Canadian PR and F1 Student in USA at the same time

[emilia92]

Hi, I just received my CoPR and I am going to move to Canada in the next few months.
Problem is currently I am in USA with F1 visa studying PhD while doing CPT at the same time.
I live in Seattle currently doing my CPT and I plan to reside in Vancouver, BC. Is it okay for me to go back and forth between Seattle and Vancouver, BC so that I can be a student and fulfill my residency obligation for Canadian PR at the same time?

Thank you.

 

[Tubsmagee]

Hi, I just received my CoPR and I am going to move to Canada in the next few months.
Problem is currently I am in USA with F1 visa studying PhD while doing CPT at the same time.
I live in Seattle currently doing my CPT and I plan to reside in Vancouver, BC. Is it okay for me to go back and forth between Seattle and Vancouver, BC so that I can be a student and fulfill my residency obligation for Canadian PR at the same time?

Thank you.

How long will you be a student?

 

[emilia92]

It would be another 5 years since it is a PhD program.

 

[mbaleine]

You can, in theory. Any second spent physically in Canada whilst PR counts as one day of physical presence in Canada. You just need to document carefully each time you travelled back and forth. And probably expect some delay / request for documentation when renewing your PR card coz in that case they might take longer to verify that you do fulfill the RO.

 

[canuck78]

Hi, I just received my CoPR and I am going to move to Canada in the next few months.
Problem is currently I am in USA with F1 visa studying PhD while doing CPT at the same time.
I live in Seattle currently doing my CPT and I plan to reside in Vancouver, BC. Is it okay for me to go back and forth between Seattle and Vancouver, BC so that I can be a student and fulfill my residency obligation for Canadian PR at the same time?

Thank you.

The potential issue will be with the US not Canada As an international student on a F1 visa you are expected to be living in the US and attending your school. US border has been known to suggest you should decide whether you want to be in Canada or the US. Will you be going to Canada on the weekends for example? Can’t imagine that being in Canada on weekends would be an issue but living in Canada for months while still “attending” school may be an issue. It will likely depend on your living arrangements and also what border agents you encounter over time.