what to do about PR

[deepadougal]

Hello

My husband and I landed in October 2009 with our son and returned home to settle our affairs and prepare for the big move. As we had ample time we did not see any urgency so were making a point of seeking employment etc before going, as apart from some family in Newfoundland we have no family in Canada and needed to make sure we had plenty of money and all bases covered.

This was going fine until my husband became ill in October 2011 - we had scheduled our move for the following summer.

His illness was completely unexpected as he has never had any medical problems of any kind. He had surgery in November 2011 and as you appreciate everything went on the back burner for a few months - but no problem as we were still well within the deadline period.

Everything seemed to have gone fine until summer when the doctor said that he wanted to repeat the procedure as he wanted to ensure all infection was cleared. He said this was mainly a safety precaution, due to some remaining inflammation, but it seemed like an "offer we could not refuse".

The earliest the procedure could take place was November 2012, which would take us in breach of the residency requirements by about 2 weeks.

We got together all information about the situation ; medical referrals etc, and sent them registered to CIC Sydney asking how to proceed.

After 3 months and several emails with no response we contacted CIC Newfoundland through our relatives who got a fairly mixed reply, but we were advised to contact the HC in London, which we did.

The current position is very confused, because based upon what is on the website we should apply for travel documents during which process a determination will be made upon whether we have forfeited our PR, but the advice rom CIC and the HC contradicts itself.

This seems to be variously :

CIC Sydney : arrive and throw ourselves on the mercy of immigration. We may or may not be allowed to enter the country or a determination will be made then and there.


CIC Newfoundland : Our PR cards are valid until 2016. Enter the country now and a determination will be made when they come up for renewal in 2016.

HC : Our Cards are valid, we can enter the country if immigration say so at port of entry, but t all depends what hqappe3ns when we arrive. We apparently cannot apply for a determination prior to going as our cards are still valid.


Sorry this is so long, but this is very confusing and I feel as if we are being told to risk our future on advice that contradicts itself. We cannot simply arrive in Canada with all bridges burned behind us on the basis that we may or may not be allowed in.

All CIC responses to our questions keep being made in a couple of sentences that do not really answer them, so we do not know whether we can enter and try to settle of whether there is a distinct likelihood of being sent straight back to the UK.


we have been backwards and forwards to Canada a couple of times since we landed in 2009, with a view to sorting out our settlement move. There is however no way that we will now fulfil the 730 days residency by October 2014.


Grtaeful for any advice

 

[steaky]

I don't understand. Why can't you return to Canada without burning the bridges at home?

 

[Leon]

You will be allowed to enter but the question is if you will be reported on entry for not meeting the residency requirements. If you state at the port of entry that your husband has a medical problem and needed surgery and this delayed your move, it's unlikely that they will report you. If they do report you, you would have to appeal for your PR, show proof of his illness etc.

If they don't report you, you can stay for 2 years straight and then you meet the residency requirements again. You can let your PR cards expire in the meantime and just apply to renew once you have 2 full years.

 

[Yorker13]

hi

 

[deepadougal]

I don't understand. Why can't you return to Canada without burning the bridges at home?

Hi

Basically we are all set to make the move and this has completely set us back on our heels. There was no warning - just one day he is fine, we go to bed and the next day he is in hospital with a kidney stone and a small kidney tumour is discovered. There are no symptoms of this sort of illness so it was chance discovery. We went from virtually packing our bags to applying the breaks overnight.

What I meant by burning bridges was just giving up our jobs, letting out our house, taking our son out of school and making the move. Based on the mixed messages we were getting it seemed a very big risk to fly to Canada and hope they don't pack us off home on the next plane, or let us stay 30 days and them do so.

We got no clear advice on what to do; it just amounted to "go to Canada and see what happens".

We were trying to clarify if we can appeal, explain ourselves or whatever before going, rather than just turn up with our fingers crossed. At worst we thought they might say that we had forfeited our PR status and would need to reapply.

Whatever the case we would have a clear basis from which to decide how to move forward, as it is we are getting conflicting messages with no clear indication what was likely to happen or how we could address this other than just following through, with the possibility that we could find ourselves being sent home in short order..

 

[scylla]

You won't be send home if your PR cards are still valid. You will be allowed to enter Canada. That is 100% guaranteed (again, assuming your PR cards are still valid).

As Leon has explained, there is a chance (probably a very small chance) that you could be reported for failing to meet the residency obligation when you enter Canada. If this happens, you will have to appear in front of a judge to argue why you should be allowed to keep your PR status. You have a good H&C case due to your husband's medical issues (make sure you bring as much paperwork with you as possible to prove his illness). If you had to appear in front of a judge, I think you would be allowed to keep your PR. But of course, I can't say for certain.

 

[deepadougal]

You will be allowed to enter but the question is if you will be reported on entry for not meeting the residency requirements. If you state at the port of entry that your husband has a medical problem and needed surgery and this delayed your move, it's unlikely that they will report you. If they do report you, you would have to appeal for your PR, show proof of his illness etc.

If they don't report you, you can stay for 2 years straight and then you meet the residency requirements again. You can let your PR cards expire in the meantime and just apply to renew once you have 2 full years.

Hi

Thanks

This sounds more positive.

We had assumed that we could make some sort of appeal and give evidence if his illness then get some sort of decision from CIC.

With this in mind we sent full details including doctors referral letters etc. to CIC Sydney by registered mail as soon as he got out of hospital. WE waited three months with no replay, tried to contact them several times with no response and also contacted CICV Newfoundland who gave us the reply that we still had valid PR cards and could therefore enter the country, but that they could tell us nothing more.

We eventually had relatives in NF contact them and they were told, we should get in touch with the HC here in the UK, but this wasn't much more help.

Essentially we were told that one of three scenarios were possible :

1. We arrive and are told we have not fulfilled the residence requirements, given 30 days to appeal and possibly be sent home. Given that we would still be living out of suitcase our likelihood of success seemed small.

2. That we would simply be allowed to enter the country and when our PR cards came up for renewal in 2016 we would have to make a case, but by then we would be well established in Canada.

3. That we apply for travel document at which point our status would be determined and we would be told whether we still had PR status, but we were later told this did not apply to us.

We just wanted to address the issue before making the move rather than doing it by the seat of our pants, which was a pretty frightening prospect given what we had just been through.

From what you are saying it looks more positive, although it seems to rely pretty much on the discretion of the individual immigration officer.

So basically we arrive with all the data on my husbands illness to show as our best bet?

 

[scylla]

2. That we would simply be allowed to enter the country and when our PR cards came up for renewal in 2016 we would have to make a case, but by then we would be well established in Canada.

There will be no case to make. If you are allowed into Canada without any issues, then you simply remain in Canada (without leaving) until you have met the residency obligation of 730 days and then apply to renew your PR cards. Once you meet the residency obligation, you will qualify to apply without having to present any information about your husband's illness or argue your case.