PR renewal for Spouse who hasn't met residency obligations

[i3dvector]

Hi all!

I am a Canadian citizen and I want to renew the PR card of my wife who was a PR before in Canada but her PR card expired as she barely stayed only 2 weeks during the 5 year period. We both got married outside Canada and we are currently working in the US and planning to return to Canada next year. I don't know if I can revive her existing PR status or if I should submit a new 'Spousal PR' application because her PR status was obtained (and expired) before I even met her. She became a PR in 2018 and her card expired in 2023 as she moved to US in 2018. I moved to US temporarily for work in 2023 and I met her and we got married in 2025. We never lived together (or even met) in Canada.

Just wanted to understand what our options are in this case as we have to go back to Canada in 2026 (my work Visa validity). Please advise. Thanks!

 

[armoured]

You could try to somehow renew the old, but if there is sufficient time, I think may be 'cleaner' and easier for her to renounce PR and then for you to sponsor.

 

[armoured]

Just wanted to understand what our options are in this case as we have to go back to Canada in 2026 (my work Visa validity). Please advise. Thanks!

As a side note, you want to get started on this right away. I believe you'll have to renounce first AND wait to get confirmation it's been completed (perhaps a couple of months?). Then of course apply for spousal sponsorship, say 6-14 months (if not going to Quebec).

Mind, she can apply for a TRV, and after the spousal sponsorship is 'accepted for processing' (called AOR because you get acknowledgement of receipt) apply for a work permit. But these all take time and can't be guaranteed she won't be without ability to work in Canada for a while.

On the positive side, as a citizen you can sponsor from abroad, and having your work permit expiring provides the evidence you do intend to return (you'll see on the forms).

 

[canuck78]

In case it wasn’t clear to OP they’d need to be in Canada to apply for the OWP with the Outland application.

 

[dpenabill]

I am a Canadian citizen and I want to renew the PR card of my wife who was a PR before in Canada but her PR card expired as she barely stayed only 2 weeks during the 5 year period. We both got married outside Canada and we are currently working in the US and planning to return to Canada next year. I don't know if I can revive her existing PR status or if I should submit a new 'Spousal PR' application because her PR status was obtained (and expired) before I even met her. She became a PR in 2018 and her card expired in 2023 as she moved to US in 2018. I moved to US temporarily for work in 2023 and I met her and we got married in 2025. We never lived together (or even met) in Canada.

Just wanted to understand what our options are in this case as we have to go back to Canada in 2026 (my work Visa validity). Please advise. Thanks!

There are, basically, three "options" for her:"

-- wait until she travels to Canada and sees how it goes at the Port-of-Entry (PoE)​

-- apply for a PR Travel Document, or​

-- renounce her PR status and then, as a Foreign National (FN), make a family class application for PR sponsored by you​

​

Only the last (renounce her status as a Canadian and in effect re-apply for PR) has a high probability of succeeding (near certain but for stuff happens contingencies).

That is more or less the easier approach to describe (especially for anyone who cannot be bothered to explain what other options there are). That is a typical superficial forum response oriented to what will likely work for most, largely ignoring what might work better for some depending on their particular situation.

Here, for your particular situation, that could be the preferable approach given the other options do not have good odds of succeeding and have some significant drawbacks.

There may be reasons, nonetheless, to seriously consider the other two options, particularly the option to apply for a PR TD.

That gets a little complicated, too much information for many these days.

And many regular forum participants likely wonder why even consider the option to apply for a PR TD (doubting the viability of this option given that for a PR in the U.S. who is trying to keep PR status, this is not usually worth much consideration).

But if you and her want to make informed decisions, and are inclined to do-the-homework to figure out what is the better option (for the two of you in particular), rather than relying on the easy answer based on what works for most (not all), there is plenty to consider . . .

Further Observations; The Long Read:

The key considerations in your decision-making include numerous personal factors that could affect how things go. The particular details in the individual case matter. What works for most, what is best for most, can be well shy of what will work best for some, or it can even be way off.

For example, just one example among many: I assume, in part based on what is likely, your spouse has not had even a minor criminal charge. But details like that can nonetheless be a very important consideration since a minor charge that would not affect a PR's status can make the individual inadmissible if they are a FN, which could preclude being eligible for sponsored PR. That is, as just one example of personal details that could make a big difference, a minor criminal charge might weigh in favour of making the effort to keep PR status rather than renouncing it and reverting to FN status. ​

One key factor is financial considerations and whether you can afford to obtain the assistance of a Canadian immigration lawyer (paid for advice, not a free consultation, and for sure not a consultant), at least for the purpose of reviewing the particular details of your situation, including viable options and respective considerations, to guide your decision-making.

