Questions on PR Residency and SIN Requirements

[Dhanan]

Hi,

Situation:
I landed in Canada with family in Apr 2009 from USA.  We gave a friend's address in Canada to receive PR cards, and later received PR cards in Sep 2009 at my friend's address.  We never lived in Canada except for a 4-day vacation in 2009.  We didn't declare that we are non-residents in Canada, and I have been working on H1B in USA from 2008 until now.  We never applied for SIN as well.  Now we are planning to move to Canada from USA in Summer 2012 by our car.  We already got approval at the POE at the time of landing to import our items including car.

Questions:

• Is there any obligation to file tax for 2009 and 2010?
• Since USA is a tax treaty country, will it be enough if I prove that we were residents here in USA during this period?
• Given that we never applied for SIN and thus never availed any benefits, will it be a problem at the time of landing?  My understanding about SIN is, it is required only if I want to work in Canada or avail Govt. benefits like medical, etc.
• Will there be any tough questions at POE?

Please help - I'd really appreciate any responses.

Thank you much in advance,
Dhanan.

[steaky]

Did you invest anything (such as real property) during the 4 days you were in Canada?

I don't think there would be any questions at POE.

[Alabaman]

No obligation to file taxes since you were not a resident for tax purposes. You cant file taxes without a SIN anyways (I think).

Standard question at point of entry is: How long have you been away? In most cases asked casually. It is always advisable to allow yourself to meet the 730 day obligation in the first 5 years. So if you come back in April 2012 then you still have 2 full years (730 days) before your first 5 year period ends in April 2014. From my experience, IOs are not really strict about this rule at point of entry as long as your PR card is not expired yet.

[Dhanan]

Thanks for the fast reply. No, I didn't invest anything there.

Did you invest anything (such as real property) during the 4 days you were in Canada?

I don't think there would be any questions at POE.

[Dhanan]

Thanks for the fast reply.  That makes me feel good.

But your reply raises another question: I'm aware of the 730 day obligation in the first 5 years, but though we became PRs in Apr 2009, it's printed on our PR cars that the date of expiration is Sep 2014 (since the cards were issued in Sep 2009).  Now the question is, should we meet the 730 days obligation by Apr 2014 or Sep 2014?  Or in other words, does the 5 year period start from the date of landing or from the date the PR cards were issued?

Thanks again!

No obligation to file taxes since you were not a resident for tax purposes. You cant file taxes without a SIN anyways (I think).

Standard question at point of entry is: How long have you been away? In most cases asked casually. It is always advisable to allow yourself to meet the 730 day obligation in the first 5 years. So if you come back in April 2012 then you still have 2 full years (730 days) before your first 5 year period ends in April 2014. From my experience, IOs are not really strict about this rule at point of entry as long as your PR card is not expired yet.

[manianz47]

Hi

It starts from the date of first landing

[Alabaman]

manianz47 is right.

The PR Card is just a card. If you lose your PR card today for example, they will issue another one with a new date of issue and possibly a 5 year validity and the dates on the card do not matter when it comes to counting 730 days.

[Dhanan]

Thank you Alabaman and manianz47.  Looks like I have to change my moving plan!

[Dhanan]

Another concern:
How will I prove to them if I'm asked at the POE about my residence in USA?  What documents would be good to satisfy them - apartment lease documents, kids school documents, US tax returns?

Just thinking about the worst case scenario: when moving I'll be winding up everything here in US including quitting job, cancelling H1B visa, schooling, apartment lease, etc. with the hope that we could cross the border and settle in Canada.  But for some reason if our entry to Canada is denied, will there be a situation that we'll end up nowhere since US also won't allow because visa was already cancelled?

Again, your help is much appreciated.

Thanks,
Dhanan.

[Alabaman]

They will allow you in. Stop worrying.

[benk]

Hi Alabaman,

Which land border crossing do you usually cross?  Have you tried the Peach Arch in BC?  Are the Canadian border officers nice?