+1(514) 937-9445 or Toll-free (Canada & US) +1 (888) 947-9445

James Bong

Newbie
May 7, 2012
4
0
Hi

My wife and I have valid PR cards but our daughter was born outside of Canada and requires paperwork for sponsorship. I am currently in Canada and have sent the documents to Missasauga for processing. My wife is abroad with our baby but she would have to report in by august this year to maintain PR. After august she will have spent over 3years overseas.

Since our child is just over 2yrs old she doesn't have police records etc and her medical stuff is done. The problem is that cic has taken over 3 months due to a backlog and hasn't even gotten to our application yet. Based on the online countdown we're just a few days away but the backlog seems to be dragging on.

Anyway once the application is opened cic will do their thing and send the docs to our home country for final processing. The problem is there are only three months left for my wife to show up in Canada. If the approval drags on longer her PR will obviously expire. I was told that the immigration will take the delay into consideration because she is away for a valid reason. Is this correct? I called cic and one of the call center operators told me this but should I get some documents from cic to back us up so if my wife needs to show up with an expired PR card she will have supporting documents.

Any suggestions?
 
Did some reading and based on some other posts she can enter with the expired PR card. The worst scenario would be being reported and having to go through the appeal process.

Something else occurred to me. Would she be allowed to board from her home country? Obviously the kid will have valid paperwork but her "visa" will be her expired PR card.


Will the immigration officers allow her to board the aircraft to depart to Canada on an expired PR card?

Thanks in advance
 
You need to provide more details. You haven't said where your wife is from (i.e. does she hold a passport from a visa exempt country or a non-visa exempt country). If she is from a non-visa exempt country and her PR card is expired, the airline will be the problem and the airline is who very likely won't let her board the airplane (she'll need to apply for a travel document).

Entering with an expired PR card is problematic (what you read about being allowed to enter, being reported and then being allowed to appeal really applies to those with valid PR cards but who haven't met residency requirements). To fully answer your questions, we need to know if your wife is visa exempt or not.
 
I agree - it's important to know whether your child requires a TRV to travel to Canada. If not, they both need to get here to Canada ASAP. But I suspect she does require one - otherwise, why would the family still be apart?

So, with that assumption, I'm thinking it's probably a wise idea to IMMEDIATELY start application for a TRV for her, and try to get them both into Canada before your wife's PR card expires. The reason for the TRV request would be that your daughter is the subject of a sponsorship application, Dad is already in Canada, and Mom has to get back in order to maintain her residency requirement. The child is only 2 years and cannot be without Mom - so go for "best interest of the child" and humanitarian consideration. There are very few, if any, reasons that the child would be refused permanent status - so they really should not need to go "by the book" and refuse based on no genuine "temporary intent" - although you do have to understand that there is a chance the TRV would be refused. It would be ridiculous, but it could happen.

Because of that, my suggestion would be that in conjunction with the TRV application, you get your Member of Parliament involved. Rather than depending on CIC to get your daughter's PR paperwork processed in time (especially when they don't even post dependent child timelines anymore), or depending on luck to get your wife aboard transport or into Canada on an expired PR card, I think you need to be as pro-active as you can be. Contact the office of your Member of Parliament and let them know about the situation. Ask them to contact the office of the Minister of Citizenship & Immigration for advice on your situation. Talk to them about the idea of submitting a TRV application for your daughter (show them you have it ready to submit immediately), and if they (the Minister's office) are in agreement with the TRV being a valid option in your situation, they should be able to contact the overseas processing office about your child's PR application to get a better estimate than you can about whether or not it's likely to be approved before your wife's PR card expired and, if not, they most likely can influence a positive decision on the TRV.

This is not a situation that you should be trying to resolve on your own. It's impossible to get any substantiated response on your own from CIC - all you will get from call centre agents is opinion and that's not something you can depend on to back you up if things go wrong. The end result of this not working out would that you would have to start from scratch and sponsor your wife all over again - and that's unacceptable. (Another option that the Minister's office may come up with - if they can't support the idea of a TRV for your daughter - might be to add your wife to your daughter's PR application in anticipation of her PR status expiring before your daughter could land. It seems crazy, and a lot more complicated than just giving the child a TRV, but you never know.) Whatever the outcome, get some help with this. Many MPs are very concerned about immigration reform - if you're lucky to live in an area supported by one of those people, they can really go to bat for you. At the very least, stay on them until they make some calls for you so you have the info you need to make informed decisions.
 
Hi

Thanks for you replies guys. Pretty helpful info.

Scylla - my wife is Sri lankan so she won't be visa exempt. We inquired whether we can bring the kid on a tourist visa ( applying from SL) but we were informed a tourist visa would be rejected.

Rob - I made an appointment to go see my member of parliament. He won't be in office but maybe there will be someone who can point me in the right direction. He's a member of the liberal party ( bob Rae)so maybe that's a good thing. I'll find out more tomorrow. Any further advice on this matter?

Thanks for taking the time to respond.
 
James Bong said:
Hi

Thanks for you replies guys. Pretty helpful info.

Scylla - my wife is Sri lankan so she won't be visa exempt. We inquired whether we can bring the kid on a tourist visa ( applying from SL) but we were informed a tourist visa would be rejected.
I was also in the same situation like you. In my case I am the mother and PR. My son and husband are not PR . My suggestion is you can give a try for TRV. My son's TRV was also refused. After that you can apply for TRP (Temporary resident permit) for your son. Most of the time they issue TRP for dependent child. In that case your wife can travel with your daughter.

I know one case from singapore VO just like you. Their daughter's 2 yrs old PR visa took more than 7months for processing.
All the best.
 
Thanks Amy

We were considering me flying back and switching places with my wife so she can get here on time. I've been in Canada for 3 months. If I leave in august my PR card date will have expired. Can I get a renewed card beforehand? That way I can get back into Canada when my kids paperwork comes through.
 
James Bong said:
Thanks Amy

We were considering me flying back and switching places with my wife so she can get here on time. I've been in Canada for 3 months. If I leave in august my PR card date will have expired. Can I get a renewed card beforehand? That way I can get back into Canada when my kids paperwork comes through.
If you are a PR and you sponsor someone, You must be residing in Canada during the full process is finished. So I don't know wheather you can stay out more than one months or not.