Entering Canada on Visa-exempt Passport Without Fulfilling Residency Obligation

[CanV]

Hello , I want to come back to Canada. I am PR but the PR Card is expired in august 2013.
I am not sure that I meet the residental requirements ( 730 days ) in the last 5 years .
So what could be the best way to make it ?

I fly to Canda and show my expired card and and tell the customers about my reasons of staying outside so long ? ...I had some health and care reasons/problems with family members here in Germany.

Or can fly to Canada with my german passport as a tourist ? Meanwhile i had to renew my german passport ...so there are no stamps they show immigration in Canada before.
After entering I could stay there , work and live
and after i have stayed there enough days i could renew my PR card ?

Please can someone help me ? Thanks

If you are gonna show up and tell them you arent sure if you meet residency requirements then they will probably try to make sure themselves by reporting you. Calculate your days and have a straigh forward answer. If you are short by few days and you have reasons they may let you in without reporting you or they may report you and you will have to explain to the judge, so have your medical docs with you.

Do NOT show up and seek entry as a visitor. You are not a visitor and providing false and misleading statements will definitely put you in a much bigger problem.

Once you are allowed in then yes complete your 2 years before leaving the country in order to renew your card. Do not try to renew before you complete your 2 years or you may face refusal and deportation.

 

[princeofindia]

I am a Canada permanent resident. I will not be able to meet residency rule. Meanwhile i am about to get a portugal passport in next 1 year. Portugal citizens do not need visa to go to canada. After getting portugal passport:

1) Can i then travel to Canada on portugal passport and enter as tourist?

2)Will immigration know that i was a PR since i entered on a different country passport when i was a pr holder?

3)If i am allowed as a tourist on portugal passport without being suspected of being a PR holder, can i stay for 2 years quietly and renew my PR card after 2 years.

4)Will i be able to access healthcard services in an emergency in such a scenario?

5) As per one of the lawyers website i read "If you are a Canadian Permanent Resident, and a citizen of a country that does not require an entry visa to enter Canada (ie: England, Germany, USA) then you can board the plane by virtue of holding a passport that allows you the enter Canada. The border officer is obligated to confirm your status and is absolutely obligated to let you enter Canada. If you don’t have the PR Card, or hold an expired Card, the border officer cannot deny you admission to Canada. Most importantly, you do not have to tell the border officer how long you have been absent from Canada. The border officer is allowed to ask you how long you have been away from Canada, but you are not obligated to reply. Any information you give to the officer can, and will, be used against you to assess whether you have breached the residency obligations (2 years in Canada in the past 5). It is difficult, but important, to tell the border officer that you are not required to answer questions relating to your residency obligations but, as a Canadian Permanent Resident, you have an absolute right to enter Canada.

So assuming this is true if i tell the border office i am a PR Aand show him my PR card AND I WONT ANSWER HIS RESIDENCY RELATED QUESTION CAN HE THEN REPORT ME?

Regards
prince

 

[zardoz]

I am a Canada permanent resident. I will not be able to meet residency rule. Meanwhile i am about to get a portugal passport in next 1 year. Portugal citizens do not need visa to go to canada. After getting portugal passport:

1) Can i then travel to Canada on portugal passport and enter as tourist?

2)Will immigration know that i was a PR since i entered on a different country passport when i was a pr holder?

3)If i am allowed as a tourist on portugal passport without being suspected of being a PR holder, can i stay for 2 years quietly and renew my PR card after 2 years.

4)Will i be able to access healthcard services in an emergency in such a scenario?

5) As per one of the lawyers website i read "If you are a Canadian Permanent Resident, and a citizen of a country that does not require an entry visa to enter Canada (ie: England, Germany, USA) then you can board the plane by virtue of holding a passport that allows you the enter Canada. The border officer is obligated to confirm your status and is absolutely obligated to let you enter Canada. If you don't have the PR Card, or hold an expired Card, the border officer cannot deny you admission to Canada. Most importantly, you do not have to tell the border officer how long you have been absent from Canada. The border officer is allowed to ask you how long you have been away from Canada, but you are not obligated to reply. Any information you give to the officer can, and will, be used against you to assess whether you have breached the residency obligations (2 years in Canada in the past 5). It is difficult, but important, to tell the border officer that you are not required to answer questions relating to your residency obligations but, as a Canadian Permanent Resident, you have an absolute right to enter Canada.

