Desperately Need Serious Help/Advise (Lost landing paper, sin card, etc)

[Babygirl Liya]

In 1995, I landed into Canada and stayed only for a short period of time of 1 month to return to Brunei to complete my employment there before I resigned.

In 1996, my dad and mom landed in Canada in 1996 under my sponsorship.

In the same year, I later also returned back again into Canada in 1996 via Buffalo to Toronto using my landing paper to live with my parents.

I lived and worked in Canada for 3 years, during that period of time, my dad had an accident with his hand whilst working and after several months later he was diagnosed with ulcer of the stomach which could lead to cancer if not treated early. When my siblings in Brunei heard of this, my elder sister insisted that my parents and I return back to Brunei which my parents agreed. I had no choice but to join them as I had no one else in Canada to live with as I was a single female. We sold our home in Canada and returned back to Brunei in 1999 and have been living in Brunei for the past 14 years without returning to Canada. I've never applied for a PR Card nor managed to apply for my Citizenship.

In 2011, I got married to my husband from Tunisia. Sadly just recently on 12th November 2013 my dad passed away with Lung Cancer and now I have decided to return to Canada with my husband to start a new life there and plan not to leave Canada again as my husband and I are not happy living in Brunei. I know I have not met all the residency requirements as I have been out of Canada far too long but I want to return to Canada desperately.

The problem that I am facing at the moment to return to Canada is that I have lost all my important Canadian documentation such as my Landing Paper, my previous old passport registered under the landing paper, my SIN Card, my Health Card and other documentations but only have my expired Canadian driving license.

In 2010, I was issued with a Bruneian Passport with my converted muslim name which is not linked with my landing paper.

Please can someone please help me or provide me with any advise as to what should I do or how can I return to Canada and still maintain my PR status as I don't want to surrender it. I have not received any

Thank you!

 

[steaky]

Try to return to Canada via US and explain your situation to the border officers.

 

[Leon]

I think you have almost zero chance of re-enstating your PR status.

You applied for PR yourself and then sponsored your parents so that means you were an adult when you landed as well as when you left. If you had been a minor on your parents application and if they had taken you with as they left Canada, you would have a very minor chance to keep your PR because lets face it, 14 years outside, you had plenty of opportunity to go back.

Your reasoning that as a single female, you could not live in Canada alone would not hold with immigration. You were already in Canada for 3 years when you left so it would have been clear to you that plenty of single women in Canada live alone or in roomate situations.

There is also no proof that your fathers ulcer could not have been treated in Canada. There is also no reason why you could not go back after your fathers ulcer was treated.

Your only chance to re-enstate your old PR would be to sneak in as a tourist and try to get your PR status in good standing by staying for 2 years without getting caught. This would involve staying in Canada completely under the radar, separated from your husband for 2 years and because you don't have your landing papers or SIN, you would not be able to work, you would not have health care and you would not get a drivers license.

I think it would be better for you to go to the CIC website and check if you or your husband qualify to apply for PR at this time. It would be far easier to apply for a new PR than to re-enstate the old one.

 

[Babygirl Liya]

Dear Leon and Steaky,

Thank you for your advise which is well noted and much appreciated.

Say if I were to manage to get into Canada and immediately file a report with the police informing that my landing paper and sin card were lost, will CIC be able to issue me with a new landing paper and sin card in order for me to be able to find a job and apply for a new PR card upon completion of the 2 years.

 

[Msafiri]

Your only hope is to get admitted into Canada on the strength of your visitor visa exempt Brunei passport without being reported by the border agent. After this you must sit tight for 730 days without coming to the attention of CIC so no travel, PR Card renewal or sponsorship. You also need to avoid getting a criminal record that makes you inadmissible eg drink driving.

Once in you can start the process to:

1. Replace your landing documents - apply for a Verification of Status Document from CIC as they no longer issue copies of landing documents. The VOS is a one page sheet with key details of your landing e.g. date, port of entry and IMM1000 number.

