Residency Obligation breached for 5 days please advice(will only have 725 days

[TJ2010]

I landed in April 26, 2013. I returned back with the whole family 60 days later.
We have stayed outside canada until now. I am planning to return back on July 1st
It looks I can only have 725 days in Canada in 5yrs from the first arrival in Canada.
But PR is valid and will be valid till June 2018. I will not really have reasons to need a new card.
Family has no issue. They have returned earlier than me.
Thank you

 

[dpenabill]

I landed in April 26, 2013. I returned back with the whole family 60 days later.
We have stayed outside canada until now. I am planning to return back on July 1st
It looks I can only have 725 days in Canada in 5yrs from the first arrival in Canada.
But PR is valid and will be valid till June 2018. I will not really have reasons to need a new card.
Family has no issue. They have returned earlier than me.
Thank you

Being technically in breach of the PR Residency Obligation does, of course, involve some risk. Moreover, it is probably obvious, since what really matters is whether you have been outside Canada for 1095 days or more since the date of landing (this is easier way of looking at the PR RO for up to the fifth year anniversary of landing), and it appears that as of the date you will arrive it will be more than 1095 days since the last time you were in Canada. That makes the breach rather obvious.

That said, typically the border officials have been relatively flexible if not lenient toward PRs during the first five years so long as it appears the PR has not gone too far away from compliance and is otherwise actually settling in Canada. The trend lately, however, seems to be toward more strict enforcement. We do not see enough reports to reliably assess just how much stricter.

Best to be prepared to explain the reasons why you could not get to Canada sooner, even though you wanted and planned to do so, and to affirm you are coming to settle permanently now. My guess is this is going to go OK but that is just a guess and I am NO expert.

Please let us know how it goes.

 

[TJ2010]

Thank you so much. My reason is that the training program I commenced before I became a permanent resident should have ended last year october. But it couldn't end because of political unrest and industrial action in Nigeria until June 30, 2016. That's why my travel date is July 1st. I already had a ready made employment which will start in July . I also had a fully funded PhD admission at the University of Edinburgh which I am going to do concurrently with the employment offer.

Am I good with this reasons. I have my original admission letter and my offer of employment.

Thank you.

 

[Rob_TO]

Thank you so much. My reason is that the training program I commenced before I became a permanent resident should have ended last year october. But it couldn't end because of political unrest and industrial action in Nigeria until June 30, 2016. That's why my travel date is July 1st. I already had a ready made employment which will start in July . I also had a fully funded PhD admission at the University of Edinburgh which I am going to do concurrently with the employment offer.

Am I good with this reasons. I have my original admission letter and my offer of employment.

Thank you.

Typically going to school or work outside Canada are not considered valid H&C reasons to overcome the RO. So I doubt letters from school/employer would help any.

It's really up to the CBSA officer whether they report you or not. If they do report you, then you can certainly appeal this. The services of a good lawyer would be recommended.

If they don't report you, then you must stay in Canada for 2 straight years without leaving even once, before you are back in compliance with the RO and can then travel again and apply to renew your PR card.

 

[dpenabill]

Typically going to school or work outside Canada are not considered valid H&C reasons to overcome the RO. So I doubt letters from school/employer would help any.

I strongly disagree with this. Especially relative to a mere five days. An honest and complete explanation for why there was a delay is, by far, the best approach to making a persuasive case that one deserves to retain PR status.

Context matters, and can matter a great deal.

While I cannot and do not attempt to forecast the outcome of an H&C case relative to any explanations for failing to meet the full PR Residency Obligation (as I noted above, any breach entails an obvious risk of losing PR status), with some exception for the more obvious scenarios, it is for sure that the explanation (including work or school) MUST be considered by CBSA or IRCC in assessing whether a PR deserves to retain PR status despite a breach of the PR RO. While typical H&C factors play a big role, unlike other types of H&C cases, in PR RO cases additional factors can be very important, like the reasonableness of the PR's decision, the PR's intentions (including as to the future), and overall the extent to which it appears that the PR deserves to retain PR status.

