Thank you for sharing your situation and question with us.
It is important that you continue to try to contact the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Call Centre directly for some information specific to your situation.
I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.
We had got our PR cards in 2011 but we haven’t lived in Canada since then because of certain personal issues.
We would like to renew our PR cards as they are going to expire in 2016.
Please guide me on how to go about it.
Sometimes there is confusion related to the PR card expiry date and meeting the residency requirements.
In some cases, people may think that if their PR card is still valid and has not expired, that they have automatically fulfilled their residency requirements.
This is not the case.
The expiry date on a PR Card has no correlation to whether or not you have maintained your residency requirements as a permanent resident.
You can find information on the process that is followed when entering Canada in this Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) ENF 23 - Loss of Permanent Resident Status manual.
Here is an excerpt from the manual on what happens at the port of entry here:
It also states,
It is important to note that in terms of loss of permanent residency, a person does not lose it until a final determination has been made.
It also states in relation to the process of loss of permanent residency,
It may be helpful for you to contact a lawyer who is familiar with Canadian immigration issues for some additional information and assistance with your situation.
Some of our users have reported that they have been able to contact CIC recently from abroad by dialing 1 613 944 4000. Listen to the options to get to CIC.
Long distance charges will apply.
I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.