some confusions for the 730 rule, please help.

[lcl]

hi:

ive a few questions regarding to the 730 days rule, and would like you to help me out.

are the departing and arriving days deemed as in or out side of Canada? if i arrive 1 Jan and leave 2 Jan (well just an example), how man days i "physically present in Canada"? 2 days, 1 day or none? and furthermore is half a day trip from Vancouver to Seattle excluded?

finally, my landing date is 4-22-2006 but the pr Card expiry date is 5-18-2011, if i count the days from 4-22, 2006, the ending date would be 4-22-2011. or otherwise, if i apply for PR card renewal on 5-18-2011, the days i stayed between 4-22-2006 to 5-17-2006 (which is immediately after landing) are excluded for 730 rule, is it correct?

thanks for your reply, really appreciate it!!

 

[Leon]

Any part of a day spent in Canada is a day spent in Canada so if you arrived on Jan. 1 and left on Jan 2, you spent 2 days in Canada and if you left Canada for a day trip to the US, you did not spend any time outside Canada.

You can find the link to this here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/index.asp in OP10 on page 10, section 6.4.

As for the 5 year period they will use, it is the 5 year period immediately before they received your application. You can find that in the same document as above on page 7. If they receive your application on 5-18-2011, they will use the period between 5-18-2006 (or 5-19-2006) and 5-18-2011 so any time you stayed before 5-18-2006 will be excluded.

If you look at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/canada/process-in.asp#pr_card you will see that it takes around 165 days to renew your PR card right now. There is nothing forbidding you from applying early so if you already have 730 days in December 2010, you can apply for a renewal then and you may have your new PR card around the time the old one expires.

If you do not meet the 730 days, then it is better to wait until you do, even if you let your PR card expire. There is no law in Canada saying that you must have a valid PR card at all times. You mainly need it for travel.

 

[lcl]

thanks Leon, your answer is such a relief for me, nice day