Hi all,
I had something happen at the border yesterday that has really been scaring me. I was flying back into Canada from Australia after 1 week away and I was asked by the CBSA officer if I've "fulfilled" my residency obligation (RO). I've never, ever been asked this before.
For some background, I've been a permanent resident for five years this month, starting in October 2013 (FSW1). I've spent 2.9 of those years in Canada and the rest abroad; I'm married to a Canadian citizen, own the home we live in (in Canada), filed all of my Canadian taxes for the last four years, etc.. Anyway, I've got nearly 1100 days over the last 5 years in Canada, and my PR card is about to expire. I recently applied for a PR card renewal and this is why I'm sure of my time spent in Canada, as I had to calculate precise dates.
When I was directly asked if I've fulfilled my RO, I said yes, and that was the only question before I was allowed to enter.
In all the times I've entered/re-entered Canada, I've never once been asked about my RO. I only applied for renewal 3 weeks ago (I don't plan on leaving Canada again in the near future) so I find it hard to believe that they asked me this question based on PR renewal application since I doubt they've even opened it yet and I've received no communication from IRCC about it. Could it be that the CBSA officer asked me this question because my PR card is expiring in 2 months? Or is it possible he asked me this because there's already an investigation going on behind the scenes about this? I have nothing to hide and I absolutely have met the RO; I'm just a month short of being able to apply for citizenship. I'm just worried that today's question is indicative of some bigger investigation that will take a long time and be a headache for me. Dpenabill, have you ever heard of anyone else being asked this specific question?
I had something happen at the border yesterday that has really been scaring me. I was flying back into Canada from Australia after 1 week away and I was asked by the CBSA officer if I've "fulfilled" my residency obligation (RO). I've never, ever been asked this before.
For some background, I've been a permanent resident for five years this month, starting in October 2013 (FSW1). I've spent 2.9 of those years in Canada and the rest abroad; I'm married to a Canadian citizen, own the home we live in (in Canada), filed all of my Canadian taxes for the last four years, etc.. Anyway, I've got nearly 1100 days over the last 5 years in Canada, and my PR card is about to expire. I recently applied for a PR card renewal and this is why I'm sure of my time spent in Canada, as I had to calculate precise dates.
When I was directly asked if I've fulfilled my RO, I said yes, and that was the only question before I was allowed to enter.
In all the times I've entered/re-entered Canada, I've never once been asked about my RO. I only applied for renewal 3 weeks ago (I don't plan on leaving Canada again in the near future) so I find it hard to believe that they asked me this question based on PR renewal application since I doubt they've even opened it yet and I've received no communication from IRCC about it. Could it be that the CBSA officer asked me this question because my PR card is expiring in 2 months? Or is it possible he asked me this because there's already an investigation going on behind the scenes about this? I have nothing to hide and I absolutely have met the RO; I'm just a month short of being able to apply for citizenship. I'm just worried that today's question is indicative of some bigger investigation that will take a long time and be a headache for me. Dpenabill, have you ever heard of anyone else being asked this specific question?
Last edited: