Urgent-My PR status

[emiliano]

Hi,

I am new here. Would appreciate it if you could answer my questions. 

I became a PR on 27 July 2000 as written on the back of my PR card.  I left canada on October 2000 on a return of resident permit (RRP) and returned in July 2001.  Left again after a month and returned on July 2003 and stayed up to Decmber 2003.  It is written on my PR Card that it expires on September 2008.

Question: Can I enter Canada before the card expires?

Many thanks
Emiliano

[Leon]

Residency requirements for permanent residents state that you can be outside Canada only for up to 1095 days total in any 5 year period.  That is 3 out of 5 years.  There are exceptions, for example if you are outside Canada with a Canadian citizen spouse or if you work for a Canadian company in a foreign country, they will not hold that against you but they are very particular about how to define a Canadian company.

In the last 5 years, you have been outside Canada for all but a few months.  If you don't fall under their exceptions, your PR card can still be valid but your PR status is considered abandoned for lack of interest.  You can try coming in on your PR card and see what happens.  The thing is, they will ask you how long you were gone.  Obviously if you say you were gone almost 5 years, they will cancel your PR if they haven't already but if you lie to immigration and say you were only away for less time and they find out about it later, they can take your PR and deport you, even if you have citizenship already they can take it away and deport you.  If they cancel your PR when you try to enter, I have been told that they will let you into Canada and give you 30 days to appeal but apparently with very low success rate.  You can also relinquish your PR voluntarily and go in as a tourist.

[emiliano]

Thanks a lot Leon, thats a great help.  I think I'd rather play it safe.  What do you mean by "relinquish your PR voluntarily"?  Is there a formal process to do that, like to go to the Canadian Embassy in the Country am residing and return back my card?  Do you think if I re-apply for an immigration visa once my personal commitments are over, my application would be rejected because of previous lack of interest? or that is not considered at all?

Thanks again

[Leon]

I think you can relinquish it when you try to enter with it and they question your status being valid.  Otherwise they would let you into Canada and let you appeal.  But that is only if you are going to Canada while it's still valid.  If you let it expire, you can try for the PR travel document to get back and use humanitarian and compassionate reasons for why you weren't able to stay.  If that doesn't work, you can apply for PR again.  I don't know if they consider it that you let it expire before.

[emiliano]

Thanks again Leon.  I appreciate it.

[emiliano]

Hi Leon,

Quick one.. (1)Do I have to return card to the embassey in my country when it expires?  (2)In my case the five year window started on July 2000, July 2001 or September 2003 I am so confused here?

Thanks in advance

[Leon]

1) You do not have to return the card.  If you apply for a travel document and are allowed to return to Canada, you will send it in when you apply for a new card.

2) It's always the last 5 years from today