Validity of my PR Card

[cdnczn]

Dear Friends,

I need your help to check the validity of my PR Card.
I landed in Canada with my immigration documents in June 2011. Applied for my PR Card and came back.
Due to some discrepency in the picture, my PR Card was ultimately issued in August 2012, when again I went to Canada.
Now my PR Card is valid till July 2017 and I am outside Canada.
Please let me know, upto what time I can remain outside Canada?? Till June 2016, when I am completing my 5 years from the date, I entered in Canada OR till August 2017, when my PR Card is going to expire.
Kindly help.
Thanks

[PMM]

Hi

Dear Friends,

I need your help to check the validity of my PR Card.
I landed in Canada with my immigration documents in June 2011. Applied for my PR Card and came back.
Due to some discrepency in the picture, my PR Card was ultimately issued in August 2012, when again I went to Canada.
Now my PR Card is valid till July 2017 and I am outside Canada.
Please let me know, upto what time I can remain outside Canada?? Till June 2016, when I am completing my 5 years from the date, I entered in Canada OR till August 2017, when my PR Card is going to expire.
Kindly help.
Thanks

1. Your 5 year clock starting ticking on June/2011 when you “landed”. You must reside in Canada for 2 years from June/11 to June/16 to maintain your PR status.
2. The date on the PR card is immaterial, it just indicates that you are a PR. You still have to meet the residency requirements.

PMM

[cdnczn]

to PMM

Thanks PMM for your valuable inputs.
As you know that I was unable to complete my 2 out of 5 years stay condition, what else can I do for entering and settling there permanently.
Are there any humanitarian/compassionate grounds under which I can be admitted.
What else can I do to satisfy the Immigration Officer, that not meeting the requirement was due to some unavoidable reasons.

Kindly show me some way out.

Thanks

Hi

Dear Friends,

I need your help to check the validity of my PR Card.
I landed in Canada with my immigration documents in June 2011. Applied for my PR Card and came back.
Due to some discrepency in the picture, my PR Card was ultimately issued in August 2012, when again I went to Canada.
Now my PR Card is valid till July 2017 and I am outside Canada.
Please let me know, upto what time I can remain outside Canada?? Till June 2016, when I am completing my 5 years from the date, I entered in Canada OR till August 2017, when my PR Card is going to expire.
Kindly help.
Thanks

1. Your 5 year clock starting ticking on June/2011 when you “landed”. You must reside in Canada for 2 years from June/11 to June/16 to maintain your PR status.
2. The date on the PR card is immaterial, it just indicates that you are a PR. You still have to meet the residency requirements.

PMM

[/quote]

[cdnczn]

I was unable to complete my 2 out of 5 years stay condition, what else can I do for entering and settling there permanently.
Are there any humanitarian/compassionate grounds under which I can be admitted.
What else can I do to satisfy the Immigration Officer, that not meeting the requirement was due to some unavoidable reasons.

Kindly show me some way out.

Thanks

[SettlementOrgMod]

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your situation with us.

As you may know, in order to maintain your permanent residency, you must meet certain residency obligations to maintain your status as a permanent resident.

As PMM mentioned, the date on the PR card just indicates that you are a PR. The fact that your PR card is still valid does not mean that you have met your residency requirements.

You still have to meet the residency requirements.

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.

So, although it is possible to stay up to 3 years outside of Canada, if you leave Canada 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.

Basically what happens is that, each time you enter Canada, the officer may calculate 5 years back from the date you have entered or re-entered Canada to see if you have fulfilled your residency obligation.

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:

"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.

If an officer has concerns that a permanent resident has not complied with the residency obligation of A28, the officer should advise the permanent resident when the examination is concluded that they are authorized to enter Canada; however, the permanent resident may wish to answer additional questions so the officer may determine whether their concerns are well founded or not.

In cases where:

• permanent resident status is established;
• the permanent resident refuses to provide any further information and enters Canada;
  and
• the officer believes, on a balance of probabilities that the person is in non-compliance with the residency obligation, officers may report the person, pursuant to A44(1). if there is sufficient evidence to support an inadmissibility allegation. In the absence of sufficient evidence to support the writing of an inadmissibility report, officers may enter any available information into FOSS (date of entry, last country of embarkation, current address in Canada etc.).

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.

According to the ENF 23 - Loss of Permanent Resident Status manual,

It is important to note that a permanent resident does not lose their status under A46(1)(b) until there is a final determination of the decision made outside Canada that they have failed to comply with the residency obligation under A28.

Permanent residents are not finally determined to have lost their permanent resident status until the right of appeal has been exhausted.

The onus is on each individual permanent resident to make sure they are meeting their Permanent Resident requirements.

We suggest that it may be best if you contact a lawyer who is familiar with Canadian immigration issues for information regarding 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.

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