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Requirement to be considered Canadian Resident?

Micky999

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Jan 21, 2014
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All information I've been able to find concerning Canadian Residency invariably refers to immigrants in some form or other. This applies to this forum, which is understandable, and to Canadian Government websites and this is not understandable. The Canadian Government doesn't seem to think that Canadians are entitled to information!
What I need to know is "What is the criteria for Canadians to be considered Canadian Resident?"
I was born, raised, schooled, married, raised children, worked, and so on, in Canada. After 42 years of being in Canada, I went to work abroad for the United Nations but never taking up official residency in the subject countries. 23 years later I returned to Canada to work for another 2.5yrs after which I retired. However, my wife did not return with me to Canada. She preferred to stay in Europe with one of our daughters and her family. I have been spending my time between Canada and Europe but have always, in my view, intent and following the rules of residency (to the best that I was informed), been a resident of Canada. Now the government is questioning my residency status and, at least in my view, harassing me on the matter. (Sorry to make the story long but I thought it was necessary to give you the right perspective.)
I understood / was informed that if I did not go out of Canada for more than a total of 181 days (with trips of not more than 21 days being considered as being in Canada), I was a Canadian Resident.
Can you tell me what the rule is and where I can find and use substantiating information to get this government employee off my back.
A million thanks,
Mike
 

zardoz

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It might help if you explained WHY this "government employee" is on your back anyway... Is this related to taxation or healthcare?

As a Canadian citizen, the question of residency rarely arises..
 

scylla

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Are you asking from a CRA perspective? If so, it's 183 days and the rules are outlined here:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/ndvdls/nnrs-eng.html
 

zardoz

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Or could it be, having done some quick mental maths, be related to pension entitlements?
 

Micky999

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Jan 21, 2014
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No problems with the tax man. I do my tax report every year & no problems.

The questions are in connection with Old Age Pension & Guaranteed Income Supplement.
 

zardoz

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Micky999 said:
No problems with the tax man. I do my tax report every year & no problems.

The questions are in connection with Old Age Pension & Guaranteed Income Supplement.
Well, just in case you have not already found them, and for anyone who stumbles across this thread.

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/services/pensions/oas/pension/index.shtml
http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/services/pensions/oas/gis/index.shtml
 

Micky999

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Jan 21, 2014
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I've been to these 2 links before and they don't show the info I need. The closest they have is:
"...your Guaranteed Income Supplement payment will stop if:...
•you leave Canada for more than six consecutive months..."

I have never left Canada for more than 6 months.

The government guy whose been trying to nail me on this point for several years finally gave up but is now trying to get me in another way. He is now saying that I am not a resident of Canada because I'm outside of Canada more than I'm in. He's just about right depending on how one counts the days of absence. The info I had obtained at one time from government web sites was that I could be away for up to 181 days and that absences of up to 21 days did not count as absences. Unfortunately I have not been able to relocate this info which is why I went to your forum. I absolutely need this info to get this guy off my back. I can't afford to lose my allowances and I can't afford a lawyer.
 

zardoz

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I would suggest that you start working through http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-o-9/latest/rsc-1985-c-o-9.html and http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/regu/crc-c-1246/latest/crc-c-1246.html
Regardless of what a web site states, these are the legislation that governs your situation.
 

scylla

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What province are you living in? I remember reading about the 21 day rule but think it only applies to Quebec (assuming that rule still exists).

For the rest of the provinces, I believe you need to spend at least 183 days out of each 12 month period in Canada to be deemed a resident for pension purposes, health care coverage, etc. I will try to find something official later this week.
 

zardoz

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I have no idea if this helps... but here you go, from the "Old Age Security Regulations".

Residence

20. (1) To enable the Minister to determine a person’s eligibility in respect of residence in Canada, the person or someone acting on the person’s behalf shall provide a statement giving full particulars of all periods of residence in Canada and of all absences from Canada that are relevant to that eligibility.

(2) Unless the Minister requires otherwise under the Act, a person is not required to provide a statement under subsection (1) in the circumstances set out in subsection 5(2) or (5), 11(3) or (4), 19(4.1) or 21(5) or (5.1) of the Act.

SOR/96-521, ss. 27, 29(F); SOR/2013-23, s. 5.
21. (1) For the purposes of the Act and these Regulations,

(a) a person resides in Canada if he makes his home and ordinarily lives in any part of Canada; and

(b) a person is present in Canada when he is physically present in any part of Canada.

(2) A person who lives on a ship outside the territorial waters of Canada shall, while so living, be deemed not to be living in any part of Canada.

(2.1) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a person who is not a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada does not reside in Canada for the purposes of the Act and these Regulations during any period in which he is present in Canada

(a) for the purpose of carrying out his duties as a properly accredited diplomat, consular officer, representative or official of

(i) a country other than Canada,

(ii) the United Nations or any of its agencies, or

(iii) any intergovernmental organization in which Canada participates;

(b) as a member of a military force present in Canada for training or for any other purpose in connection with the defence or security interests of Canada or under any treaty or agreement between Canada and another country;

(c) as the spouse, common-law partner or dependant of a person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) or the dependant of that person’s spouse or common-law partner; or

(d) as a member of the staff of or as a person otherwise accompanying a person referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c).

