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Hello.
My mother is a PR, and is traveling from mid November 2025 to late March 2026. Her PR card expires in mid July 2026.
If I apply before she leaves (for example, tomorrow), she would have 957 days of absence and 638 days of presence.
If I apply immediately after she returns (say, 1st of April), she would have 1094 days of absence and 647 days of presence.
If I apply closer to her expiry (say, 1st of July), she would have 1094 days of absence and 732 days of presence.
Which is the safer strategy?
I fully agree with waiting to apply for a new PR card when in compliance with the Residency Obligation.
A PR who has been outside Canada fewer than 1095 days since becoming a PR, or fewer than 1095 within the previous five years, is in compliance with the RO. So it appears she is in compliance and assuming she still has not been outside Canada more than 1095 days when she returns to Canada, she will continue to be in compliance. So she should be "
safe" in terms of not risking her status regardless when she makes the application.
That is, no need to wait to apply when she is "
back" in compliance since she is in compliance.
If, however, she remains outside Canada long enough to be outside Canada more than 1095 days since becoming a PR
and within the previous five years, that changes things, making things more complicated and dependent on the particular details (such as how long she would need to stay to get "
back" into compliance).
Which brings up cutting-it-close considerations.
Otherwise, wait until there is a bit of a buffer to ensure there is not problem with the calculation. Most people seem to think that a buffer of two weeks to one month is enough to mitigate any potential errors in the calculation, as well as raising flags with IRCC that could lead to non-routine processing (read: delays).
If there is a risk of making errors in populating travel history dates in the application (it will calculate the numbers error-free but that depends on completely and accurately reporting travel dates) to the extent it would matter, that too is more complicated and dependent on the particular details (the extent to which the PR may already be in breach of the RO looming large, or as
@bilo references, the extent to which the RO calculation involves days of presence from five years ago no longer counting).
This, in turn, brings up the prudence of waiting until she returns, regarding which there are two reasons:
-- being outside Canada after applying tends to increase the risk of complex processing and delays (how much so likely varies depending on various factors, not the least of which is the extent to which it appears the PR is traveling, temporarily abroad, rather than appearing to be living outside Canada)
-- if the PR is in breach of the RO, but not by much, odds should be very good their status is safe as long as they are IN Canada and staying in Canada while the application is in process
So far as I have discerned, compared to having a "
buffer" there are other factors which have a lot, lot more influence in whether the application gets tangled in complex or high-complex processing (thus, especially for the latter, running into delays). There have been relatively reliable anecdotal reports, for example, of PR card applications clearly getting approved in the more or less automated process even though the application was made relying on barely meeting the minimum RO, strongly indicating that cutting-it-close does not, not in itself, raise any flags.
A buffer is probably more significant for a PR who is traveling for any lengthy period of time after making the application, while at the other end of the spectrum a buffer is of little matter at all for a PR who is IN Canada and who appears to now be well-settled in Canada.
That said, there has not been sufficient reporting since the implementation of automated decision-making and, in particular, the use of Advanced Analytics (and other AI components), to discern how much difference, if any, it makes if a new PR (less than five years since landing) applies prior to reaching the threshold of 730 days compared to applying after reaching that threshold. Waiting to reach the threshold makes sense.
Overall, as long as she is in RO compliance, what might be at stake is how long it takes to process the application and be issued a new PR card.
And there are many factors which can affect that . . . ranging from it appearing the PR has left Canada and is living abroad, to reason for IRCC to have concerns about the PR's credibility.
I guess, asked another way, they're asking for dates of absence on the form and telling you to keep it below 1095, but they're really looking at dates of presence?
There is no substantive difference between calculating the number of days outside Canada versus counting
credit for days present in Canada. They add up to 1825 (not including any February 29 days). Whatever the number of days outside Canada, the credit for days of presence is 1825 days minus that number.
So, 1035 days absence means the PR has
credit for 790 days presence. And, since the application calculates days outside Canada, it does not need to accommodate separate calculations for those who have been a PR less than five years (who get credit for days present for both days actually present and days remaining until the fifth year anniversary of landing).
RO credit for days outside Canada based on one of the exceptions (such as the credit for days accompanying a citizen spouse) is calculated separately and that credit is conditional.
