Return Query 2

[Samp1975]

Dear All

This is another line of thought to my previous mail in order to allow my child to finish up her academic year before returning to Canada.

Scenario

- My family & I landed on April 30, 2015 & returned on May 15,2015 [15 days in Canada]

- My family and I would like return to Canada at the end of June, 2018.

- This would mean, when we return and are up for the PR renewal in 2020, we will short of our obligation by 60 days.

Query

- More importantly will the above create a problem in 2020 when renewing our PR Cards? Will it affect our PR status?

- To circumvent the above, could we actually apply for the renewal 2 months after the expiry to actually complete 2 year obligation?

Facts

- I have a Brother and parents who are 'resident' citizens for the past 15 & 10+ years respectively.

- On our landing, we opened a joint bank account before leaving. We have been doing transactions through credit cards to build up a decent credit history without defaulting.

- Our main aim to buy property, get jobs and get into the system when we arrive in 2018.


Your answers will really help us plan.

regards

 

[mats]

Why plan to cut it close when you have time to come early? Also just making 730 is risky if IRCC finds out you are not meeting the RO the onus is on you to prove otherwise. No guarantee that IRCC would not look beyond the 5 year past.

 

[scylla]

You must wait until you meet the residency requirement before you renew your PR cards. Yes - you can wait and apply to renew your PR cards after they expire to ensure you meet RO. Entering Canada when you don't meet the residency requirement is always risky. There's always some chance you may be reported at the border in which case you'll be called to a hearing and can expect your PR status to be revoked unless you have strong H&C reasons for having been outside of Canada (economic/work and education reasons aren't accepted under H&C). Once you return to Canada, you'll want to remain in Canada without leaving for 2 straight years to limit the risk of leaving, having to re-enter and then having your PR status revoked. This can complicate things if for any reasons you find you need to leave Canada. However unfortunately that's the situation you're in since you've remained outside of Canada for so long.

 

[Rob_TO]

Scenario

- My family & I landed on April 30, 2015 & returned on May 15,2015 [15 days in Canada]

- My family and I would like return to Canada at the end of June, 2018.

- This would mean, when we return and are up for the PR renewal in 2020, we will short of our obligation by 60 days.

You really need to consider:
1. You will be in violation of the RO as of May 15, 2018. Any date you attempt to return to Canada after this, could result in CBSA noticing you don't meet the RO, formally reporting you for RO violation, and process started to revoke your PR status.
2. If you make it into Canada without being reported, you must stay physically inside Canada for 2 straight years. This means not leaving even once, to any destination outside Canada or for any amount of time, no matter the reason. If you did, you would face being reported and losing PR status upon next re-entry.

Easy solution, return to Canada plenty of time (several months) before May 15, 2018.

 

[Samp1975]

Thank you Mats, Rob and S cy,

I wont take a risk and follow your advise.

I'll be cutting my kids' 3rd grade by 2 months which is why I was wondering to delay so she could finish her 3rd grade here and comfortably transfer to the Canadian system in September.

However, not worth the risk.

I'll follow the guidelines.

Cheers and have a nice day people.

 

[Samp1975]

I wanted to update the team and others who might have similar queries in the future - as a way of "File Closed" to this thread.

As indicated, I followed the the rules and did not violate any dates. One of the reasons being, the local school in Canada was so proactive and registered my daughter straightaway and shes enjoying Grade 3.

This is how it transpired

Facts
1) My Wife entered Canada on the 20th of April so technically she has 4 weeks of safety.
2) I entered Canada on the 4th of May with the kids. This gives us 11 days of safety.

At the airport Departure [Toronto from Bahrain via Egypt]
1) Sure, Authorities in Bahrain/Egypt carefully inspected the PR Cards and Passports - no worries

At Arrivals [Toronto]
1) Upon landing at Toronto Airport - everyone was asked to keep boarding passes ready at the gate to the airport - please dont lose your boarding passes - an officer checked them along with our PRs and waved us forward.
2) At the Immigration, be sure to do 2 things prior to standing in the Immigration Queue
A. Go to the Citizens/PR Holders counters
B. Please Self Check out from the machines there the Declaration Forms [Given in plane or available near the machines - failure to do so will mean going back to the machines and standing in the queues again]
3) Immigration Officer was gracious, there were no queries on where I came from or time spent, he simply checked the system, pr cards, passport
and simply waved us on with a welcome.

Other miscellaneous facts
1) I carried quite a bit of declared Gold as carry on. I had the signed Goods to Follow with me. I was not queried at Bahrain/Cairo or Toronto so no worries there.
2) Bahrain Airport was very convenient and user friendly with good facilities
3) Cairo Airport Terminal 3 was clean and with helpful staff, travelling with kids was easy
4) Overall I realized staff at the airports, immigration, security and within the airline [Egypt Air] were really polite and helpful and one of the reasons I think is because of travelling alone with kids.
5) Immigration Toronto did not stamp our passports on arrival.

Thank you team.

 

[evdm]

Great news!

By entering Canada before being outside of the country for more than 3 years as a new PR you've played it safe and I hope that you enjoy your newly established life in Canada.

Just remember that you cannot have any interaction with CBSA or IRCC if you are ever not in compliance with the RO. Your wife does have a bit more of a buffer, but you're still cutting it very close. I would suggest not leaving Canada at all for the next 2 years, and certainly don't apply for a new PR Card until 2 years have passed.

Remember that the PR Card is a travel document, and even though it expires, you will still be PRs. That's also spelled out clearly on a Government of Canada website: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/new-immigrants/pr-card/understand-pr-status.html.

My suggestion would be to comfortably establish compliance before you apply to renew your PR cards. The onus will be on you to demonstrate that you've been in Canada, so keep records and any evidence you can to support this.