So assuming this is true if i tell the border office i am a PR Aand show him my PR card AND I WONT ANSWER HIS RESIDENCY RELATED QUESTION CAN HE THEN REPORT ME?

Regards
prince

The bottom line is that they can make life very difficult for you in secondary inspection, regardless of the letter of the law. If they have reasonable grounds on the "balance of probabilities" they can and, if you are being confrontational, will report you. Once reported, you have to offer proof that you comply. They don't have to prove that you don't.
I know from personal experience, a few days ago, that individual CBSA officers do not understand or follow the legal requirements. Do NOT attempt to lay down the law to them. Start a friendly discussion by all means.

 

[keesio]

The bottom line is that they can make life very difficult for you in secondary inspection, regardless of the letter of the law. If they have reasonable grounds on the "balance of probabilities" they can and, if you are being confrontational, will report you. Once reported, you have to offer proof that you comply. They don't have to prove that you don't.
I know from personal experience, a few days ago, that individual CBSA officers do not understand or follow the legal requirements. Do NOT attempt to lay down the law to them. Start a friendly discussion by all means.

+1. Border officials can make your life difficult if they want to. Not answering their questions is NOT recommended. One time I didn't understand a question so Ididn't really answer the question and it was not a pleasant experience. They sent me to secondary inspection and I went through the ringer. It's like arguing with a cop who issued you a speeding ticket. If you make them annoyed, that will simply make them look harder for other issues ("oh, I see your license plate is dirty. That can be another ticket"). They will open your bag and analyze every little item. They will question everything. Not good.

 

[scylla]

So assuming this is true if i tell the border office i am a PR Aand show him my PR card AND I WONT ANSWER HIS RESIDENCY RELATED QUESTION CAN HE THEN REPORT ME?

Not answering residency related questions is probably the best way to guarantee you will be reported. So the short answer to your question is yes - absolutely.

 

[PMM]

Hi

Not answering residency related questions is probably the best way to guarantee you will be reported. So the short answer to your question is yes - absolutely.

S/he also may wish to read the Immigration Regulations

Inspection

(3) An officer may board and inspect any means of transportation bringing persons to Canada, examine any person carried by that means of transportation and any record or document respecting that person, seize and remove the record or document to obtain copies or extracts and hold the means of transportation until the inspection and examination are completed.
Marginal note:Instructions

(4) The officer shall conduct the examination in accordance with any instructions that the Minister may give.

2001, c. 27, s. 15;
2012, c. 31, s. 310.

Previous Version
Marginal note:Obligation — answer truthfully

16. (1) A person who makes an application must answer truthfully all questions put to them for the purpose of the examination and must produce a visa and all relevant evidence and documents that the officer reasonably requires.

 

[princeofindia]

Understood guys loud and clear. I Never consider myself above the law. I just read that article on not answering questions and i wondered in which world is this really possible.

But my basic question remains unaswered.

1) Can i then travel to Canada on portugal passport and enter as tourist?

2)Will immigration know that i was a PR since i entered on a different country passport when i was a pr holder?

3)If i am allowed as a tourist on portugal passport without being suspected of being a PR holder, can i stay for 2 years quietly and renew my PR card after 2 years.

4)Will i be able to access healthcard services in an emergency in such a scenario?

 

[scylla]

1) You can travel to Canada on a Portugal passport. Whether you are allowed to enter Canada as a tourist is up to the immigration officer you encounter at the border.
2) You should assume they will know. It doesn't matter that you have changed passports.
3) Yes.
4) You should be fine as long as your PR card is still valid when you enter Canada. If your PR card is no longer valid, then you may have issues.

 

[zardoz]

Understood guys loud and clear. I Never consider myself above the law. I just read that article on not answering questions and i wondered in which world is this really possible.

But my basic question remains unaswered.

1) Can i then travel to Canada on portugal passport and enter as tourist?

2)Will immigration know that i was a PR since i entered on a different country passport when i was a pr holder?

3)If i am allowed as a tourist on portugal passport without being suspected of being a PR holder, can i stay for 2 years quietly and renew my PR card after 2 years.

4)Will i be able to access healthcard services in an emergency in such a scenario?

You may get away with it, but if you raise any suspicion at the primary line, and it's quite possible that your body language and demeanour will, you will be sent to secondary inspection. There they will ask why you are misrepresenting yourself as a tourist. Expect serious problems as misrepresentation is a criminal offence ... Were you planning to change your name and date of birth? Those will match your existing details.