian passports then. We landed in July 2014 spent a week and our PR card came in Sep 2014 and shows expiry of Sep 2019. So 2 years have passed and 3 years are pending. Now in Sep 2016, I am moving with my child to Canada. I and my son are still Indian passport holders. My husband recently took Portugal passport which is visa exempt to Canada and surrendered his Indian passport.

My questions are
1) Since 3 years(valid till sep 2019) are still pending for expiry of card will I face any problems to enter Canada?

2) My husband plans to visit us once every 2 months for the next few years. Can my husband enter Canada with his PR card for next 3 years until Sep 2019 i.e. fly from Dubai to canada and visit us? I believe he should not face any problem till Sep 2017. What will happen between 2017 and 2019 since his PR card is valid till 2019? Does the cbsa interview PR card holders or is there an automated machine at airport where he can scan his PR card and enter?

3)If he is flying from Dubai to Canada I believe now he needs ETA for Portugal passport holders. Since he has a PR card he will not be give ETA. Can he then surrender his PR card and apply for ETA. What is the chance he will not be given an ETA despite having European passport. An important update is that Indian passportholders in Dubai who have UAE residence visa on their passports are not being given tourist visas even to visit their families to Canada. If he has UAE residence visa on his passport will he be give an ETA if he surrenders his PR card?

4)instead of applying for ETA he can fly to USA and enter by bus into Canada with a visa exempt passport and honestly declare he is PR but he wishes to surrender his PR and enter Canada as a tourist on visa exempt passport. Will he face any problem and can he be disallowed entry as a tourist on visa exempt passport through land border of USA?

5)My husband has no interest in PR or citizenship of Canada. It is only for our son we will sacrifice. But will he be able to meet us every few months for the next 4 years till we meet our residency requirement? What is your suggestion?

regards
roopa


It seems for Indian passport holders in Dubai they are not giving tourist visa to visit Canada.

Hi,

Please note that PR card expiry date has nothing to do with the PR status.
Your 5 years or 1825 days period has started from the day you first landed in Canada i.e. in July 2014. Which means your 5 years period will be from July 2014 to July 2019.
As long as you have not spent more than 1094 days outside of Canada starting from the date of landing (July 2014) you are good. However it is not recommended to cut it too close.

Your husband can enter Canada with out any issues till he has less than 1094 days outside of Canada. However once he spends more than that and CBSA sees it that he is not fulfilling Residency Obligation, they will report him or may ask him to renounce PR status. Until he renounce his PR status or it has been revoked by IRCC, CBSA cannot deny him entry to Canada even if he is in breach of Residency Obligation.

I am sorry but I don't have much idea about issue related to ETA/Visitor VISA and UAE residence VISA.

 

[frege]

Hi Leon

I would be grateful if you could help us to resolve my query.

My husband, myself and my child of 7 years got Canada PR 2 years back. We had Indian passports then. We landed in July 2014 spent a week and our PR card came in Sep 2014 and shows expiry of Sep 2019. So 2 years have passed and 3 years are pending. Now in Sep 2016, I am moving with my child to Canada. I and my son are still Indian passport holders. My husband recently took Portugal passport which is visa exempt to Canada and surrendered his Indian passport.

My questions are
1) Since 3 years(valid till sep 2019) are still pending for expiry of card will I face any problems to enter Canada?

2) My husband plans to visit us once every 2 months for the next few years. Can my husband enter Canada with his PR card for next 3 years until Sep 2019 i.e. fly from Dubai to canada and visit us? I believe he should not face any problem till Sep 2017. What will happen between 2017 and 2019 since his PR card is valid till 2019? Does the cbsa interview PR card holders or is there an automated machine at airport where he can scan his PR card and enter?

3)If he is flying from Dubai to Canada I believe now he needs ETA for Portugal passport holders. Since he has a PR card he will not be give ETA. Can he then surrender his PR card and apply for ETA. What is the chance he will not be given an ETA despite having European passport. An important update is that Indian passportholders in Dubai who have UAE residence visa on their passports are not being given tourist visas even to visit their families to Canada. If he has UAE residence visa on his passport will he be give an ETA if he surrenders his PR card?

4)instead of applying for ETA he can fly to USA and enter by bus into Canada with a visa exempt passport and honestly declare he is PR but he wishes to surrender his PR and enter Canada as a tourist on visa exempt passport. Will he face any problem and can he be disallowed entry as a tourist on visa exempt passport through land border of USA?

5)My husband has no interest in PR or citizenship of Canada. It is only for our son we will sacrifice. But will he be able to meet us every few months for the next 4 years till we meet our residency requirement? What is your suggestion?

regards
roopa


It seems for Indian passport holders in Dubai they are not giving tourist visa to visit Canada.

