my situation. PR to become useless in about 8 months.

[rchetan]

Hello all,

Here is my situation; we (family of 4) got canadian PR cards about 2years ago.
The way i understand the rules, we have to live in Canada for 2 years out of the
first 5years to keep the status and eventually apply for citizenship. That
leaves us about 8months more until we actually make that decision.

Currently i work at a reputable employer in the US (software industry) and i
have been looking for jobs in canada on and off but am not finding any headway;
and i find it pretty hard to move there without any stream of income.

First, are my assumptions right? (ie we ahve to move to canada within the first
3years of getting the card)

Second, are there any other ways of keeping the PR card but not move there yet?
(we are in a quandry because my status in the US is on H1B and my green card
will take atleast another 3years).

So we dont really want to give up the Canadian PR but like i said its hard to
move without a job.


Any advise or help would be appreciated.

BTW, if i do move our preference is near Vancouver, BC area.

Thanks in advance
-gariki

[scylla]

You are correct - to maintain your PR status, you must live in Canada two out of every five rolling years.

You can maintain your PR status while living abroad if your spouse is a Canadian citizen. However since both of you are PRs, this rule doesn't help you.

You can also maintain your PR status while living abroad if you are hired by a Canadian company in Canada and then at a later date, are transferred to a job outside of Canada.

For citizenship: Note that you must have lived in Canada three out of the last four years to qualify to apply for Canadian citizenship.

[steaky]

How about your family move to Canada while you work and live outside Canada to support them?  

That way if your PR had expired, your spouse can still sponsor you to come to Canada and you will have a fresh new 2 years in a 5 years period to maintain the PR requirement.  During this period, if you still cannot find suitable work in Canada but your spouse becomes Canadian citizen, she can move and live with you to maintain your PR.

I know many astronauts families are living like that.

[rchetan]

With 2 little kids and all we are trying to avoid living apart like that (ofcourse i suppose every one prefers to avoid such a situation) - but i could travel every week for a while and see how it works out.

So steaky, if my wife is in canada and has her PR card status in tact, can she immediately sponsor for me? or does she need a canadian citizenship to sponsor mine when mine expires after 2 years? (hopefully before that happens; one of us gets a good job and we dont have to do all this stuff; but just in case)

Ah BTW i live in seattle area; so south BC (Surrey) is like 4hour drive for me - or maybe i can shuttle using the train service.

-gariki

[scylla]

Your wife can sponsor you as a PR. She doesn't need to be a citizen.

[steaky]

Ah BTW i live in seattle area; so south BC (Surrey) is like 4hour drive for me - or maybe i can shuttle using the train service.

-gariki

So, literally, you can still live in Whiterock and commute to work in Seattle.  I think a number of people lives like that.

[rchetan]

So, literally, you can still live in Whiterock and commute to work in Seattle.  I think a number of people lives like that.

Actually i work in Redmond to be more precise but i suppose i can do that. Or most likely stay here for 4 days, work 1 day from home and hence stay for 3 days in canada. That seems more doable without a ton of travel (only problem would be paying rent in two places; but thats the cost of business i suppose).

Thanks for the responses everyone.

Also if there are any resources that you think are useful for me, can you please provide some links or something.


-gariki