Citizenship application in process, PR card will expired, Please help!

[windsorguy]

Hello friends:

Here is a question for my friend.

My friend lived in CANADA for 3 years and 8 months and submited his citizenship application months ago, he is working in US right now. From online process time table, his PR card will expire before his citizenship can be approved. His question is if he can renew his PR card while his citizenship application is in process? Is there any conflict for these two applications?

Thanks.

 

[Leon]

There is no conflict but he can not renew his PR card from the US. He needs to be in Canada. Also, he does not need to renew his PR card to keep his PR status.

 

[windsorguy]

Leon:

Thanks! His concern was that from current process time, he does not know how long his case will be done, may be one year to two years. If he does not renew the PR card, after some long time he needs go back to CANADA for testing or ceremony. He may not enter CANADA in time. Can he apply for the travel document sereral times, i.e., he may need one travel doc for testing and another travel doc for ceremony?

If he renew his PR card, he may get RQ for his citizenship application, which makes his application worse. Is that correct?

Best regards!

 

[Leon]

If he drives to Canada, he doesn't need a PR card, he can use his landing documents. I am not sure if a travel document can be used for multiple entries but I don't see why he couldn't apply for it twice if he needs to.

 

[windsorguy]

Leon:

Since he already submitted his citizenship application, if he write down his work date in the US between after his submssion and now (about six months already I guess) in the PR card renewal application, is there any problem for his citizenship application?

If he does not write down the date, is there any problem after he fill out tax return next year?

Thanks!

 

[Leon]

As long as he still meets the PR residency requirements and he's back in Canada when he applies for a new PR card, there should be no problem. Nobody says you have to stay in Canada while applying for citizenship. There are even instructions on the CIC website for people who have applied for citizenship to change their address if they live outside Canada.

 

[windsorguy]

Leon:

Thanks a lot!

 

[windsorguy]

Leon:

One more question from my friend. He will come back to CANADA for one week then come back to US for his job. During his stay in CANADA, he will apply for PR card renew. is it legitimate for him to apply for PR card renew
or could his application be rejected?

Thank you very much!

 

[Leon]

Leon:

One more question from my friend. He will come back to CANADA for one week then come back to US for his job. During his stay in CANADA, he will apply for PR card renew. is it legitimate for him to apply for PR card renew
or could his application be rejected?

Thank you very much!

Grey area. Normally you are not supposed to be able to apply for a PR card unless you are in Canada. He will be in Canada when he applies but actually only as a visitor. If they knew that, they would probably not renew it but they don't actually know that. They will know from his background info of where he's been living that he's working in the US now and that at the time he applies he's back in Canada for a couple of days. I don't know if they would see that as enough reason not to renew it since they don't know if he's moved back for good or if he's just on vacation. It may depend on the IO.

 

[windsorguy]

Leon:

Thank you so much!

Have a nice weekend!

 

[IBMER]

There is no conflict but he can not renew his PR card from the US. He needs to be in Canada. Also, he does not need to renew his PR card to keep his PR status.

@ Leon,

My situation is quite similar to that of the original poster. Going by what I infer, I'm not required to renew my PR even though it will expire before my Citizenship application will be approved. However, how can my wife, child and I (all have applied for Citizenship) come to Canada from the USA with an expired PR card in order to take the citizenship oath or such? Will a travel document do?
Thanks!

 

[Leon]

@ Leon,

My situation is quite similar to that of the original poster. Going by what I infer, I'm not required to renew my PR even though it will expire before my Citizenship application will be approved. However, how can my wife, child and I (all have applied for Citizenship) come to Canada from the USA with an expired PR card in order to take the citizenship oath or such? Will a travel document do?
Thanks!

If they are visa exempt to Canada, they can board a plane showing their passport but without showing the PR card and only present the expired card when they arrive at Canada immigration. If they are not visa exempt, they go to the US border and enter by land in a rental car or a private car. A travel document is also an option.

 

[IBMER]

@Leon,
Firstly thanks a lot for the quick reply.

