Did Not Complete Permanent Residency Requirements

[mediajunkie]

My entire family landed in Toronto in 2005 although they did not move there until about April 2007.

Right after they landed in 2005, my sister got a job as an architect in New York and decided that she would rather stay in NYC than Canada. However she got laid off in June 2009 and after a few months looking for work, she's decided to rejoin my parents in Toronto.

I know that you are required to live in Canada for 2 out of 5 years to maintain your permanent residency. She has lived in the States for 4 out of those 5 years and even if she moves back to Canada now she will not fulfill those requirements. Is there anyway for her to get an extension?

[mediajunkie]

I forgot to mention that she already has her PR card and SIN card. Will she still be asked to leave Canada? what's going to happen to her if she decides that she wants to remain in Canada?

[Leon]

If she wants to keep her PR, she should go to Canada, get a job with her SIN and stay in Canada for a full 2 years without leaving and without renewing her PR card.  After 2 years, she will meet the residency requirements again and can apply for a new PR card.  There is no law in Canada that says you have to have a PR card at all times except for travel.  Some older PR's have never had a PR card.

Immigration has only 2 chances to decide that you don't meet the residency requirements, one is when you enter Canada, if they suspect you have been outside Canada too long, they can tell you that you have to prove you meet the requirements or otherwise lose your PR.  The other is when you apply to renew your PR card.  If she gets into Canada without a problem, they can not check her again unless she leaves and tries to reenter Canada again or if she applies for a new PR card which is why she should not apply for a new one until she meets the requirements again.  They are not allowed to go further back than the last 5 years before she applies so even if they knew she had been gone for 4 years at some point and should have lost it, if they didn't catch her then, there is nothing they can do about it.

[mediajunkie]

So basically if she tries to enter Canada and immigration doesn't stop her, and she stays in Canada for 2 years without leaving, she can renew her social insurance card

What happens if they do catch her at the Canadian border?

How does Canadian immigration catch her anyway? When I enter Canada at the Toronto airport, I don't see them scanning anything, and sometimes they don't even stamp the date of entry in the passport. And when I leave (I usually depart via a US-bound flight) I don't even see any Canadian immigration officials, only U.S. ones and once again there is no passport stamp of the date of departure.

Can she appeal for an extension on C&H grounds if she is denied?

[Leon]

So basically if she tries to enter Canada and immigration doesn't stop her, and she stays in Canada for 2 years without leaving, she can renew her social insurance card

Not the SIN card, she doesn't have to renew that.  Just the PR card.

What happens if they do catch her at the Canadian border?

They would tell her that they think she has not been living in Canada enough to keep her PR status.  I believe they are supposed to let her in for 30 days to give her a chance to prove them wrong.  If she can not prove that she meets the residency requirements, she can apply on H&C grounds

How does Canadian immigration catch her anyway? When I enter Canada at the Toronto airport, I don't see them scanning anything, and sometimes they don't even stamp the date of entry in the passport. And when I leave (I usually depart via a US-bound flight) I don't even see any Canadian immigration officials, only U.S. ones and once again there is no passport stamp of the date of departure.

Can she appeal for an extension on C&H grounds if she is denied?

I don't know how they catch people but sometimes they do.  They don't check you when you leave but the US checks you when you come in, don't they?  I have heard that Canada shares info with the US border.  When I was a PR, usually when I was coming back to Canada after a trip they'd scan my PR card and passport.

If she applies on H&C grounds, I don't think she'd have much of a chance really.  She has parents and siblings in Canada but not kids or a husband.  She decided to lose her PR because of a job.  Hardly a compelling reason to feel sorry for her to let her keep it.  If she had to stay in old country due to a seriously ill parent or something like that, now that would be H&C grounds.
 

[mediajunkie]

What if she returns and stays for 3 years, can she apply for Canadian citizenship rather than a renewal for the PR?

She admits she was complacent about being able to stay in the US. She thought she was able to get a green card there until she got laid off. She was fresh out of college and I guess wanted more adventure instead of settling down.

If she does have to return to our home country of Singapore, will she be able to re-apply for her PR on her own via skilled worker or any other class on her own. I got my PR through skilled worker and got it in a year. Or would the fact that she had forsaken her first PR be a factor in her re-application?

Would getting a lawyer help her in her case?

Thanks for your prompt answers to these questions.

[Leon]

Yes, if she returns and stays for 3 years, she can apply for citizenship but getting a PR card after 2 years will allow her to take a vacation outside Canada if she wants to.  If she can't return to Canada, yes, she can apply for PR again.  If she qualifies, she'll get it.  You can talk to a lawyer if it makes you feel better but I doubt there is anything else they can do for you.