2. Apply for a DL - Provincial Ministry of Transport. It may be easy since you already hold a license albeit expired. Expect as a minimum vision tests and likely a road test.

3. Apply for Health Coverage/ Card - Provincial Ministry of Health. Same as DL they should have you in the system but expect to provide proof of address. Get cable and a landline telephone once in Canada and use the bills as a proof of address.

4. Reactivate your SIN Card - HRSDC deal with this and will find your records. Give the number to employers while waiting for the physical card.

The major challenge you face is that most of the above services require valid ID in the first place so you are in a catch 22 of having to provide valid ID to get issued different/ additional ID. Also government bodies are increasingly becoming notorious for only accepting valid PR Cards as proof of status which is not legal but do you want to take them to court? Posters here seem to have a hard time in BC with this issue but less so in Alberta and Ontario.

Also are you ready to be separated from your spouse for 2 years unless he can come to Canada in his own right e.g. visitor, student, work permit etc? Stating he is visiting a PR spouse is a red flag at the visa post as they may doubt he will leave.

Good luck

 

[Leon]

Say if I were to manage to get into Canada and immediately file a report with the police informing that my landing paper and sin card were lost, will CIC be able to issue me with a new landing paper and sin card in order for me to be able to find a job and apply for a new PR card upon completion of the 2 years.

They do not give out a copy of your landing papers any more but a VOS, so called verification of status that basically states that you landed as a PR on that date. However, if you apply for that as soon as you arrive in Canada, that may prompt immigration to investigate into your status and as they see that you do not meet the RO, they will likely revoke it. If you do manage to get a verification of status without an investigation into your PR, you will still face problems because many places now ask for a valid PR card and while old landing papers may be accepted, I do not know if they would accept a VOS so even with a VOS, you may still have problems at Service Canada and applying for health care.

Basically, it is a difficult road to take. If you enter Canada and the immigration officer from your name and birthdate figures out that you are a PR, they could also report you for not meeting the RO. If that happens, you could appeal but it seems that your appeal reasons would be weak and you would most likely lose your appeal. If you were reported, any time stayed in Canada waiting for your appeal would not count towards the 2 years unless you win your appeal.

 

[Babygirl Liya]

If I re-apply for a New PR I am really very worried that CIC would reject my application immediate once they know that I was a PR that did not complete the residency obligation.

However, could you please advise me under which eligibility job category should I apply for that suits my working experience, if I were to re-apply for a new PR?

My work experience in Brunei was and is:-
- Clerk & Secretary in a Oil & Gas Company
- Legal Secretary (Litigation) in a Local Law Firm
- Clerk & Administrative Assistant in Private Local Company
- Payroll Master in a Hotel; and
- Currently Building Maintenance in a Private Methanol Company for more than 3 to 5 years.

Whilst in Canada during my 3 years there was:-
- Assistant Secretary in a Gymnastics Club
- Data Entry for the Canada Election
- Shop Assistant and Supervisor in various $1 Stores

I did check the CIC Website but I do not see any administrative job category in FSW but I am not sure about CEC under Administrative assistants (NOC 1241) whether I qualify under that category. Maybe you can assist me in this?

Thanks

 

[scylla]

You don't qualify to apply for PR under CEC. You need recently work experience in Canada to qualify for CEC and your experience is far too old to be considered.

To qualify to apply under FSW, you would first need to secure a permanent job offer in Canada in a skilled occupation.

 

[scylla]

If I re-apply for a New PR I am really very worried that CIC would reject my application immediate once they know that I was a PR that did not complete the residency obligation.

This is not a reason for rejecting a new PR application. You can go ahead and re-apply for PR if you find a program that you qualify to apply under.

 

[Msafiri]

Does your spouse meet the eligibility for PR or admission as a temporary foreign worker under any of the available streams on the CIC website? This is an option for you to consider.