Living abroad with Canadian Citizen wife

[satd.]

Hello
I have landed in Canada last month and i am going back with my Canadian citizen  wife to my country. we have no plan to return back to Canada.i just want to know if i live outside Canada with my Canadian citizen spouse for 4.5 years just came back to Canada once in every year for holidays (2,3 weeks)  and then come  to Canada for PR renewal after 4.5 years  am i able to get it?also do i face any problem in entering to Canada at airport? i heard that living outside of Canada with  Canadian citizen wife count as living in  Canada. Is it true?

Also living abroad with  Canadian wife makes me eligible for citizenship after 3 years?

Appreciate your  reply

Regards

[CharlieD10]

Living outside Canada with a citizen spouse allows a PR an exception towards fulfilling their residency requirement of 730 days out of every rolling 5 year period.  However, you should know that the reading of the regulation is that the PR must be "accompanying" their citizen spouse, and some judges have disputed the loss of PR status on the basis that it was the citizen who was accompanying the PR and not the other way around.  Others say the regulations are not meant to be read so closely.  You take your chances living solely out of Canada as a PR, relying on that exception.

Citizenship requires 1095 days of PHYSICAL presence in Canada in a 4 year period.  Living outside the country with a citizen DOES NOT qualify you for citizenship.  There are no exceptions allowed for this requirement of physical residency, even short absences outside of the country must be added on at the end in order to meet the requirement.

[toby]

Living outside Canada with a citizen spouse allows a PR an exception towards fulfilling their residency requirement of 730 days out of every rolling 5 year period.  However, you should know that the reading of the regulation is that the PR must be "accompanying" their citizen spouse, and some judges have disputed the loss of PR status on the basis that it was the citizen who was accompanying the PR and not the other way around.  Others say the regulations are not meant to be read so closely.  You take your chances living solely out of Canada as a PR, relying on that exception.


Actually, Charlie, there was a long and academically-rigorous thread on this topic, and only one judge based a decision on the issue of who was accompanying whom; two or three other judges subsequently decided that it doesn't matter whether the PR accompanies the Canadian spouse or vice versa; it only matters that they were both together abroad for the PR to be able to count those days toward the PR quota.

And the Operating Manual covering this topic says so specifically.

I have the specific references saved for the day when my wife will have to renew her PR, so if anyone wants these specific references, I'll go get them.   

[CharlieD10]

Agreed, toby.  I just mentioned it because, since it has been disputed, that makes it not outside the realm of possibility that someone could see it that way.  The precendent is there, although most judges and the manual read against putting too fine a point on it.

[toby]

Agreed, toby.  I just mentioned it because, since it has been disputed, that makes it not outside the realm of possibility that someone could see it that way.  The precendent is there, although most judges and the manual read against putting too fine a point on it.

OK, I see your point. I believe there was only one decision where the judge cared about which spouse was accompanying the other, but you're right: there is a small possibility that a border officer might decide to be narrow-minded and ignore his or her own manual.  That's why I would have the critical parts of the manual printed out for the border guard's edification, just to avoid the need for a "trial".

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