tintin said:
Dear Forum members,
I finally got my citizenship in December after spending 8years in this country. Majority of the delay can be attributed to me paying someone to do my application when I am educated. Anyways, lesson learnt.
My question today is how to move forward. My husband works abroad (he's always worked abroad, so he hasn't gotten his own citizenship).
His contract is such that he comes home about 41/2 - 5 months per year, which is good to maintain his PR card. Since, I have my citizenship now, I can go to Qatar as many times as the school holidays will allow me (we have two kids in middle and high school).
So, when I am with him in Qatar, can he claim the days for residency purpose (not citizenship)? I envisage that I would be in Qatar at least 2months in a year.
What documents should we have for him to claim these days?
Thanks in advance for the enlightenment.
Generally, time outside Canada a PR is accompanying a Canadian citizen who is the PR's spouse will be credited toward meeting the PR Residency Obligation. Obviously, what constitutes "accompanying" the citizen spouse is the key.
Your situation could be in a bit of a grey area. Overall, odds are probably favourable, more so if the PR regularly spends time essentially living with family in Canada and when counting long visits together abroad that does more than add up to barely meeting the minimum.
However, there is some risk time spent
visiting a spouse might not be credited as if it was time spent living with the spouse, that is, it might not count as time
accompanying the spouse.
Why offer a longer, more complicated answer:
I recognize you, like most, want or at least prefer a simple, declarative answer. The question is fairly simple, "will time a Canadian citizen spends visiting the citizen's PR spouse abroad count as credit toward meeting the PR's Residency Obligation?" There should be a simple answer, yes or no.
But there is no definitive answer. There is a good probability that in your situation IRCC will give credit. However, that is not for certain. And, the decision ultimately depends on the particular facts in the individual's specific case, and this will most likely depend on a number of variable factors.
The short answer is
probably, except . . . . But it would be risky to rely too much on the
probably part of this short answer, and the reality is that a lot depends on what factors into that
except part.
Thus, a longer explanation is warranted.
The longer explanation:
The statute, section 28(2)(a)(iv) IRPA, says days count toward the PR Residency Obligation when they are:
". . . outside Canada accompanying a Canadian citizen who is their spouse or common-law partner or, in the case of a child, their parent, . . ."
The IRCC information about PR RO compliance, incorporated into an appendix in the Guide for making a PR card application, similarly states:
"You may count each day you accompanied a Canadian citizen outside Canada as long as this person is your spouse, common-law partner or parent (if you are a child under 19 years of age)."
Obviously, how the term "accompanying" is interpreted and applied is key.
For the last decade "accompanying" has been broadly interpreted to be based on
living together, and it does not matter who goes with whom or why the couple is abroad.
In your scenario, the question is whether "accompanying" is so broadly interpreted to include, as credit, any time the couple is together. That is, whether the PR will be given credit for days a citizen spouse is, in effect,
visiting the PR abroad.
I do not for-sure know the answer. I would not trust any purportedly definitive answer in a forum like this without specifically verifying the source for that. There may be some IAD decisions which illuminate more about how this scenario is likely to be assessed by IRCC, although they are unlikely to support a definite answer for you.
My sense is that there are a lot of
it-depends elements which could affect what an IRCC officer or IAD panel decides in such a case.
For example, the duration of visits may influence things. Longer periods of time living together in Canada will almost certainly have a positive influence.
I am hesitant to proffer an illustrative example because there will be a temptation to infer declarative conclusions from it whereas such an example can only offer, at best, some sense about how some factors might influence things. But, in any event, here goes, an illustrative example: PR with family well-settled in Canada, who regularly returns to Canada and whose actual time in Canada himself falls only a little short of meeting the 730 days (within five years) minimum, and whose spouse regularly spends a couple months or so each year in effect living with the PR abroad, probably has good odds of
no problem.
I am way less than sure about this. There are almost certainly other factors which can tip the scales more positively or a lot more negatively.
In general, IRCC usually leans in favour of keeping the family together and where there are ongoing strong ties to Canada, continuing roots in Canada, and overall it appears the PR deserves to keep PR status, it seems that IRCC personnel, IRCC officers, will tend to interpret and apply the rules liberally, even leniently if not generously.
Be aware that your immigration history, for both of you, can have significant influence. This mostly goes to indirect influences, such as whether the PR
deserves to keep PR status.
What is at stake:
The only for-sure (as
for-sure it gets) exception pursuant to which a PR will get credit toward the PR RO while abroad is when the PR is
living together with a citizen spouse abroad.
There are no up-front determinations or guarantees a PR will get credit. Thus, in any situation in which it is not certain the PR RO is met, there is no determination made until there is cause for IRCC to make a formal Residency Determination. This would be, for example, when a PR abroad applies for a PR Travel Document, or when the PR applies for a new PR card.
Only then will there be a formal decision about whether the credit is allowed or not.
What is ostensibly at stake, if IRCC declines to give credit, is loss of PR status. However, in your situation, so long as you are otherwise eligible to sponsor (not collecting social support for example), even if there was a negative decision regarding the PR RO, if and when your spouse is prepared to settle and live in Canada you should be able to sponsor him for PR status again. In the meantime, given his history he should be able to easily obtain visitor status allowing him to regularly visit family in Canada (again, so long as he is otherwise admissible, no criminal charges for example).