Otherwise, if you are not interested in obtaining help from a lawyer, but want to more thoroughly consider your options, for the two of you in particular, then before renouncing PR status at the least carefully review what is involved in pursuing a sponsored spouse PR application, including the eligibility requirements. The renouncing PR status part is very easy. But even though making the sponsored spouse application is usually easy enough to do without a lawyer's help, it is important to carefully review the eligibility requirements and other aspects of the process carefully before electing to go that route. Even though that was my route to becoming a Canadian, I have not personally been following matters involving FNs much, including sponsored PR applications. I am aware that for applications by FNs there may be some processing time troubles brewing, if not chaos (IRCC recently gave a 50 year processing timeline for some types of applications), and that there may be other reasons to approach this option carefully.

For example:

Canada now requires quite a lot more proof that you will be settling in Canada when sponsoring a spouse from abroad . . .

I do not know much about this, but I do know that the first step is to review IRCC's online information about the process, including instructions and the applicable forms. Once you have done that there are other parts of this forum more focused on immigration applications, including family class applications and immigrating from the U.S. to Canada in particular, where you can ask questions to get some help, first to decide for sure this is the better option for you and her, and then, if needed, help navigating the process. (Still be aware and vigilant, of course, that like most internet forums, responses tend to be superficial and prone to misleading generalizations or outright misinformation; always try to corroborate and verify.)

In any event, the key considerations in your decision-making range from whether there are potential snags in obtaining PR status anew and how things are going at IRCC in regards to processing family class sponsored PR applications (including how long these are currently taking for example), to factors that could affect the viability of an effort to retain her current status as a Canadian (PR).

This brings up a clarification: Her PR status has NOT expired. There is no way for her to "try to somehow renew the old" status.

In particular, she is still a Canadian not a FN (so she is not currently eligible to be sponsored for PR). Just the PR card has expired (similar to how a passport expires; not like a how a drivers' license expires). The expiration of a permanent resident status card has no effect on their Canadian status. This is why she would need to renounce her current PR status and revert to being a FN before she could make a family class PR application sponsored by her spouse.

The only reason why she should even consider renouncing PR status and applying anew for PR is that she has failed to meet her obligations as a PR. Her breach of the PR Residency Obligation, and breach of it by a lot in particular, means she is at high risk of being deemed inadmissible resulting in a decision terminating her PR status, whether that be the issuance of a Removal Order during a PoE examination, the denial of an application for a PR TD, or attendant an inland inadmissibility proceeding triggered by an application for a new PR card.

In contrast, there is some chance (impossible to quantify; probably not good, but a significant chance nonetheless) that the two of you could come here and be waived through the PoE, not much questioning about RO compliance. If that happened she could simply stay in Canada long enough to get into RO compliance before engaging in any transaction that might trigger an examination of her RO compliance.

That would be the wait until she travels to Canada to see how it goes at the PoE option.

Even if waived through, however, that approach has some significant drawbacks. Gets complicated. Among frequent commentators here @canuck78 tends to address these more than others. Obvious drawbacks include difficulty obtaining provincial health care coverage without a valid PR card, or even a drivers' license, since it will take staying here two years to get into RO compliance and it is usually not a good idea to even make the application for a new PR card until then.

A major factor to consider is whether she obtained a SIN during her brief stay here. If not, that too is very difficult to obtain without a valid PR card.

Then there is the option of applying for a PR TD. I will get to that in a separate post.

Meanwhile, a reminder: approach internet forum information with caution (including, for sure, what I post). I do not know much about current processing times for family class PR applicants, that is actual, in practice, processing times, so I will not say that the claim that current processing times for spousal sponsored applications are about 6 to 14 months is wrong or even misleading . . . but information provided by IRCC currently states that the processing time is "About 15 months" for an outland application, and "About 22 months" for an inland application (much, much longer for those planning to live in Quebec), and even though processing times can be shorter than those posted by IRCC, that's not the norm and longer is common.

 

[dpenabill]

Just wanted to understand what our options are in this case as we have to go back to Canada in 2026 (my work Visa validity). Please advise. Thanks!

Considering Option of Applying For PR Travel Document:

As previously noted, generally few would consider this approach if a PR has the option of traveling to Canada without a valid PR card.

