PR Renewal Question: Residency obligation + counting initial 'soft landing' days

[scac_1041]

Hi everyone,

I have a specific scenario about the 730-day residency obligation (RO) and would really appreciate your insights.

My Situation:

1. Soft Landing: I first landed in Canada on December 26, 2022, stayed for 2 weeks (14 days) to activate my PR, and then returned to my job abroad.
2. Main Move: I am planning my permanent move back to Canada on December 4, 2025.
3. 5-Year Window: My 5-year window officially ends on December 25, 2027.

This means on Dec 4, 2025, I will have about 2 years and 21 days (approx. 752 days) left in my window.

My Questions:

1. Counting the Soft Landing: When I calculate my total presence, is it correct to count those first 14 days from my 2022 soft landing? My math is that I'd only need 716 more days (730 - 14) to be compliant. Is this how it works?
2. "Barely Meeting" the RO: My plan is to stay for the remaining 2+ years. If I do this, my total will be ~752 days (my new stay) + 14 days (soft landing) = 766 days. If I need to take a short 10-15 day trip during this period, I'd still have ~750 days, which is safely over 730 but perhaps give the impression that I'm just meeting the minimum.

Will an IRCC officer question me or give me a hard time for this? More importantly, can this be grounds for a PR renewal refusal, just because I used up all my absence days and was "barely compliant"? Or is this a simple "pass/fail" test (730+ days = pass)?

Appreciate any experiences you can share!

 

[Naturgrl]

Hi everyone,

I have a specific scenario about the 730-day residency obligation (RO) and would really appreciate your insights.

My Situation:

1. Soft Landing: I first landed in Canada on December 26, 2022, stayed for 2 weeks (14 days) to activate my PR, and then returned to my job abroad.
2. Main Move: I am planning my permanent move back to Canada on December 4, 2025.
3. 5-Year Window: My 5-year window officially ends on December 25, 2027.

This means on Dec 4, 2025, I will have about 2 years and 21 days (approx. 752 days) left in my window.

My Questions:

1. Counting the Soft Landing: When I calculate my total presence, is it correct to count those first 14 days from my 2022 soft landing? My math is that I'd only need 716 more days (730 - 14) to be compliant. Is this how it works?
2. "Barely Meeting" the RO: My plan is to stay for the remaining 2+ years. If I do this, my total will be ~752 days (my new stay) + 14 days (soft landing) = 766 days. If I need to take a short 10-15 day trip during this period, I'd still have ~750 days, which is safely over 730 but perhaps give the impression that I'm just meeting the minimum.

Will an IRCC officer question me or give me a hard time for this? More importantly, can this be grounds for a PR renewal refusal, just because I used up all my absence days and was "barely compliant"? Or is this a simple "pass/fail" test (730+ days = pass)?

Appreciate any experiences you can share!

Read "time lived in Canada.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/permanent-residents/status.html

When would IRCC officer give you a hard time? You don't meet an IRCC officer on entry to Canada. It is CBSA and your PR is valid. Only grounds for refusal if you apply to renew PR and don't meet RO.

 

[armoured]

Hi everyone,

I have a specific scenario about the 730-day residency obligation (RO) and would really appreciate your insights.

My Situation:

1. Soft Landing: I first landed in Canada on December 26, 2022, stayed for 2 weeks (14 days) to activate my PR, and then returned to my job abroad.
2. Main Move: I am planning my permanent move back to Canada on December 4, 2025.
3. 5-Year Window: My 5-year window officially ends on December 25, 2027.

This means on Dec 4, 2025, I will have about 2 years and 21 days (approx. 752 days) left in my window.

My Questions:

1. Counting the Soft Landing: When I calculate my total presence, is it correct to count those first 14 days from my 2022 soft landing? My math is that I'd only need 716 more days (730 - 14) to be compliant. Is this how it works?
2. "Barely Meeting" the RO: My plan is to stay for the remaining 2+ years. If I do this, my total will be ~752 days (my new stay) + 14 days (soft landing) = 766 days. If I need to take a short 10-15 day trip during this period, I'd still have ~750 days, which is safely over 730 but perhaps give the impression that I'm just meeting the minimum.

Will an IRCC officer question me or give me a hard time for this? More importantly, can this be grounds for a PR renewal refusal, just because I used up all my absence days and was "barely compliant"? Or is this a simple "pass/fail" test (730+ days = pass)?

Appreciate any experiences you can share!

I am confused what you are saying all above, I'd drop the concept of 'windows.' There are no windows.

There are only five-year periods, rolling, meaning on any day looking backward five years (this is not the way often described here so bear with me).

Ignore the rest. This is how the formula works in practice* - on any day (but most importantly on any day you are 'examined' meaning usually presenting at a port of entry, but also a day that IRCC examines your residency obligation - like reviewing a PR card renewal app) this calculation applies: you are IN COMPLIANCE if the total number of days OUTSIDE Canada is LESS THAN 1095 in the five years looking back from that day - BUT excluding all days before you became a PR.

In your case, since you'll be discarding days before PR, and the only absences are between Dec 26/2022 and Dec 4/2025 (which is less than three years hence less than 1095 days), you will be in compliance as long as you remain in Canada. Any day in Canada counts, even partial days.

There is no "barely" in compliance for these purposes - only in compliance - as long as the days actually in Canada are not in doubt. Barely out of compliance vs very much out of compliance is a distinction that can be important in some contexts.

* When I say 'in practice', I mean only that the law and regulations phrase this is a different way, but it's arithmetically identical, and more intuitive for most to ignore days before becoming a PR and counting days outside (rather than adding days back etc).