Meeting PR obligations but need to be outside the country for common law partner's giving birth to o

[Pierson28]

Hello, I have been a Permanent Resident since 2007. For the past 3 years i have been away since a chain of events has happened and other personal matters need to be dealt with in the Philippines.

I landed back here in Toronto July 1st of this year (2017), a day before my PR card expired and i immediately consulted an immigration lawyer about my status and he told me that i needed to stay here for 2 years so i can comply my obligations and get my PR card renewed. Then I decided that I will be sponsoring my common law parter and bring her here instead of trying to go back to the Philippines, I have already submitted my application for sponsoring my partner.

My common law partner is pregnant and is due last week of December and I really need and want to be there, I think this is really important because this is her 1st pregnancy and giving birth. Pregnant women are so emotional and she has been so depressed by me being away while she is carrying our baby, I really need to be there for her even for a month or 2.

Is there an appeal or a promissory document/permission that i can apply to, so that i can fly out and get back in with humanitarian reasons, for a limited time? cause I really don't want anything to happened to my future family.

pls. let me know
thanks

 

[scylla]

There is no appeal or a promissory document/permission available. If you leave Canada, then then you return, you'll be attempting to re-enter with an expired PR card and without meeting the residency requirement. You'll need to travel to the US and attempt to re-enter Canada using your COPR through a Canada land-border using a private vehicle - and will have to hope you're not reported for failing to meet the residency requirement.

If you decide to leave, you also need to withdraw the application to sponsor your common law partner immediately. You can only sponsor someone if you meet the residency obligation. If you have been outside of Canada for more than three years in the last five, then you'll don't meet the residency obligation for PR and don't qualify to sponsor. This means her application will automatically be refused and CIC will begin proceedings to revoke your PR status after refusing her application.

 

[Pierson28]

Thank you for replying,

So even if I stay I am not eligible to support my partners common law application? is that what you are saying?

Cause I was told different by my lawyer.

 

[Pierson28]

There is no appeal or a promissory document/permission available. If you leave Canada, then then you return, you'll be attempting to re-enter with an expired PR card and without meeting the residency requirement. You'll need to travel to the US and attempt to re-enter Canada using your COPR through a Canada land-border using a private vehicle - and will have to hope you're not reported for failing to meet the residency requirement.

If you decide to leave, you also need to withdraw the application to sponsor your common law partner immediately. You can only sponsor someone if you meet the residency obligation. If you have been outside of Canada for more than three years in the last five, then you'll don't meet the residency obligation for PR and don't qualify to sponsor. This means her application will automatically be refused and CIC will begin proceedings to revoke your PR status after refusing her application.

So you are saying even now that I am here, I will get in trouble with my submitted application for my common law partner?

 

[scylla]

Thank you for replying,

So even if I stay I am not eligible to support my partners common law application? is that what you are saying?

Cause I was told different by my lawyer.

On the day you applied to sponsor your common law partner, when you looked back at the five previous years - were at least two of those years (i.e. at least 730 days) spent inside of Canada? In other words, did you meet the PR residency obligation on the day you applied to sponsor her? If the answer is no, you need to withdraw the application as soon as humanly possible - before CIC figures out you don't meet RO.

If your lawyer told you this was OK - your lawyer is unfortunately an idiot and has put your PR status in jeopardy.

 

[scylla]

So you are saying even now that I am here, I will get in trouble with my submitted application for my common law partner?

If you didn't meet the residency obligation on the day you submitted the application - then yes, you're absolutely going to have trouble - big trouble. You need to withdraw the application if that's the case. Don't wait - do it NOW.

 

[Pierson28]

If you didn't meet the residency obligation on the day you submitted the application - then yes, you're absolutely going to have trouble - big trouble. You need to withdraw the application if that's the case. Don't wait - do it NOW.

On the day you applied to sponsor your common law partner, when you looked back at the five previous years - were at least two of those years (i.e. at least 730 days) spent inside of Canada? In other words, did you meet the PR residency obligation on the day you applied to sponsor her? If the answer is no, you need to withdraw the application as soon as humanly possible - before CIC figures out you don't meet RO.

If your lawyer told you this was OK - your lawyer is unfortunately an idiot and has put your PR status in jeopardy.

by "before CIC figures out you don't meet RO" does this mean I'm not suppose to be here acquiring 2 years so I can get my PR card renewed? or my presence here is illegal?

 

[scylla]

by "before CIC figures out you don't meet RO" does this mean I'm not suppose to be here acquiring 2 years so I can get my PR card renewed? or my presence here is illegal?

You can be here and your presence is absolutely legal. But if you don't meet the residency requirement - then you can't sponsor someone. The sponsorship is the problem. CIC will leave you alone provided you don't try to sponsor anyone and you should have no issues renewing your PR card in two years - again, provided you don't sponsor anyone. When you attempt to sponsor someone, CIC conducts a review of you as a sponsor to determine if you qualify. If you don't meet RO, then you don't qualify to sponsor. CIC won't just reject the sponsorship application - but because you've now drawn attention to yourself, they will also move to revoke your PR status.

 

[scylla]

So the million dollar question is: On the day you applied to sponsor your common law partner, did you meet RO? Had you lived in Canada for 2 out of the last 5 years at the time you applied to sponsor?

If the answer is no - withdraw the application immediately.

 

[Rob_TO]

Hello, I have been a Permanent Resident since 2007. For the past 3 years i have been away since a chain of events has happened and other personal matters need to be dealt with in the Philippines.

I landed back here in Toronto July 1st of this year (2017),

As mentioned you need to confirm, what exact date did you leave Canada 3 years ago? Before or after July 1, 2014?

Is there an appeal or a promissory document/permission that i can apply to, so that i can fly out and get back in with humanitarian reasons, for a limited time? cause I really don't want anything to happened to my future family.

No such document exists. If you decide to leave, you can only get back to Canada 2 ways with no valid PR card:
1. Apply for PR Travel Document on H&C grounds, from a visa application centre in Philippines. There is no guarantee of success. If the visa officer doesn't accept your H&C reasons, the PR TD will be rejected, process started to revoke your PR status, and PR app for your spouse will also be cancelled. You could try to appeal the decision, but again this is a long process with no guarantee of success and while waiting you can't sponsor any family members.
If they do accept the H&C reasons, the PR TD will be issued and you can return to Canada, renew PR card, and continue sponsoring spouse.

2. Travel back to Canada via USA land border. WIth an expired PR card, CBSA will probably notice you don't meet the RO. Again they may or may not accept your H&C reasons, and if not you'd have process started to revoke PR status same as above.

Also as a PR, you are expected to reside in Canada while a spousal PR app is processing. So if you are gone too long and IRCC notices, they may cancel the PR app based on this.

 

[rish888]

I agree with Scylla that if you have made a sponsorship app w/o meeting the RO you need to withdraw it ASAP and UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES CONTACT IMMIGRATION UNTIL YOU ARE BACK IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE RO.

Your stay is not illegal, you just don't want to be giving CIC a reason to look into you. (Right now you are in a grey zone in the sense you are legal, but if your RO violation is discovered then you may loose your status.)

I would also stay away from the lawyer who gave you such colossally idiotic advice. He Cleary does not know anything may have very well put your status in jeopardy.

If your partner wants to come she may consider a visitor visa or something, but you should play no role in this.

Also, if you want to retain your status there is no leaving Canada until you are back in compliance.

Hope it all works out!