In the particular situation, however, it may make sense, especially if there are H&C factors underlying the reasons for leaving Canada without settling here in addition to considerations based on her current situation, including her being married to a Canadian citizen and planning to settle long term in Canada, so revoking her PR status would effectively only delay the inevitable, impose unnecessary difficulties in making the move, including forcing her and her Canadian citizen spouse to unnecessarily jump through the hoops of re-applying for PR, and imposing the additional burden of processing the sponsored spouse application on IRCC, imposing additional and unnecessary costs on the Canadian taxpayer (the latter probably does not carry much weight, but it is part of the whole package, so to say, which is what matters).

As I said, this gets a little complicated, so if you can afford a lawyer to help that may make this option more feasible, even attractive. This is especially so in regards to making a H&C case for keeping PR status. The specific details in the individual's particular situation can make a huge difference. The good immigration lawyer knows what matters and how to best present what matters in addition to offering an informed opinion about whether it is even worth trying to save PR status (many of us in this forum, for example, can describe H&C considerations in general terms, but a lawyer can dive into the particular details in the specific individual's case to make a far more informed assessment). Not only can the lawyer provide guidance in making a H&C case (if that is the option being pursued), but the lawyer can actually be the one making that case in a PR TD application. In contrast, a PR is not entitled to the presence let alone assistance of a lawyer in the PoE hearing/interview or other venue (such as an inland inadmissibility proceeding triggered by a PR card application) where an officer is weighing whether to make the decision that terminates PR status.

In any event, a potential advantage in making the PR TD application is she can effectively find out if she can keep PR status and not need to go through the process of giving up PR and applying for it again. If the PR TD application is denied, that terminates PR status, and she could then proceed with being sponsored for PR anew. If the PR TD application is allowed, not only would that mean she could come to Canada to stay without risk of being issued a Removal Order at the PoE, but once settled here it would be OK to proceed with a PR card application right away rather than having to wait until she has stayed long enough to get into RO compliance.

There is a second tangent in regards to why this option may be worth considering. (Yeah, this is well beyond the range of typical shallow internet forum fodder.)

Expecting PR TD To Be Denied Tangent:

Actually there is a similar tangent in regards to why seeing how it goes at the border may be worth considering. In either case, if a PR TD application is denied, or if a Removal Order is issued at a PoE, the PR retains PR status pending the right of appeal. Appealing would allow you and her the opportunity to come and settle, get established, allowing her to work in Canada in the meantime. It may even improve the odds of saving PR status, but that is speculative and in itself is not likely to improve the odds enough to base your decision on it.

The main thing is that if needed, this would give you and her time to come and get established here before she loses PR status. And she would be entitled to a PR card in the meantime, which could help navigating some of the resettling here logistics. (PR card application should probably include LoE she is applying for a card pending her appeal of the decision terminating PR status, which would be good for only one year, so the application does not get referred into a Secondary processing stream that can take a year.)

Definitely a good idea to have a lawyer's assistance in prosecuting an appeal. Moreover, since this route is probably more about buying time, a lawyer's involvement is likely to buy more time. And, this would be a shot at actually saving PR, an outside shot, but if this is the way you and her go, a shot worth taking.









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[i3dvector]

Thanks a ton folks. Really appreciate the help here. Considering the complexity of our case, we will also consult a lawyer for additional guidance. Thank you so much for helping us with this!

 

[lovelytobeinvincible]

Thanks a ton folks. Really appreciate the help here. Considering the complexity of our case, we will also consult a lawyer for additional guidance. Thank you so much for helping us with this!

Go through a point of entry, it depends they might check their compliance of their residency obligation or they might not and just waive then in, and also they might ask you to voluntarily renounce her status there itself and ask to re-apply for PR completely.

With the PRTD it depends I recently put a post on this forum regarding this in their case one spouse got the PR card when she was 19 and met their other spouse when they were 33 after like 15yrs and they applied through the Accompanying Rule,

It Depends On The Case Officer Looking At Your PRTD
1.Some say there must be a connection with leaving Canada initially to the Citizen and the PR should follow them
2.Some say there must be a connection when they left but it does not matter who followed whom as long as when they left Canada they left together
3.Lastly this applies to your case and that is all that is needed is that you must accompany a Citizen nothing else matters.

the last one is bit odd but it was a decision based on an IAD case and they said it makes sense because why go through a hassle to renounce PR and then re apply for PR status who already has it, it would be a waste of time money and resources so might as well let them keep their status.

summarise it depends on the case officer.

