Questions About PR Status and Days Required

[gilbert1978]

Sir:

Good Day!

I got my PR together with my family on April 2013 and we just stayed for few days and went back to continue working. My wife and kids went back to canada last july 2015 but I cant come with them due to my work and I need to support them financially.

My PR status will expire on April 2018 and I think I will not have enough days to renew it on the expired date.

Here is my question…

If my PR card will be expired on April 2018 and I will not have enough days to renew it. Can I stay in canada with expire PR without travelling outside canada until I have enough months to renew it again?

Thank you very much for your help in advance.

[SettlementOrgMod]

Hi There,

Thanks for sharing your question and situation with us. We can appreciate that this is a confusing situation for you.

From my understanding, you want to know if you can remain in Canada and accumulate enough time to meet the required number of days to renew your PR Card.

According to the Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) (formerly CIC) your documents must live in Canada for “at least 2 years in a 5 year period” to maintain your status:

When you are a permanent resident, you can live outside of Canada, but must live in Canada for at least two years in a five-year period. If you live outside of Canada for longer, you may lose your permanent resident status.

For more information on how long you have to live in Canada, see Appendix A: Residency obligation of the PR card application package.

You may find our article What are the residency requirements for permanent residents (PRs)? for some additional information. Here is an excerpt:

To meet these residency obligations, you must be physically present in Canada for at least 730 days (2 years) in every 5-year period.

This means that you can spend a total of up to 3 years outside of Canada during a 5-year period. However, if you leave the country for an extended period of time, it is up to you to prove to Citizenship and Immigration Canada that you will be able to meet your residency requirements.
[…]
If you know that you will be out of the country for an extended period of time it is very important that you contact Citizenship and Immigration Canada and let them know that you will be returning. Citizenship and Immigration Canada no longer issues Returning Resident Permits.

You may wish to contact the Canadian Embassy, High Commission or Consulate to confrim this information and to ask more question about your personal situation.

The information provided above is not legal advice. If you want legal advice please consult a community legal clinic or a lawyer about your particular 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.

=====
Theresa
Information & Referral Specialist, CIRS
Your Settlement.Org Team

[gilbert1978]

Madam:

Thank you for your fast reply, My situation is that my work requires me to stay more outside canada. It means that on the day my PR card expires on May 30 2018 my days in canada is only 600 days which is not enough to renew my card because I will stay in canada starting on end of 2016.
What if before my PR card expires I will be already in canada and wait until I got enough days and then I will renew my PR card…

Will that work?

Thank you inadvance…

[SettlementOrgMod]

Hi There,

We can appreciate that this is a stressful and confusing situation.

From my understanding, other users have been able to remain in Canada to accumulate enough days to renew their card. The burden is on you to prove that you have, and will be able to accumulate enough days. There is, however, no short answer to your question.

Our article What are the residency requirements for permanent residents (PRs)? has more detailed information. Here is an excerpt:

[…] if you leave the country for an extended period of time, it is up to you to prove to Citizenship and Immigration Canada that you will be able to meet your residency requirements.
[…]
If you are in Canada and an immigration officer determines that you have not complied with your residency obligations, the officer may issue a departure order that requires you to leave Canada.

If you are outside of Canada and do not meet residency obligations, immigration officers abroad may inform you in writing that you have lost your permanent residence status.

If your family in Canada can contact the Help Centre of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) [formerly CIC]. You may wish to contact the Canadian Embassy, High Commission or Consulate to confrim this information in person and to ask more question about your personal situation.

The information provided above is not legal advice. If you want legal advice please consult a community legal clinic or a lawyer about your particular situation.

Some of our users may also be able to share their experience with you.

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.

=====
Theresa
Information & Referral Specialist, CIRS
Your Settlement.Org Team

[Mansi_Abrol]

Hi there

I got the confirmation regarding the canadian PR so now we (Me, my spouse & two children) have to enter the country before the same got expired i.e before 24th May 2016.

My question is that if we enter the country just for 15 days & exit but again we enter on a later date after settling my affairs in my native country,should we be receiving the PR card during that period or we have to provide some mailing address where it got delivered ?

[PMM]

Hi

Hi there

I got the confirmation regarding the canadian PR so now we (Me, my spouse & two children) have to enter the country before the same got expired i.e before 24th May 2016.

My question is that if we enter the country just for 15 days & exit but again we enter on a later date after settling my affairs in my native country,should we be receiving the PR card during that period or we have to provide some mailing address where it got delivered ?

1. Yes, you either have to provide an address in Canada for delivery of the PR cards, or if you don’t have one, you will have 6 months to provide ones.
2. Note that when you return if you don’t have your PR cards, you will have to obtain a PR travel document to re-enter Canada on a commercial carried. You can only get a PR TD at an overseas office.

PMM