Obviously, these and especially the last are vague and subject to widely varying exercises of discretion. But it is not as if IRCC or CBSA has an agenda to strip PR status based on technicalities (which is not to say that they will not leverage a technicality into cause to strip PR status if and when a PR is perceived to be undeserving). The PR RO is intended to be highly flexible. Yes, the fact the 2/5 rule itself allows for a great deal of flexibility tends to support a more strict enforcement of the 2/5 rule itself, but overall the PR RO is not meant to punish PRs but rather to limit continued PR status to those who really are pursuing a life in Canada.

So, absolutely, be prepared to openly, honestly explain the real reasons why your return to Canada was delayed. And if attending a course of study at a recognized educational institution was part of the reason, be prepared to explain that. And it is even better if indeed you have at least a modicum of supporting documentation, which sure could be letters from the school.

I am NOT predicting the outcome except to guess, and my guess remains that with the minimal shortfall, in conjunction with a reasonable explanation for the delay, it should be OK. But how it actually goes can depend on many, many other factors, including the impression you make, especially the examining officer's perception of your credibility, and so on.

Note, for example, the fact this is during the first five years of PR status is itself a big factor. The same absence for someone who has been a PR much longer would increase the risk, perhaps by a lot. As I said: context matters and it can matter a great deal. Someone who still has nearly two years before his or her first PR card expires has decent odds of being waived into Canada without being questioned much about compliance with the PR RO, and again a mere five days over should be relatively easy to explain in this context. For a PR beyond the first five years, the validity date of the PR card is not much of a factor. (To be clear, technically the validity date of the PR card is NOT relevant to the PR RO; I am talking, here, more about the impression made and contextual factors which can influence what an officer perceives and concludes about the PR.)


AND of course, the extent of the breach is a huge factor. Any breach is a breach, but almost every IAD decision about a breach of the PR RO identifies the extent of the breach as one of the more influential factors. And in this regard, a breach of the PR RO is itself a negative consideration. But how it is assessed is far, far more nuanced than that. Similarly, even though overtly personal choices resulting in staying abroad longer tend to be a negative factor, that does not begin to illuminate how this or that choice can actually influence the H&C assessment. And then there is the relationship between the various factors, including the relationship between what the personal choice was, why that choice was made, and how much it contributed to staying abroad longer.

Difficult H&C cases are highly complex, subject to a broad range of very difficult to predict judgments. And the extent to which any given factor has a negative or positive influence itself varies a good deal: the precise same factor, but in a different context, can have a negative impact for one person and a more positive influence for another.

However, the OP's situation does not appear to be a difficult H&C case, so long as the OP is indeed coming to Canada to settle long term, and of course subject to other factors in the OP's situation and background.

 

[Leon]

I don't think they will report you over 5 days. If they ask, tell the truth, be very polite and apologetic. Tell them that you were unable to come back sooner but you are now ready to settle in Canada and don't plan to leave again.

If they don't report you, you are good but you should not apply to renew your PR card until you have 730 days in Canada, even if it expires in the meantime. You will not have any problems by letting it expire but you will have problems if you try to renew it too soon.

 

[TJ2010]

Thank you for all the responses.

My detail reason is that the training I am undergoing here in Nigeria as a doctor has to be completed for me to be able to get licence to undergo the Job/training offer I got Canada. I was recommended for the job/training I got in Canada and my trainer here insist that I have to complete my training here before I can start the job/training in Canada because that was what was on the recommendation letter and that's the basis on which I was recommended for the job in Canada. I persuaded my bosses here to allow me to take a leave and go in order not to have problem with RO my bosses insisted that they can not lie. That the training is 5 years and they can not release me at 4yr11months. That if I leave before the dot of 5yrs that they will write Canada that I did not finish my training. I also stand a chance of not getting exit certificate for the training in Nigeria if I didn't complete the 5yrs.

I am thought of forgoing the job in Canada and my certificate of the 5 yrs training and purse just the PhD admission. But 5 yrs of my life is too much to forgo and the job I got in Canada which will give me a lot of Canadian experience is a very scare job/training to get. My doctors in Canada ca not even smell the doors of hospital talkless of getting a job/training program. My bosses graduated from a Canadian University and my training was recognised unlike most training in Nigeria/Africa.

I am between deep blue sea and a red devil. Decision is too difficult for me.

Forgoing Nigerian certificate and Canadian job and prospect for fulfilling 5 days of RO. Which is bigger.

