Canadian Citizen with PR spouse - Critical Immigration Questions

[canuck78]

We will travel by air before cards expire. And For renewal of PR cards does it mandate me to have a Canadian address? I plan to submit cohabitation documents in her renewal application.

As already pointed out you will need to be in Canada to apply to try and renew LE cards but you need to declare your genuine current address which would be outside Canada. Those residing outside Canada are typically expected to pick up the new cards in person and to an interview which would mean returning to Canada again within 6 months of being notified that the cards were ready for pick-up. I would also anticipate that processing may be non-routine so could take significantly longer than normal to receive a response. If an application was straightforward then remaining in Canada for 1-2 months after applying may have been an option. If you have no plans on returning to Canada on a permanent basis this becomes both time consuming and expensive to get an essentially a travel document. Getting approved once also doesn’t mean that approval is guaranteed on subsequent applications.

 

[ani486]

As already pointed out you will need to be in Canada to apply to try and renew LE cards but you need to declare your genuine current address which would be outside Canada. Those residing outside Canada are typically expected to pick up the new cards in person and to an interview which would mean returning to Canada again within 6 months of being notified that the cards were ready for pick-up. I would also anticipate that processing may be non-routine so could take significantly longer than normal to receive a response. If an application was straightforward then remaining in Canada for 1-2 months after applying may have been an option. If you have no plans on returning to Canada on a permanent basis this becomes both time consuming and expensive to get an essentially a travel document. Getting approved once also doesn’t mean that approval is guaranteed on subsequent applications.

Yes Travelling just to collect PR cards is really expensive especially in present times, where air ticket prices are unforgiving. If at all things go my way, i.e. I get the cards without any interview, can someone courier the PR cards to me? Is that allowed?

 

[ani486]

Is there an actual plan to return to Canada on a permanent basis? If there isn’t then this is really a non-issue. This doesn’t appear to be the case given your spouse and child never settled in Canada and while you were in Canada it appears your family established themselves in your home country where you bought a home, your child started attending school, etc. The multiple visits should be able to prove that you remained in a relationship while you were in Canada but 7 visits over multiple years isn’t cohabitation. If you have lived together in your home country since 2025 that would be cohabitation. It is also unclear how long you have been married and how old your child is since they are already attending school so there may have been a longer period of time where you were living apart and you wife and child were establishing a life in your home country.

We are married for 9 years when I moved back to home country, and child was 6yo back then in 2025. When I sponsored my spouse in 2023, our relationship was verified fully, with all necessary documentation - Application was processed without any questions on relationship. This was also mainly because our names as spouses were present in each other's passports under "spouse name" field even before I landed in Canada as PR. My PR application was also processed smoothly and hence I strongly believe that IRCC never doubted the relationship in the first place.

 

[canuck78]

Yes Travelling just to collect PR cards is really expensive especially in present times, where air ticket prices are unforgiving. If at all things go my way, i.e. I get the cards without any interview, can someone courier the PR cards to me? Is that allowed?

There is an extremely low chance that you will not have to pick up the cards in person. You don’t have a Canadian residential address so there shouldn’t be a valid address to send the cards if you are being honest. I would be planning on having to return to Canada both to apply for PR card renewal and to try and pick up the new cards. If they are denied outright I would assume IRCC may not require you to come to Canada for the interview.

 

[armoured]

Yes Travelling just to collect PR cards is really expensive especially in present times, where air ticket prices are unforgiving. If at all things go my way, i.e. I get the cards without any interview, can someone courier the PR cards to me? Is that allowed?

Yes, it can be couriered.

BUT: if it is expensive and timing problematic, repeat a point made above - you can apply for a PRTD while abroad, and if approved, travel to Canada without issue during the period of the PRTD's validity (it's basically a visa for a PR).

The downside is that PRTD applications are generally processed more 'strictly' and being refused means losing PR status (essentially) - basically less benefit of the doubt compared to someone applying from within Canada, although that strictness may not be as relevant in specific circumstances of a citizen/PR couple living abroad (I just do not know).

In your case if plans to move back to Canada are uncertain or very far away - and since your spouse can be sponsored anew, arguably doesn't matter so much if she loses the PR status. For example, if you think your spouse will never want to move to Canada, does it matter that much?

That's a simplification of course - there are pros and cons and costs and only you and spouse can decide, and involves scenarios that outsiders can't weigh for you (eg if you separate or the citizen passes away, the 'sponsorship anew' possibility disappears).