PR Status for Family

[gaurav9796]

Hi,

I along with wife and two kids are permanent residents of Canada. We are in Canada for the past 1 year. Due to some unforseen circumstances, my wife and my kids might have to go back to India.

If they do not come back to Canada and are unable to complete the 2 of 5 years (required to re-apply for PR the next time), would they lose their PR? Please note that I am the principal applicant in this case.

Thank You.

[SettlementOrgMod]

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your situation and question with us.

We can appreciate that you would be interested in this information and knowing how your family can maintain their permanent residency.

We have previously received some information from one of our legal researchers related to which days or periods are considered for meeting the residency requirements.

According to their research, the five-year time frame set out in the Refugee and Immigrant Protection Act is not static.

Rather it is a move-able window that is dependent on the time at which a visa officer examines your situation. Therefore, if you cannot fulfill the two-year (730 day) requirement for the five-year time frame starting from when you became a permanent resident, you should remain in Canada until you can satisfy the requirement for another five-year time frame.

The IRCC’s Permanent Residency Status Determination Manual states:

For persons who have been permanent residents of Canada for more than five years, the only five-year period that can be considered in calculating whether an applicant has met the residency obligation is the one immediately before the application is received in the visa office. A28(2)(b)(ii) precludes a visa officer from examining any period other than the most recent five-year period immediately before the date of receipt of the application.

Since the officer cannot choose any five-year time period for consideration, but must always assess the most recent five-year time period (the one immediately preceding examination.

Regarding the time you spend outside, you can find information on the process that is followed when entering Canada in this Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) ENF 23 - Loss of Permanent Resident Status manual.

Here is an excerpt from the manual on what happens at the port of entry,

2. Program objectives

IRPA establishes a residency obligation with respect to each five-year period after permanent resident status has been granted.

and

7.8 Examining Permanent Residents at a POE (Port of Entry)

When a permanent resident appears at a POE for examination, the officer must confirm that the person is a permanent resident. Officers must remain cognizant of the fact the Act gives permanent residents of Canada the right to enter Canada at a port of entry once it is established that a person is a Permanent Resident, regardless of non-compliance with the residency obligation in A28 or the presence of other grounds of inadmissability.

Port of entry officers (POE) can refuse entry to a Permanent Resident only when the person has already lost the status in accordance with the provisions of A46 (such as when a final determination has been made that they have failed to comply with the residency obligations or when a removal order comes into force).

In other words, once a permanent resident’s status is established, the person may enter Canada by right and the immigration examination under IRPA concludes.

The onus is on each individual permanent resident to meet their own residency requirements. This means that it is up to you to ensure that you are meeting the residency requirement within each 5 year period and that you are also keeping track of your time spent inside and outside Canada.

If you have concerns about meeting your family’s residency requirements, it is important and probably best that you speak to a Lawyer who is familiar with Canadian immigration issues for additional information regarding your family’s 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.

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Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CIRS
Settlement.Org