(3) For the purposes of the Act and these Regulations, where a person becomes the spouse or common-law partner of a person residing in Canada while the person residing in Canada is absent from Canada in any of the circumstances specified in paragraph (5)(a) or (b), the period outside Canada of the spouse after their marriage or of the common-law partner after becoming such a partner is considered a period of residence and presence in Canada, if

(a) the spouse or common-law partner returns to Canada either before or within six months after the return of the person residing in Canada or within six months after that person’s death if that person dies while so absent from Canada; or

(b) the spouse or common-law partner attains, during that period outside Canada, an age at which the spouse or common-law partner is eligible to be paid a pension under the Act.

(4) Any interval of absence from Canada of a person resident in Canada that is

(a) of a temporary nature and does not exceed one year,

(b) for the purpose of attending a school or university, or

(c) specified in subsection (5)

shall be deemed not to have interrupted that person’s residence or presence in Canada.

(5) The absences from Canada referred to in paragraph (4)(c) of a person residing in Canada are absences under the following circumstances:

(a) while that person was employed out of Canada

(i) by the United Nations or one of its specialized agencies,

(ii) by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization,

(iii) by the Commonwealth Secretariat,

(iv) by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development,

(v) by l’Agence de coopération culturelle et technique, or

(vi) by a Canadian firm or corporation as a representative or member thereof,

if during his employment out of Canada he

(vii) had in Canada a permanent place of abode to which he intended to return, or

(viii) maintained in Canada a self-contained domestic establishment,

and he returned to Canada within six months after the end of his employment out of Canada or he attained, while employed out of Canada, an age at which he was eligible to be paid a pension under the Act;

(b) while that person was employed or engaged out of Canada

(i) by the Government of Canada or of the government or a municipal corporation of any province,

(ii) in the performance of services in another country under a development or assistance program that is sponsored or operated in that country by the Government of Canada or of a province or by a non-profit Canadian agency,

(iii) as a member of the Canadian Forces, pursuant to and in connection with the requirements of his duties,

(iv) in work for Canada connected with the prosecution of any war,

(v) as a member of the armed forces of any ally of Canada during any war,

(vi) as a missionary with any religious group or organization,

(vii) as a worker in lumbering, harvesting, fishing or other seasonal employment,

(viii) as a transport worker on trains, aircraft, ships or buses running between Canada and points outside Canada or other similar employment, or

(ix) as an employee, a member or an officer of an international charitable organization,

if he returned to Canada within six months of the end of his employment or engagement out of Canada or he attained, while employed or engaged out of Canada, an age at which he was eligible to be paid a pension under the Act;

(c) while that person was accompanying their spouse or common-law partner who was absent from Canada in any of the circumstances specified in paragraph (a) or (b) or for the purpose of attending school or university, if that person

(i) returned to Canada either before or within six months after the return of their spouse or common-law partner or within six months after the death of their spouse or common-law partner, if their spouse or common-law partner died while so absent from Canada, or

(ii) while so absent from Canada, attained an age at which he was eligible to be paid a pension under the Act;

(d) while that person was awaiting transportation to Canada during or immediately after World War II, if he

(i) was unable to return to Canada owing to the dislocation of transportation facilities, and

(ii) returned to Canada when transportation became available;

(e) while that person was accompanying his spouse who was resident in Canada and awaiting transportation to Canada during or immediately after World War II, if that person

(i) was unable to return to Canada owing to the dislocation of transportation facilities, and

(ii) returned to Canada when transportation became available; or

(f) while that person was a dependent person and was accompanying and residing outside Canada with the person on whom he was dependent, if the person on whom he was dependent resided in Canada and was absent from Canada in any of the circumstances specified in paragraph (a) or (b) and if the dependent person

(i) returned to Canada before or within six months after the return of the person on whom he was dependent or within six months after that person’s death, if that person died while so absent from Canada, or

(ii) while so absent from Canada, attained an age at which he was eligible to be paid a pension under the Act.

(5.1) Where, by virtue of an agreement entered into under subsection 40(1) of the Act, a person is subject to the Act while residing in a country other than Canada, the absence from Canada of that person, the person’s spouse or common-law partner and the dependants of the person or of the person’s spouse or common-law partner, if the spouse, common-law partner or dependants, as the case may be, reside with the person in that country, shall, for the purposes of an allowance, not be considered to have interrupted the residence or presence in Canada of the person, spouse, common-law partner or dependants.

(5.2) Where a person who is resident in Canada is subject to the legislation of a country other than Canada by virtue of an agreement entered into under subsection 40(1) of the Act, and the person’s spouse or common-law partner or the dependant of the person or of the person’s spouse or common-law partner engages in pensionable employment as defined in the Canada Pension Plan or in the plan of a province providing a comprehensive pension plan, any period in such pensionable employment shall, for the purposes of the Act and these Regulations, be considered to be a period of residence in Canada.

