PR living abroad with Canadian citizen spouse

[gdkl]

I am Canadian citizen and my wife is a Permanent Resident of Canada.  She got her permanent residency in October 2006.  We spent 3 weeks in Canada at that time and since then we have been living together outside Canada.  The Canadian consulate in the country where we are residing told us that she must go back to Canada before October 2009 or she will lose her permanent residence status.

I thought that since I am a Canadian citizen and she is accompanying me outside Canada, that those days would count towards her permanent residency just as if she was in Canada.  All the documentation I have read indicates this.  Now I am confused.  Can anybody shed some light on this situation?  We would like to stay abroad for a couple of more years before returning to Canada.

Thank You.

[eduardoF]

The webpage http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5445EA.asp

clearly indicates that you can count the time you two spent together.

In my experience, I found that consulates, and consulate staff, don't always know everything (rules change, people don't get informed, or people just give you the standard answer, etc.). I suggest you contact the consulate with a copy of this webpage, just to make sure.