Let me explain the context clearly (and I apologize for not having done that before):
My wife and I hold Indian passports. I've been employed, ever since my first day of arrival in Canada (Sep 2009), by the Canadian office of a multinational company. I'm going to be transferred to the same company's US office very shortly. My wife and I have applied for Canadian citizenship in Jan 2013 after having a physical presence of 1184 days in Canada.

We've provided a friend's Canadian address as the address for communication regarding the application for citizenship.
One of my children is a US citizen and the other is a Canadian. The child that is a US citizen too has applied for Canadian citizenship.

As you see, only the two of us (adults) have to have valid entry documents to enter Canada.

Our PR cards will expire in Oct 2014. The chances of getting citizenship before then are grim given the current processing times.

Hence, what, I gather, my options are:
1. Once we get a notification to take the test, we can travel to the US - Canada border by a private vehicle (rental car or personal car),
2. Collect a travel document at the border,
3. Go take the test and
4. Re-enter the US.

Could you please validate the above?

Now,
1. Assuming a travel documents is valid for only one entry into Canada, do you know if there are any restrictions in the number of times one can apply for such travel documents?
2. I ask the above because I've to travel to Canada at least twice - once for the test and next for the oath.
3. Are there chances that travel documents could be denied for my (our) case? If your answer is yes, could you tell me why?

Thanks again!

 

[Leon]

Hence, what, I gather, my options are:
1. Once we get a notification to take the test, we can travel to the US - Canada border by a private vehicle (rental car or personal car),
2. Collect a travel document at the border,
3. Go take the test and
4. Re-enter the US.

Could you please validate the above?

Almost correct except skip 2. You do not need a travel document to enter in a private / rented car at the land border as well as travel documents are not issued at the border. You simply drive across and when you come to the Canadian side, you explain that you are a PR but your PR cards have expired and because you were not in Canada, you have been unable to renew them. The immigration officers may say something to you but they will let you in because you are a PR.

If you want to apply for a travel document so you don't have to enter by car but can fly, you would apply for it at a Canadian embassy in the US. The processing time can sometimes be weeks. If you can prove that you still meet the residency requirements, that is at least 730 days in Canada in the past 5 years, you should not have a problem getting one.

Now,
1. Assuming a travel documents is valid for only one entry into Canada, do you know if there are any restrictions in the number of times one can apply for such travel documents?
2. I ask the above because I've to travel to Canada at least twice - once for the test and next for the oath.
3. Are there chances that travel documents could be denied for my (our) case? If your answer is yes, could you tell me why?

1. At some point they may start to tell you that you should really think about renewing your PR card instead of applying for travel documents.
3. A travel document can be denied if you do not meet the residency requirements of 730 days in Canada in the past 5 years.

You could actually apply to renew your PR cards now if you want to. Since the application must originate in Canada, fill out the forms and send them to your friends in Canada and have them mail them for you. Be clear that you are living in the US but that you have a secure mailing address in Canada. If you are lucky, they will mail the new cards to your friends. If not, you might have to go to Canada and pick them up.

 

[IBMER]

Thanks Leon for the detailed reply!

You could actually apply to renew your PR cards now if you want to. Since the application must originate in Canada, fill out the forms and send them to your friends in Canada and have them mail them for you. Be clear that you are living in the US but that you have a secure mailing address in Canada. If you are lucky, they will mail the new cards to your friends. If not, you might have to go to Canada and pick them up.

Well, I'm currently in Canada and hence technically I can apply for the renewal of my PR card, going by my country of residence. However, CIC says: "Do not apply for a renewal of your current PR card if it is still valid for more than one (1) year, unless it is due to a legal name change. Otherwise, your application will be returned." (cic.gc.ca / english / information / applications / guides / 5445ETOC.asp), I'm not eligible yet to apply for the renewal. Hence, I won't be eligible until Oct 2013 to apply for a renewal. Please comment if I'm interpreting the CIC statement incorrectly.