(5.3) Where, by virtue of an agreement entered into under subsection 40(1) of the Act, a person is subject to the legislation of a country other than Canada, that person shall, for the purposes of the Act and these Regulations, be deemed not to be resident in Canada.

(6) For the purposes of paragraph (5)(f), “dependent person” means, with respect to a person who was absent from Canada in any of the circumstances specified in paragraph (5)(a) or (b), that person’s father, mother, brother, sister, child or foster child or the father, mother, child or foster child of the person’s spouse or common-law partner.

(7) “Dependant” means

(a) with respect to a person who does not reside in Canada within the meaning of subsection (2.1),

(b) with respect to a person who is deemed to be resident in Canada within the meaning of subsection (5.1), or

(c) with respect to a person referred to in subsection (5.2) who, while resident in Canada is subject to the legislation of a country other than Canada,

that person’s father, mother, brother, sister, child or foster child or the father, mother, child or foster child of the person’s spouse or common-law partner.

(8) For the purposes of section 4.1 of the Act as it relates to the requirement of subparagraph 3(1)(c)(iii) of the Act, the prescribed information is information indicating that the person, for at least 40 years, for all or part of each of those years,

(a) had unadjusted pensionable earnings under the Canada Pension Plan that were above the person’s basic exemption for that year, or had unadjusted pensionable earnings under An Act respecting the Québec Pension Plan, R.S.Q., c. R-9 that were above the person’s personal exemption for that year;

(b) received a retirement pension or disability pension under either the Canada Pension Plan or An Act respecting the Québec Pension Plan, R.S.Q., c. R-9; or

(c) had time excluded from a contributory period under the Canada Pension Plan because the person was a family allowance recipient, or had time not included in a contributory period under An Act respecting the Québec Pension Plan, R.S.Q., c. R-9 because the person was a recipient of family benefits.

(9) For the purposes of subsection (8),

(a) in relation to the Canada Pension Plan, “basic exemption”, “contributory period” and “unadjusted pensionable earnings” have the same meaning as in subsection 2(1) of that Act and “family allowance recipient” has the same meaning as in subsection 42(1) of that Act; and

(b) in relation to An Act respecting the Québec Pension Plan, R.S.Q., c. R-9, “recipient of family benefits”, “personal exemption”, “unadjusted pensionable earnings” and “contributory period” have the same meaning as in paragraph 1(v) and sections 43, 98 and 101 of that Act respectively.

SOR/81-285, s. 5; SOR/83-84, ss. 2, 3; SOR/89-269, s. 6; SOR/96-521, s. 9; SOR/2000-412, s. 9; SOR/2013-23, s. 6.
Legal Residence

22. (1) For the purposes of subsections 4(1), 19(2) and 21(2) of the Act, “legal residence”, with respect to a person described in any of those subsections, means that, on the applicable day specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of those subsections, that person

(a) is or was lawfully in Canada pursuant to the immigration laws of Canada in force on that day;

(b) is or was a resident of Canada and is or was absent from Canada, but

(i) is deemed, pursuant to subsection 21(4) or (5) or under the terms of an agreement entered into under subsection 40(1) of the Act, not to have interrupted the person’s residence in Canada during that absence, and

(ii) was lawfully in Canada pursuant to the immigration laws of Canada immediately prior to the commencement of the absence; or

(c) is not or was not resident of Canada but is deemed, pursuant to subsection 21(3) or under the terms of an agreement entered into under subsection 40(1) of the Act, to be or to have been resident in Canada.

(2) For the purposes of section 4.1 of the Act as it relates to the requirement of paragraph 4(1)(a) of the Act, the prescribed information is both

(a) a current residential address in Canada; and

(b) the prescribed information that is referred to in subsection 21(8).

SOR/78-699, s. 1; SOR/81-285, s. 6; SOR/89-269, s. 7; SOR/90-813, s. 11; SOR/96-521, s. 10; SOR/2013-23, s. 8.
 

Micky999

Newbie
Jan 21, 2014
4
0
Thank you so much.

It seems Zardos has found the answer I need - right in the Act itself.
I will be studying this 'legalees' further of course.

One thing I found very interesting is that there is always talk of this 183 days but the Act seems to say 1 year.
I quote:
(4) Any interval of absence from Canada of a person resident in Canada that is

(a) of a temporary nature and does not exceed one year,

shall be deemed not to have interrupted that person’s residence or presence in Canada.
unquote

Concerning the "21 Days" I mentioned and Scylla thinks it only applies to Quebec, I do live in Quebec and so I should have no problem.

Again, Many thanks to all of you who participated in my post.
Mickey
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
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Toronto
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Micky999 said:
Concerning the "21 Days" I mentioned and Scylla thinks it only applies to Quebec, I do live in Quebec and so I should have no problem.
Just to be clear - I'm pretty sure I read about this rule in the past. What I don't know is if the rule still applies to Quebec today. They do have a habit of changing rules from time to time. Good luck...