Hello I am submitting the Canada citizenship application and in Question 13.Tell us if you have had immigration, permanent resident status and/or citizenship in any other country outside of Canada. I am filling my Hong Kong PR status eligibility date from the PR card but I have not visited HK in past4 year due to pandemic and I have heated PR stays is lost if you don’t visit for 3years. Do i need to visit end date or I leave it blank?
As far as I know, Hong Kong's PR status is closer to the status of citizenship than it is to Canada's PR status.
A Hong Kong PR (regardless of citizenship, if any) cannot be deported from Hong Kong on the ground of criminal convictions. And Hong Kong PR status (regardless of citizenship, if any) is required to vote in Hong Kong.
A Hong Kong PR who is also a Chinese citizen does not lose this status however long s/he lives outside Hong Kong (though on this point, it is to be noted that it is the Hong Kong PR status, rather than Chinese citizenship, that allows the person to live in Hong Kong).
A Hong Kong PR who is not also a Chinese citizen loses this status after living outside Hong Kong for 3 years. HOWEVER, this person then automatically acquires the "Right to Land" in Hong Kong. The "Right to Land" allows the person to live and work in Hong Kong indefinitely, which in turn allows the person to reacquire Hong Kong PR status. However, persons with the "Right to Land" can be deported on criminal conviction grounds. Therefore, this "Right to Land" is similar to the rights of a PR in Canada.
So, in your case, if you are not also a Chines citizen, you can note the end date of your Hong Kong PR status (which would be 3 years after leaving Hong Kong), but you also need to then note your "Right to Land" status that begins on the date your HK PR status lapsed.
