Hello
I'm an American citizen married to a Canadian citizen. I was sponsored by my wife under family class status and received a record of landing document in 2001 (It's an IMM 1000 and was issued prior to the implementation of the COPR). We lived in Calgary for six years with only short travels outside Canada for vacation. I received my first PR card in 2003 when the program started and let it lapse in 2008 while we lived outside Canada. We've been living together outside Canada since 2007.
We'd like to return to Canada permanently and I want to apply for a new PR card as soon as we return. From what I understand, I can count my time outside Canada with a Canadian citizen spouse as time spent in Canada to satisfy the residency requirements of a permanent resident as long as we supply the following mandatory documents: (the information is from the Canadian immigration website).
My wife has USA/Canadian dual citizenship. In the time we've spent living outside Canada, my wife has always traveled using her US passport for simplicity purposes. We've lived in Malaysia and Thailand during the prior five year period on retirement visas which show her nationality as USA and the passport number of her US passport. My wife has maintained her Canadian passport and and received a new Canadian passport in 2016 during a visit to Canada. We do have lease agreements and utility bills proving her residential addresses and our original marriage certificate to satisfy the third and fourth mandatory documents.
The rules don't seem to state that the passport or travel documents used by the Canadian citizen spouse for travel outside Canada must have been a Canadian passport. In fact, the second condition (documents showing the citizenship of the person I am accompanying) is mandatory and IN ADDITION TO the first condition.
Does anyone know or have any input if my Canadian citizen wife's use of a non Canadian passport as a travel document might affect my eligibility to use our time outside Canada as time spent in Canada for the purpose of satisfying my residency requirement? Could this be something I'd need an immigration lawyer's help with?
All comments are greatly appreciated. Many thanks to all.
I'm an American citizen married to a Canadian citizen. I was sponsored by my wife under family class status and received a record of landing document in 2001 (It's an IMM 1000 and was issued prior to the implementation of the COPR). We lived in Calgary for six years with only short travels outside Canada for vacation. I received my first PR card in 2003 when the program started and let it lapse in 2008 while we lived outside Canada. We've been living together outside Canada since 2007.
We'd like to return to Canada permanently and I want to apply for a new PR card as soon as we return. From what I understand, I can count my time outside Canada with a Canadian citizen spouse as time spent in Canada to satisfy the residency requirements of a permanent resident as long as we supply the following mandatory documents: (the information is from the Canadian immigration website).
- all passports or other travel documents that the person you are accompanying used in the five (5) years before the application;
- documents showing the citizenship of the person you are accompanying, including the date the person became a Canadian citizen;
- proof of the residential addresses of the person you are accompanying for the five (5) years before the application;
- marriage licence or proof of common-law partnership (if you are accompanying a spouse or common-law partner);
My wife has USA/Canadian dual citizenship. In the time we've spent living outside Canada, my wife has always traveled using her US passport for simplicity purposes. We've lived in Malaysia and Thailand during the prior five year period on retirement visas which show her nationality as USA and the passport number of her US passport. My wife has maintained her Canadian passport and and received a new Canadian passport in 2016 during a visit to Canada. We do have lease agreements and utility bills proving her residential addresses and our original marriage certificate to satisfy the third and fourth mandatory documents.
The rules don't seem to state that the passport or travel documents used by the Canadian citizen spouse for travel outside Canada must have been a Canadian passport. In fact, the second condition (documents showing the citizenship of the person I am accompanying) is mandatory and IN ADDITION TO the first condition.
Does anyone know or have any input if my Canadian citizen wife's use of a non Canadian passport as a travel document might affect my eligibility to use our time outside Canada as time spent in Canada for the purpose of satisfying my residency requirement? Could this be something I'd need an immigration lawyer's help with?
All comments are greatly appreciated. Many thanks to all.
