PR Status: Returning to Canada after 2 Years in UK

[aph353]

Hi,

I obtained Permanent Residence and landed in Canada on 4th February 2010 and have lived and worked in Canada during this time.

In 1st November 2017, I returned to the UK to Scotland for personal reasons. I intend to return to Canada in February 2020.

After the initial 5 years in Canada, I renewed my PR Card in April 2015 and it is due for renewal in April 2020. I intend to return to Canada before my PR Card expires.

I believe with PR Status you need to be physically resident in Canada for 2 years (730 days) out of the most recent 5 year period (1825 days) in order to meet the Residency obligations.

And can live up to 3 years (1095 days) outside of Canada in the most recent 5 year period.

On my calculations of deducting all my lists of absences from the most recent 5 year period on my date of return of 4th February 2020.

I would have been away from Canada for a total of 930 days.

So I subtract 930 days from 1825 days.

This gives me 895 days of physical presence living inside Canada out of that 5 year period. Therefore I am meeting the residency obligations.

Am I calculating this correctly? I also used CIC’s physical presence calculator.

I checked on the CIC website and I could not find anything about notifying them of being away for an extended period of time. They simply state to be aware of meeting the residency obligations.

Should I contact them to let them know of my intentions?

Also, what should I bring to Canada in case they question my length of being outside of Canada? I have financial assets of an RRSP that is locked until my retirement date. Can this be used to show the intentions of Canada being my permanent home?

Since I have been outside of Canada for more than 6 months should I get a police certificate and bring it with me before I return to Canada?

Thanks.

[SettlementOrgMod]

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your situation and question with us.

It is great that you are looking into this type of information.

Generally, to find out if someone has fulfilled their residency requirements, each time a Permanent Resident re-enters Canada, the Officer will count back 5 years from the date the permanent resident has re-entered Canada.

In that 5 year period, if the permanent resident has not accumulated 2 years (730 days) of physical presence in Canada, then it may be determined that the permanent resident has lost their PR status.

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,

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.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you are fulfilling your residency obligation.

In terms of proofs either to prove that you were in Canada or that you were outside of Canada you may want to keep:

*Airplane tickets/boarding passes
*Bus tickets/boarding passes
*Accomodation/Apartment information such as Lease, Rent Receipts for the time that you are in Canada
*Hotel receipts

And any other documents that can prove the time you were present in Canada in the event that you were questioned by an immigration officer and asked to provide proof of your time in/outside of Canada.

According to the the Citizenship and Immigration Canada Operations Manual - Chapter ENF 23 - Loss of Permanent Resident Status,

Put simply, this means that the permanent resident bears the full responsibility of demonstrating - with supporting documentation as considered necessary by an officer -that they were physically present in Canada for the required number of days or that they have otherwise met (or will be able to meet) the residency obligation as prescribed in the Act.

The permanent resident also bears the onus of presenting documentation that is credible, in the opinion of an officer, to support any assertion(s) made by the permanent resident, or that may have been made on behalf of that permanent resident. There is no one document that can categorically establish a permanent resident’s physical presence in Canada.

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, CRS,CRS-DC
Settlement.Org