Dates and Citizenship

[curious_toad]

If one goes to Canada to activate COPR in Jan-2017 and stays there for 2 years till Jan- 2019 and leave Canada there after, and then return back to Canada in Jan-2023 staying for a further 2 year period till Jan-2025. Questions:

1. Will they be allowed to enter Canada in Jan-2023 considering they last entered 6 years ago?

2. Can they become a Canadian citizen after Jan-2025 as they have accumulated/completed four years? (only if the first part is yes)

Thanks.

 

[Wolverine17]

1. In general yes, because if you really stay exactly two years (or more) in a five year period, you keep your PR status for a further five years.

2. No. Firstly, the four years must have been accumulated in the six years before applying for citizenship. So anything before Jan 2019 in your example would not be counted. What is more, the government is currently proposing changes to the citizenship act which reduces the required residency in Canada to three years, but they must have been accumulated the the preceding five years before applying. This does also not work in your example. See here: http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=1036069

Also, with both 1 and 2, remember that the government can change these rules at any time.

Not to hijack the thread but how many years does one have to stay in canada to get citizenship

 

[scylla]

Not to hijack the thread but how many years does one have to stay in canada to get citizenship

As of now, four years out of a six year period.

 

[Wolverine17]

As of now, four years out of a six year period.

Thanks,they might reduce it to 3 years out of 6 right?

 

[scylla]

If one goes to Canada to activate COPR in Jan-2017 and stays there for 2 years till Jan- 2019 and leave Canada there after, and then return back to Canada in Jan-2023 staying for a further 2 year period till Jan-2025. Questions:

If you do this, you will be in violation of the PR residency requirement and your PR status may be revoked. The PR residency obligation is a rolling obligation. This means that in any given five year period, you must have spent at least two of those years living in Canada. In other words, you cannot leave for six years straight. The most you can leave for is three year - and after that, you need to live in Canada for two years straight without leaving to once again meet the residency obligation.

 

[scylla]

Thanks,they might reduce it to 3 years out of 6 right?

No - 3 years out of 5.

 

[scylla]

2. Can they become a Canadian citizen after Jan-2025 as they have accumulated/completed four years? (only if the first part is yes)

The answer to the above question is no (under the current citizenship rules). The 4 years of residency required to qualify for citizenship must be completed in a six year period.

 

[curious_toad]

If you do this, you will be in violation of the PR residency requirement and your PR status may be revoked. The PR residency obligation is a rolling obligation. This means that in any given five year period, you must have spent at least two of those years living in Canada. In other words, you cannot leave for six years straight. The most you can leave for is three year - and after that, you need to live in Canada for two years straight without leaving to once again meet the residency obligation.

I dont think you read my initial post correctly but no worries as dan_and has clarified the matter very well. Thank you all for your input.

 

[scylla]

I dont think you read my initial post correctly but no worries as dan_and has clarified the matter very well. Thank you all for your input.

I did read your post correctly and my answer stands. The PR residency obligation is not tied to your PR card (this is a common misconception). It's a rolling obligation. This means that within ANY five year period, you cannot be outside of Canada for more than three years if you want to ensure your PR status is safe. If you are outside of Canada for six years in a row - you will absolutely be in violation of your residency requirement. It's quite possible you will be reported by CBSA on entry into Canada for failing to meet the PR residency requirement (even if your PR card is still valid). If this happens, you will have to appear at a hearing to argue why you should be allowed to keep your status. If the hearing does not go in your favour - your PR status will be revoked and you'll be told to leave Canada.

You should post your question to the Permanent Residency Obligation section of this forum where you will get better advice. Most of the people in this section of the forum are just applying for PR and aren't that familiar with the PR retention rules. They will tell you exactly what I have told you.

 

[Hansdza]

Confirmed/ scylla is correct. It is a rolling obligation for any given 5 years period. Having said that, you don't lose your PR status automatically by being outside Canada and don't meet the residency obligation. You will lose it when you apply PR travel document (because your PR card is expired) or when you apply to renew your card. PR card is valid for 5 yrs so you cannot be outside Canada for more than 3 yrs by the time it expires. Visa officer will reject your application and you lose your PR status. Unless you are involved in serious crimes, they will not revoke your PR status.

 

[curious_toad]

You should post your question to the Permanent Residency Obligation section of this forum where you will get better advice. Most of the people in this section of the forum are just applying for PR and aren't that familiar with the PR retention rules. They will tell you exactly what I have told you.

Thanks for the suggestion.

It's clear that one needs 2/5 years to "hold" their PR status but as per my initial post if one was to enter in Jan-2017 to activate their COPR then their first five year period would end in Jan-2022 and if they stayed for two years from Jan-2017 to Jan-2019 they would have satisfied the PR holding requirement. Next, Feb-2022 till Jan-2027 would be their second five year period and as I mentioned if they returned back to Canada in Jan-2023 and stayed there till Jan-2025 then they have satisfied the PR holding condition again - right or am I on another planet?

 

[scylla]

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Thanks for the suggestion.

It's clear that one needs 2/5 years to "hold" their PR status but as per my initial post if one was to enter in Jan-2017 to activate their COPR then their first five year period would end in Jan-2022 and if they stayed for two years from Jan-2017 to Jan-2019 they would have satisfied the PR holding requirement. Next, Feb-2022 till Jan-2027 would be their second five year period and as I mentioned if they returned back to Canada in Jan-2023 and stayed there till Jan-2025 then they have satisfied the PR holding condition again - right or am I on another planet?

Unfortunately you are not right. (Sorry!) And no - they won't satisfy the residency condition. Once again, the residency requirement is a rolling requirement. This means that at any time they must be able to look back at the previous five years and meet the residency requirement - regardless of when their PR card expires (you need to forget about the PR card dates, that seems to be what's confusing you). If they re-enter in Jan 2023, all that will matter is the previous five years from that date. Since they will have spent four of those years outside of Canada, they will be in violation of the residency requirement and will be putting themselves at risk of having their PR status revoked. If they leave in Jan 2019, they can stay out until Jan 2022 at most - however after that they must then return to Canada and remain in Canada for 2 years straight to avoid jeopardizing their PR status. All clear now?

 

[curious_toad]

Unfortunately you are not right. (Sorry!) And no - they won't satisfy the residency condition. Once again, the residency requirement is a rolling requirement. This means that at any time they must be able to look back at the previous five years and meet the residency requirement - regardless of when their PR card expires (you need to forget about the PR card dates, that seems to be what's confusing you). If they re-enter in Jan 2023, all that will matter is the previous five years from that date. Since they will have spent four of those years outside of Canada, they will be in violation of the residency requirement and will be putting themselves at risk of having their PR status revoked. If they leave in Jan 2019, they can stay out until Jan 2022 at most - however after that they must then return to Canada and remain in Canada for 2 years straight to avoid jeopardizing their PR status. All clear now?

Thanks for that clarification.

As for citizenship, how long does it normally take after application (assuming all else is in good standing order) to be granted citizenship? and is one required to be in Canada whilst their app. is being processed?

 

[scylla]

Thanks for that clarification.

As for citizenship, how long does it normally take after application (assuming all else is in good standing order) to be granted citizenship? and is one required to be in Canada whilst their app. is being processed?

Processing times vary widely - however if your application is extremely straight-forward, then it can be done in as little as 6-8 months. It's generally a bad idea to submit the application and then immediately leave Canada. This typically triggers longer processing times and greater scrutiny. Additionally, you get very little notice for both the citizenship test and oath.

 

[curious_toad]

Additionally, you get very little notice for both the citizenship test and oath.

Would you know how much approx.?