Commuting from Point Roberts to Bellingham - time in Canada counting for RO

[Tubsmagee]

Reading through the Living in Vancouver and working in Seattle? thread, I wondered if it would be possible/practical for a US citizen/Canadian PR, to live in Point Roberts and commute to Bellingham (or anywhere in WA), and have the daily commute across corner of CA count toward residency obligation. Anyone know whether there would be an issue?

 

[jakklondon]

Reading through the Living in Vancouver and working in Seattle? thread, I wondered if it would be possible/practical for a US citizen/Canadian PR, to live in Point Roberts and commute to Bellingham (or anywhere in WA), and have the daily commute across corner of CA count toward residency obligation. Anyone know whether there would be an issue?

@Tubsmagee , I have heard of some people doing it, living in Canada and commuting to work in the US, who have maintained their Canadian PR status. I believe it's doable, though not an easy feat. You must get a job in a US town bordering Canada , get a place to live in Canada within commuting distance to your job in the US, and very few people have done this. But you will find their blogs or posts if you Google for it.

 

[Tubsmagee]

Thanks, @jakklondon. I actually commuted between Richmond and Blaine for a time years ago… it was certainly doable. I have a job now that can’t be worked out of the US, which is why I am looking at essentially traveling through Canada just to keep up with RO.

 

[jakklondon]

Thanks, @jakklondon. I actually commuted between Richmond and Blaine for a time years ago… it was certainly doable. I have a job now that can’t be worked out of the US, which is why I am looking at essentially traveling through Canada just to keep up with RO.

You mean you commuted from Richmond to Blaine in MN? 1200 miles each way, every working day?

https://www.trippy.com/distance/Richmond-to-Blaine-MN

 

[Tubsmagee]

You mean you commuted from Richmond to Blaine in MN? 1200 miles each way, every working day?

https://www.trippy.com/distance/Richmond-to-Blaine-MN

LOL, no I lived in Blaine, Wa and commuted to Richmond, BC daily.

 

[jakklondon]

Not knowing the applicable law in the hypothetical you described, I would venture to guess that merely passing through Canada won't count towards RO. There is a difference between staying [residing] in CA and commuting to US and passing through CA on your way from one point in the US to another point in the US where you also reside.

 

[scylla]

Reading through the Living in Vancouver and working in Seattle? thread, I wondered if it would be possible/practical for a US citizen/Canadian PR, to live in Point Roberts and commute to Bellingham (or anywhere in WA), and have the daily commute across corner of CA count toward residency obligation. Anyone know whether there would be an issue?

I have seen living in Canada and working in the US and also the opposite (living in the US and working in Canada). However have never seen anyone do what you are proposing. No idea if that would work or not.

If you decide to give this a go, good luck and please let us know how it turns out.

 

[Tubsmagee]

Than you both for your responses. I’m not sure either whether it would work (and probably wouldn’t try it), but after reading this post from 2020 and part of OP 10, Permanent Resident Status Determination, thought it was worth considering.

I did something kind of similar-ish in living in Blaine, WA (right across the border). I’d bike across the border at around 11:45PM, then bike back at 12:05 PM so I could bang out two days of residency at once. Partial days of physical presence count, and you could just as easily do it in a car. There’s not generally much traffic that time of night.

6.4 Day
Section 27(2) of the Interpretation Act governs the calculation of time limits in federal statutes. Where a statute refers to a number of days between two events (and precedes the number of days with the words “at least”), both the day of occurrence of the first event as well as the day of occurrence of the second event are to be counted in calculating the number of days. For the purpose of calculating the number of days to comply with the residency obligation in IRPA A28(2)(a), a day includes a full day or any part of a day that a permanent resident is physically present in Canada. Any part of a day spent in Canada, or otherwise in compliance with A28(2)(a), is to be counted as one full day for the purpose of calculating the
730 days in a five-year period

 

[jakklondon]

Than you both for your responses. I’m not sure either whether it would work (and probably wouldn’t try it), but after reading this post from 2020 and part of OP 10, Permanent Resident Status Determination, thought it was worth considering.

If there is a law that allows this, and your job is within commuting distance from your home, why wouldn't you do it to comply with RO?

 

[dpenabill]

The practical logistics are almost certainly more daunting in reality than in theory.

While one might anticipate some elevated scrutiny and perhaps overtly uncooperative attitude from Canadian border officials, at least occasionally, if and when, as is likely, you are perceived to be, in effect, gaming-the-system (which of course is what this would amount to), actually my best guess is that the American border officials are the ones more likely to make this less convenient than hoped. How frequently and to what effect, whether it is enough so as to practically preclude it working, that's really guessing. Individual personality may have some influence.

A day partially in Canada, no matter how partial, counts. So that part of the equation works. But sooner or later the practical logistics factor in the equation will dictate how it goes.

In the meantime, take note that some anecdotal reports are more reliable than others, meaning some are, well, not particularly reliable. Caveat emptor or something akin to that.

 

[Tubsmagee]

Thanks, @dpenabill. While it has been several years, I crossed the border daily when living in Blaine and working in Richmond, and found few issues, but do recall a few times when the guards on either side seemed to take issue with something.

 

[jakklondon]

Thanks, @dpenabill. While it has been several years, I crossed the border daily when living in Blaine and working in Richmond, and found few issues, but do recall a few times when the guards on either side seemed to take issue with something.

"Taking issue" with no legal grounds is abuse of power. Having a badge does not entitle a border guard to overstep bounds of the authority and illegally impede free flow of goods and people , in absence of violation of law. I would use this as an opportunity to wage psy war with Orwellian Triple Hermetic Secret Worshippers , even open a blog and post Youtube videos about each individual encounter with border officers. Let the whole world see how democratic , law abiding and respecting of human rights these hypocrites really are.

Above set aside, is there any reason why you wouldn't want to go with the plan, which apparently would allow you to maintain RO while staying and working in the US?

 

[Tubsmagee]

I am married to a Canadian citizen, who sponsored me for PR; we were established in Canada before relocating together. While not guaranteed, I am hopeful that time accompanying will count. The OP is more of a just in case situation, if the situation changes.

 

[jakklondon]

I am married to a Canadian citizen, who sponsored me for PR; we were established in Canada before relocating together. While not guaranteed, I am hopeful that time accompanying will count. The OP is more of a just in case situation, if the situation changes.

Unless you work for military base or on a classified project that prohibits stay in Canada, it's hard to imagine why you would not just move and stay in Canada to maintain RO, provided you have a stable job which you can keep and it is just across the border. White Rock is like 34 minutes away from Bellingham, WA. Even if you spend time waiting in line at the border (NEXUS may speed things up) , it's so close that you can consider it sitting in traffic on your way to work.

As to RO as a spouse of Canadian citizen, there is important caveat: as long as your Canadian spouse is the one who moved to US and you accompany her, you will be compliant with RO. If she is the one who accompanied you, then your stay outside of Canada will not be (by law) considered in compliance with RO.

Wish you lots of luck. I am not a fan of RO, and if there is any legal loophole to beat it, just beat it.

 

[scylla]

I am married to a Canadian citizen, who sponsored me for PR; we were established in Canada before relocating together. While not guaranteed, I am hopeful that time accompanying will count. The OP is more of a just in case situation, if the situation changes.

IRCC often applies the "who accompanied whom" rule in these situations. So if you are living outside of Canada primarily due to your job / commitments (and your wife was the one who followed), then you cannot count the time. If the reverse is true, then you can count the time.