About to lose PR status - what to do

[yanny]

I am a permanent resident. I had triplets last year while I had not yet completed two years of residency. But being alone in Canada with three babies was very challenging so I moved back home to get some help, and I cannot foresee returning to live in Canada permanently before the babies reach school age. In the meantime I would have lost my status. Is there a way to maintain it anyway? In the meantime I would need to travel to Canada occasionally to visit my older daughter.

Should I voluntarily renounce now? If so, where? Next time I travel to Canada is in November for two weeks. Should I invoke compassionate reasons to maintain residency? If I renounce now, can I get entry when I need to take children to school? Or should I need to be sponsored by my oldest daughter? Please help.

 

[Leon]

There is no way you can arrange not losing your residency beforehand. You can travel to Canada as long as your PR card is valid. When you get to the point that immigration starts to realize that you haven't spent 2/5 years, they can report you at some point and this would mean that you would be allowed to enter Canada but would have to appeal for your PR. If immigration never reports you, eventually your PR card would expire and you would not be able to renew it. Once you would be ready to go back to Canada, you could apply for a PR travel document listing your reasons why you could not meet the residency requirements. Immigration would decide if they think your reasons were good enough. If they say no, you would lose your PR. Your oldest daughter could sponsor you if she makes enough money.

 

[yanny]

Dear Leon,

Thank you for your prompt reply. I have considered renouncing voluntarily to apply for a Super visa (as a parent to my older daughter) until I am ready to go back to live permanently. What do you think?

 

[Leon]

There is no reason to renounce your PR at this point as you still meet the residency requirements and can travel on your PR card.

In order to get a super visa, your daughter has to show that she has the funds to support you, she has to be an adult, you have to have health insurance in Canada.

I suggest that you follow the instruction of my last reply. Wait and see if you are ever reported. If you are, you can appeal that based on your situation. If you lose, you lose your PR. If you are never reported, you wait until your PR card expires, then apply for a travel document. If you don't get it, you lose your PR.

In both of the above cases, if you lose your PR, then it is time to consider if your daughter can sponsor you for PR again or for a super visa.

 

[frege]

I am a permanent resident. I had triplets last year while I had not yet completed two years of residency. But being alone in Canada with three babies was very challenging so I moved back home to get some help, and I cannot foresee returning to live in Canada permanently before the babies reach school age. In the meantime I would have lost my status. Is there a way to maintain it anyway? In the meantime I would need to travel to Canada occasionally to visit my older daughter.

Should I voluntarily renounce now? If so, where? Next time I travel to Canada is in November for two weeks. Should I invoke compassionate reasons to maintain residency? If I renounce now, can I get entry when I need to take children to school? Or should I need to be sponsored by my oldest daughter? Please help.

Yanny, if you do choose to return to Canada to preserve your PR, have you considered moving to Quebec? It is possible to work in Montreal speaking only English. You could also live in Gatineau and work across the river in Ottawa.

Quebec has child assistance payments and other tax credits to support families, particularly single-parent ones. There is also the Canada Child Benefit.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/t4114/t4114-e.html
http://www.rrq.gouv.qc.ca/en/programmes/soutien_enfants/Pages/tableaux_comparaison.aspx

Most importantly, public daycare is heavily subsidized, and costs just $7 a day. Quebec is the only province with public daycare.

http://www.gouv.qc.ca/portail/quebec/international/general/quebec/mode_de_vie/garderies/?lang=en
http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/education/childcare-services.html

(Child care is free if you're on welfare.)

In some districts in Quebec, free all-day kindergarten now starts at age four. In some other neighbourhoods, it's still only half-day at age four and becomes all-day at age five. I understand Ontario already has full-day kindergarten for four-year-olds.

http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/quebec-introduces-early-kindergarten-project-for-low-income-families-1.1195878

 

[yanny]

There is no reason to renounce your PR at this point as you still meet the residency requirements and can travel on your PR card.

In order to get a super visa, your daughter has to show that she has the funds to support you, she has to be an adult, you have to have health insurance in Canada.

I suggest that you follow the instruction of my last reply. Wait and see if you are ever reported. If you are, you can appeal that based on your situation. If you lose, you lose your PR. If you are never reported, you wait until your PR card expires, then apply for a travel document. If you don't get it, you lose your PR.

In both of the above cases, if you lose your PR, then it is time to consider if your daughter can sponsor you for PR again or for a super visa.

Dear Leon,

Thank you for your advice. Of course it would be wise to keep quiet for the time being. Thanks again.

 

[yanny]

Dear Frege,

Thanks for your advice. I am actually a resident of Quebec, and I can confirm that there are many benefits there. I intend to return to Quebec by 2016 when the kids are ready for kindergarden, but my PR would have expired in 2015. I was near depression when one of my babies was admitted in the hospital and I was thorn between him and the two others at home. With not enough resources to recruit a live-in nanny there is no way I can cope. Thanks for the resources. Best, Yanny.

 

[Msafiri]

1. What is your landing date?
2. Are you of a visitor visa exempt nationality to Canada?
3. Do you have or can you easily get a US Visa?
4. Do you have strong ties to your current country - job. If you don't then your chances of a super visa which is really a visit visa are slim to none.

Your reason for being absent from Canada is understandable at a personal level but in my opinion won't cut it at appeal time. There are resources to deal with medical situations. Expect CIC to ask about support from the other parent and why your family could not visit you...in other words the CIC lawyer will dig up your personal situation.

 

[yanny]

Dear Msafiri,

Thanks for your post. Still appreciate all the help received and but handling three babies is something and the choice I am making is one hard one. Am ready to face the consequences but I am so much enjoying the relief I am having right now with them. I only hope I will at least be allowed to accompany the children to Canada for short stays.

 

[yanny]

Hello,

I have a question related to my status. Assuming I lose my PR status, how does that my application for a visitor visa to travel to Canada with my under aged babies who are Canadian citizens?

 

[Leon]

Some people are of the opinion that having had PR status may make it difficult for you to get a visit visa based on that you would be a risk of overstay. Personally, I don't think that is the case because if you have lost your PR for not staying in Canada enough, you could hardly be seen as a risk to overstay. I know of PR's who have lost their PR due to not meeting the RO who have been granted visit visas.

 

[yanny]

Many thanks!