 

[dpenabill]

If you are further explaining your reasons for not coming until July 1st, odds are good there will be no serious problem. A reasonable explanation based on your circumstances should make things go OK.

If you are, in contrast, explaining why you are wrestling with the idea of staying longer abroad, that is a far more difficult decision to make.

Without trying to unravel the details in your situation, your first post indicated a return to Canada July 1 this year. And that at that time you would be short of compliance with the PR RO by five days. In other words, you will have been absent for 1100 days as of July 1st. And your PR card is valid until June 2018. You are technically in breach of the PR RO, but as discussed above the odds should be good that this plan, the plan to return to live in Canada as of July first, goes OK.

BUT if you are considering a further delay before you come to stay in Canada, obviously the risks go up.

H&C reasons for allowing a PR to retain PR status despite a breach of the PR RO are not subject to definitive calculations. That is why I disagreed with the statement that there is no point documenting reasons based on attending an educational program abroad. It is not that simple. The reasons for a personal choice can be more or less problematic. They may even be a positive factor depending on how reasonable the choice was in that individual's specific circumstances.

How long it leads to staying abroad is a really important circumstance.

A personal decision which results in being abroad five days longer should be easily justified.

A personal decision which results in being abroad five months longer is more difficult to justify.

That is: the same reason which will be OK for being five days short of RO compliance might not be OK for falling short five months.

A sufficient reason for being five months short might not be anywhere near good enough to justify falling a year or more short.

Depends!

In any event, if you are considering staying abroad longer, or going back abroad after a short visit to Canada, that complicates things. That leads to a more complex and thus more difficult to make H&C case. Many other factors are still important. The more time you spend abroad, the more difficult.

If you are still planning to come July 1st, you should be OK. No one here or anywhere can guarantee that it will be OK, but it should be, the odds are it will be.

By the way: while it can be prohibitively expensive for some, periodic trips to Canada can be a big positive factor, especially during the first five years and in terms of how it goes at the PoE upon arrival. After all, the main flag for you is that you have now been abroad for 1100 days or so (or will be soon), which is an obvious breach. In contrast, if you had been spending some holidays in Canada, and upon arrival were asked when was the last time you were in Canada, and could honestly answer a time less than a year ago, that would give you great odds of being waived through with no Secondary examination (assuming you were otherwise still just five days short of compliance with the PR RO). This also factors into the extent of ties one has with Canada. More ties in Canada is another very important, largely positive factor in the H&C analysis.

Again, so many individual factors can influence not only the weight of other factors, but even whether this or that other factor is negative or positive, it is not practical to make predictions about how any individual's case will actually go.

Key factors, however, include: extent of breach (days absent over 1095); extent of ties in Canada (with the prospective impact on children being a big part of this); extent to which reasons for being abroad were beyond the PR's control or a matter of personal choice (subject to much variability depending on the reasonableness of the choice compared to commitment to live in Canada); and the PR's credibility. Each of these are, in turn, subject to additional factors affecting their influence in the particular case. And of course there are many other factors as well, such as the PR's future intentions.

If you go beyond a matter of days in breach, into the range of being months in breach, it gets a lot more complicated, and more difficult.


Important caution: Be honest at the PoE. Do not be evasive. Your credibility is your biggest asset. Your credibility becomes your worst nightmare if it is compromised.

Beyond that, life does indeed throw all sorts of conflicts at us sometimes. Some decisions are harder than others. Ultimately, whether PR status in Canada is more important than a career opportunity, or it is the other way around, is a very personal decision. You have to weigh what is important to you and make the decision for yourself.

 

[TJ2010]

Thank you so much. I am grateful.

 

[Mrmr]

I landed in April 26, 2013. I returned back with the whole family 60 days later.
We have stayed outside canada until now. I am planning to return back on July 1st
It looks I can only have 725 days in Canada in 5yrs from the first arrival in Canada.
But PR is valid and will be valid till June 2018. I will not really have reasons to need a new card.
Family has no issue. They have returned earlier than me.
Thank you

My advice is based on solid knowledge,do not renew on June 2018 wait a few month till you meet the requirement. there is no issues at all with an expired PR card except for not being able to travel.