Hope this helps!!

 

[armoured]

Thanks a ton folks. Really appreciate the help here. Considering the complexity of our case, we will also consult a lawyer for additional guidance. Thank you so much for helping us with this!

I do overall agree that you should consider your options carefully. And getting a legal consultation may be useful, at least for some guidance.

That said: I still largely think that the renounce-and-reapply (R&R for brevity) may be better, with some caveats such as when you and your spouse expect to move.

But: the 'cost' of reapplying is (IIRC, do check) a bit over $1000 Cdn (plus some incidentals like notarization, medical exam, photos, etc. It can generally be done by applicants themselves with a little time and applied paperwork (getting docs, etc) - and when I looked into hiring a firm to assist with the spousal application, it was going to cost minimum twice that much, most places several multiples of that amount, and I was going to (effectively) have to do most of the work myself anyway. (Bottom line, most do the spousal apps themselves). (For reference initial consultations with a lawyer probably begin at about $250)

More complicated cases - eg like appeals etc - I won't even guess at cost.

You should of course be as informed as possible about what advantages may be of doing R&R vs alternatives. We do not know all details of your spouse's case. As noted, if intent is to settle in Quebec straightaway - huge issue.

Here are a few things that informed the reason I suggested (for most cases) the R&R:
-Certainty upon arrival - unlike other routes, 'new' PR.
-Travel limitations: new PRs typically get PR cards within about 60 days. But if you settle without the 'new' PR, it may become VERY uncertain when your spouse will get a PR card, and could take quite a bit longer (don't even want to guess, but six months to a year, longer if complicated appeals, etc) - and while the PR card is not used for very much, it IS - critically - needed to board flights to Canada (unless your spouse is using a US passport). Your spouse would still have the option (assuming US visas will remain valid) of entering via land borders, and that may be enough for some. But depending on job and life situation, this may be not just an inconvenience, but a serious constraint on ability to work, see family abroad, etc.
-Health care: unambiguous situation - will have right to health care as a new PR with at most a three-month waiting period. (Now zero in many provinces, including larger ones such as Ontario).
-Social Insurance Number: complicated here to explain briefly, but if no valid PR card and does not have a SIN or new landing docs (the "COPR"), may be difficult to get - which employers will want. (If she has one, it may have been 'paused' - frozen* essentially - and getting it unfrozen difficult - doesn't prevent work but complicated.) As a new PR, easy to apply for a new SIN - if she did not get one when she became a PR; if it was frozen, this is a fairly easy process - have to call the correct agency and send a copy of new docs.

Note that my spouse and I have actually done this R&R process - so some things like the SIN issue we've dealt with (it was frozen but was simple to resolve with recent COPR). The reasons we chose to do R&R - and didn't really consider the other routes - have nothing to do with your case (kids involved who would have to be sponsored anyway, amongst other), so I'm not saying it is best in all circumstances - or your circumstances - although I tend to think can be.

Applying and timeline: to be clear, the amount and type of info that a Canadian returning needs to provide under the 'intent to return' rubric is really not all that difficult, supported by your expiring work visa, and easier from USA (you can return at any time and tell IRCC "look I'm back.") While there aren't a lot of such R&R cases from which to generalise: your spouse got through clearances before and has been residing in USA, so no reason to think extended security checks will be required, and info sharing (eg for criminality checks) with USA good. While this is a bit superficial and won't be determinative - overall no reason to think it will take exceptionally long. (And most spousal apps take considerably less than the 12 or so months indicated on IRCC's website - 6-8 months not at all uncommon). The 50 year backlog referred to has nothing to do with your case.

I'm of the view that spousal sponsorship apps will not be severely restricted or intentionally slowed down or lengthened. That is, of course, a guess. As far as I can tell, right now the biggest backlogs forming are due to lengthy security checks - no single cause, but certain nationalities are clearly prone (eg if your spouse has an Iranian passport, this approach may not make sense - try to keep current PR status - although situation may not be comfortable in USA either).

There is a separate factor - your spouse's immigration situation in USA - that I won't comment on other than to say you didn't mention anything in that regard, so I ignored it. It's up to you to decide whether that is important.

But yes, if your spouse has criminality issues since then, will cause issues.

Good luck, really a decision only you and spouse can make. It likely will help you to look at the application packages.


*I say 'frozen' but that's not the correct terminology.