Can I maintain my PR Status and apply for Citizenship later?

[Kentish]

Hi,

I need some advise on my situation. My husband and I have moved to Ontario via sponsored work permit in Oct 2011. Thereafter, we apply for the Ontario PNP program and obtained our PR in April 2013. But, my husband has recently got a job offer in BC and will be starting end of Oct. The job requires him to be based outside Canada for 18mths but will still be paying taxes in Canada. BTW, it is a large Canadian company.

So, I would like to know whether are we able to maintain our PR status? Also, will it affect our application for Citizenship when we return?

Would appreciate if someone can advise me on this.

Many thanks.

 

[scylla]

To qualify to apply for citizenship, you must have lived in Canada for three years out of the previous four years before applying. Any time you spend outside of Canada will not be counted towards this total. So yes - taking a job outside of Canada will affect your ability to apply for citizenship. Once you return to Canada after the 18 months, you will have to spend at least another three years in Canada before you will qualify to apply for citizenship.

Whether the days spent outside of Canada will count towards your PR residency obligation or not depend on how your husband was hired. Is he going to work in Canada for several months before being moved to a position outside of Canada? Or will he be located outside of Canada as soon as he starts the new role?

 

[Kentish]

Hi scylla ,

Thanks for your reply.

My husband will be commence work in BC for a month before moving out from Canada. Not sure whether the info is correct but according to his company Human Resources, the law requires all Canadian Companies to meet the requirement of having the employee to work for a month locally before assigning the employee to work outside Canada. In addition, he is hired to be based on the project which has to be carried outside of Canada on a full time basis for 18mths and return to Canada and based in Canada office after completion of the assignment. All this are stipulated in the offer, so not sure whether this is a good support for us to prove to CIC that we leave due to work assignment.

Besides, can you or anyone advise whether we could appeal to CIC to count our stay outside of Canada to qualify for Citizenship application since all taxes are paid in Canada. Also, those days before getting PR (under work permit), how is the calculation for PR residency and Citizenship? Below is a rough idea of our stay in Canada since we arrived under work permit:

Oct 15, 2011 till April 19,2013- Work Permit
April 20, 2013 till now- PR
Dec 2013 till June 2015- Outside Canada

Would appreciate some advise.

 

[scylla]

Besides, can you or anyone advise whether we could appeal to CIC to count our stay outside of Canada to qualify for Citizenship application since all taxes are paid in Canada. Also, those days before getting PR (under work permit), how is the calculation for PR residency and Citizenship? Below is a rough idea of our stay in Canada since we arrived under work permit:

You need to be physically present in Canada to count the days towards citizenship. Paying taxes in Canada isn't enough and these days won't be accepted as residency days for citizenship. I suppose you can appeal, however there's zero chance of success and you'll only be wasting time/money - plus it will likely lead to longer processing times once you apply for citizenship a second time when you really do qualify. Wait until you actually qualify for citizenship to apply.

Yes - you can count days before you became a PR towards citizenship. However each day before you became a PR counts as only 1/2 day towards the citizenship requirement. Also, 2 out of the 3 years required to qualify for citizenship must have been accumulated after you became a PR. And also keep in mind that only the last 4 years (before you apply) are considered. The dates you have provided indicate that you won't qualify for citizenship until June/July 2018 (assuming you return in June 2015 and don't leave Canada until June/July 2018). If you were NOT planning to leave Canada for a year and a half in December, then the soonest you would qualify to apply is April/May 2015.

 

[scylla]

If you were NOT planning to leave Canada for a year and a half in December, then the soonest you would qualify to apply is April/May 2015.

Sorry - I looked at your pre-PR dates too quickly. You would qualify to apply for citizenship sometime in the fall of 2015 if you were not leaving Canada (not April/May).

 

[Kentish]

Thanks again scylla for your reply.

Assuming that we apply our citizenship in June/July 2018 (after returning in June 2015), do we need to remain in Canada until the Citizenship application is approve? Are we allowed to travel out for holidays while waiting for the citizenship approval or for work assignment if required?