1. You won't have problems. Your PR will be valid until at least July 2017.

2. Your husband might lose his PR sometime soon after July 2017, depending on how much time he spends in Canada before then, and on whether a border guard chooses to report him. In that case, he won't lose his PR immediately. He will be able to enter Canada, but might lose his PR a month or two later. If he does lose his PR, he will be able to enter on his Portuguese passport as a visitor after that.

3. I don't know. If he applies for an eTA, the system may tell him he is ineligible because he is a permanent resident. In that case, he will need to use his PR card to enter Canada, and it will mean that the CBSA has connected his Portuguese passport and PR card.

He won't need an eTA to cross into Canada by land from the United States. If you live close to a major U.S. airport, this could be an alternative to getting an eTA.

4. He doesn't need to surrender his PR yet. If he wants to give up his PR voluntarily, then he will need to make an application. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5781ETOC.asp

If he surrenders or loses his PR, then he will likely be allowed to visit without difficulty on his Portuguese passport. If he has proof of having a job in Europe, then he is very unlikely to have problems.

5. He probably won't have any difficulty for visits of up to six months at a time.

Also, you may be interested in knowing that the current government in Canada intends to change the residency requirement to just three years for citizenship. This will probably be in the next year.

 

[roopakamath]

Thank you Frege and Asaini for your valuable guidance.

Regards
Roopa

 

[roopakamath]

Hi

If the new bill changes the citizenship to 3 out of 4 years. So if I come to Canada in Sep 2016 can I leave Canada after Sep 2019 after staying for 3 years and filing my citizenship application? Do I have to continuously reside in Canada till my citizenship application is decided?

regards
roopa

 

[frege]

Hi

If the new bill changes the citizenship to 3 out of 4 years. So if I come to Canada in Sep 2016 can I leave Canada after Sep 2019 after staying for 3 years and filing my citizenship application? Do I have to continuously reside in Canada till my citizenship application is decided?

regards
roopa

The new bill will ask for three years' residence out of five, not out of four. There are also requirements for filing taxes.

You need to still meet the PR requirement when you take your oath. If there is a very long delay in your citizenship application, then living outside Canada could prevent you from meeting your PR requirements at the time of the oath.

It will be much safer if you give yourself a few extra months beyond the three years, so that there is no doubt. The problem is if CIC doesn't believe your evidence that you've been in Canada for three years. If you have evidence of three years and three or four months, it's harder for them to believe that you were really in the country for less than three years.

Also have a look at this page to see what kinds of records you need to keep while you're in Canada: https://residencequestionnaire.wordpress.com/advice-to-future-applicants/record-keeping/

 

[roopakamath]

Hi

The Canadian immigration website states that "A visa-exempt foreign national is a person who is not a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, and who does not normally need a visa to enter Canada."

You said "If he surrenders or loses his PR, then he will likely be allowed to visit without difficulty on his Portuguese passport. "

But if he has not yet surrendered his PR card then can he allowed to visit Canada on his Portuguese passport as a visitor or does the border guard have the powers to deny him entry even as a visitor even if he has been truthful? Is it possible to cancel the PR card at the border by informing the officer that he is not interested in PR and henceforth wants to enter Canada as visitor only on his visa exempt passport. Do you know of any case where the PR holder surrenders his PR card at the border and enters Canada on visa exempt passport as a visitor? Is there any lawyer you can suggest whom I can pay and consult?

regards
roopa

 

[frege]

Hi

The Canadian immigration website states that "A visa-exempt foreign national is a person who is not a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, and who does not normally need a visa to enter Canada."

You said "If he surrenders or loses his PR, then he will likely be allowed to visit without difficulty on his Portuguese passport. "

But if he has not yet surrendered his PR card then can he allowed to visit Canada on his Portuguese passport as a visitor or does the border guard have the powers to deny him entry even as a visitor even if he has been truthful? Is it possible to cancel the PR card at the border by informing the officer that he is not interested in PR and henceforth wants to enter Canada as visitor only on his visa exempt passport. Do you know of any case where the PR holder surrenders his PR card at the border and enters Canada on visa exempt passport as a visitor? Is there any lawyer you can suggest whom I can pay and consult?

regards
roopa

Your husband will not lose his PR involuntarily until a month or two after he is reported by a border guard when he enters Canada and no longer satisfies the residency obligation, and the border guard suspects this. There is a procedure for renouncing PR status explained on the CIC website, and I'm not sure whether this can be done at the border. If your husband wants to voluntarily renounce his PR, then he should follow that process.

I don't know of a national directory of immigration lawyers. There are some provincial ones, I think. What province will you be living in?