Entering 3 months before PR expiry

[Gmalik]

Hi,

We got our PR in 2010 which expires in 2015. We stayed for 5 weeks in Canada and received our PR card and SIN cards.

I was planning to enter Canada now and stay for two years but I have secured a good job in another country and that experience will be highly valuable in Canada. I am thinking of taking the job and work for 1- 1/2 years and then enter Canada 3-6 months before my PR expiry in 2015. After gaining experience I will be able to get a job right away as the is skill is in demand in Canada.

I will then continue to stay in Canada to get my citizenship.

Will this plan work? Will I be able to renew my PR and get citizenship?

 

[Msafiri]

If you get into Canada without being reported by CIC for the Residence Obligation breach then if you meet the qualifying criteria for PR Card renewal and Citizenship on the application date you will be approved. If you get reported and either fail to appeal or lose the appeal then its no dice.

Employment abroad (unless in designated situations) despite your thinking that its useful to Canada has routinely been dismissed by the Canadian Courts as a valid reason for breach of the RO. Designated situations are working for the Federal/Provincial Government e.g. embassy, armed forces or employee of a bona fide Canadian company assigned abroad.

Its best and easiest to live in Canada when you apply for your PR...else why bother in the first place?

 

[Gmalik]

If you get into Canada without being reported by CIC for the Residence Obligation breach then if you meet the qualifying criteria for PR Card renewal and Citizenship on the application date you will be approved. If you get reported and either fail to appeal or lose the appeal then its no dice.

Employment abroad (unless in designated situations) despite your thinking that its useful to Canada has routinely been dismissed by the Canadian Courts as a valid reason for breach of the RO. Designated situations are working for the Federal/Provincial Government e.g. embassy, armed forces or employee of a bona fide Canadian company assigned abroad.

Its best and easiest to live in Canada when you apply for your PR...else why bother in the first place?

Hi Msafiri,

Thank you for a quick reply.


My nxt Q is: Does the CIC cstop and question you about yor resisdency status when you enter Canada?

 

[Msafiri]

Hi Msafiri,

Thank you for a quick reply.


My nxt Q is: Does the CIC cstop and question you about yor resisdency status when you enter Canada?

Its their job to ask you questions about your duration and reasons for absence from Canada. Like most work places some agents do this job better than others so you may get an agent that grills you or one that lets it slide...just your luck on the day.

 

[Gmalik]

Its their job to ask you questions about your duration and reasons for absence from Canada. Like most work places some agents do this job better than others so you may get an agent that grills you or one that lets it slide...just your luck on the day.

So to be on the safe side, you suggest I should enter Canada 2 yrs before the expiry of the PR card....

 

[Msafiri]

So to be on the safe side, you suggest I should enter Canada 2 yrs before the expiry of the PR card....

You need to have 730 days of physical presence between landing date (not PR issue date) and 5th year anniversary of landing date. Do the math taking into account days you were in Canada back in 2010 and it will give a you last/latest entry date to get the 730 days.

In practice from what we've seen on the forum PRs with a valid PR Card despite breaching the Residence Obligation (RO)appear to be let in with at most a warning. However you may get a CBSA agent who does their job right and reports you which is the start of proceedings to revoke your PR status. Some PRs lie about their absence and state they were away for a month. A couple tried this once at Montreal airport and the CBSA agent asked them about geographical details of the city they supposedly lived in for several years such as their route to work!! Some CBSA agents seem unconcerned about the lies and let it slide..as I said it all depends on who you find at the counter.

Also you thought about what happens if you damage or lose your PR Card? Are you visitor visa exempt to Canada? If not you will have to apply for a Travel Document at a visa post abroad which involves a residence determination to see if you meet/ can meet the RO...these posts are nowhere as forgiving as the CBSA border agents!

It all comes down to your attitude to risk...playing hard and fast with the PR Card to mask a residence obligation breach is a gamble you may get away with it but if you don't.......? Seems you need to choose between the job and the PR.

 

[allaboutbooks]

ChoOSE The PR ...


You will find a job like the one you have and you will be well skilled here , respect the regulations my friend cus you will regret it .

 

[Gmalik]

Hi All,

Thank you for helpful comments.

If I have a valid PR even though it is expiring in 3 months, legally I have the right to enter Canada. The CIC cannot stop me from entering Canada. If I tell them that I have already leased a house for the next one year to live there then where is the problem.

Somebody earlier mentioned that it is OK if you enter Canada before 3 months from PR expiry but you will have to stay for the next two years in Canada before you apply for PR renewal. Is this correct?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hi All,

Thank you for helpful comments.

If I have a valid PR even though it is expiring in 3 months, legally I have the right to enter Canada. The CIC cannot stop me from entering Canada. If I tell them that I have already leased a house for the next one year to live there then where is the problem.

Somebody earlier mentioned that it is OK if you enter Canada before 3 months from PR expiry but you will have to stay for the next two years in Canada before you apply for PR renewal. Is this correct?

Hi

They will let you in but as said above, they might report you for failing to meet the residency obligation. If the officer reports you, you will have 30 days to appeal to retain your PR status. As you don't have a valid reason for not maintaining residency (job in another country is not an acceptable reason), this appeal will almost certainly result in you losing your PR status and having to leave Canada.

It doesn't matter if you enter 3 months, 6 months, 12 months or 18 month before your PR card expires. You will fail to meet the residency obligation unless you enter around 1 year and 11 months before expiry (given your previous 5 weeks in the country).

As said above, if you can get in without being reported and remain in Canada for 2 years, you will have satisfied the residency obligation and will be able to renew your PR card.

 

[Gmalik]

Ok, so do you meant to say that when you enter Canada showing your valid PR card. It is not a walk through but will be questioned by the immigration officer every time you enter Canada??

So what are my chances to enter and live in Canada if I follow my plan to enter 3 months before PR expiry? Can I take that risk?? I don't want to loose my PR but at the same time I want to have a decent job and support my family. If there are no jobs in Canada then what is the point in immigrating and spending all your savings in Canada.

All the immigrants who come to Canada cannot find work because a) They don't have "Canadian experience" b) the qualifications are not accepted.

I don't understand why Canada is allowing immigrants when they cannot accept them with what they bring to the country in terms of experience and qualifications.

 

[steaky]

If you get lucky, you might not encountered an officer asking you questions.

Hard to say the chances of you being reported but if you want to keep your PR, you must return and take the risk don't you? You don't necessary need to look for employment - be your own boss or upgrade yourself and create a job for yourself.

 

[Gmalik]

Thank you Steaky for those encouraging words.

Infact I read in the CIC manual about PR obligations and it mentions only that in order to renew the PR one has to show two years of residency in Canada in the "previous five year period".

It does not specifically mentions that the five year has to be with the PR expiry period.

Then, I can come into the country anytime before my PR expiry and stay for two years and then apply to renew my PR. One disadvantage here will be that I cannot leave Canada till I renew my PR.


Does the above make any sense?? Please advise...