How do I calculate days of presence in Canada for PR Card renewal

[wilbur71]

Dear All:

I'm about to apply for a PR card renewal, and I'd like to be absolutely certain that I have more than the required minimum of 730 days within the past five years.

How do I calculate my days of presence in Canada?
As I've taken many short trips outside the country (mostly to the US or to other visa-exempt countries), do I count just the date of my arrival in Canada back from a trip but not the date I leave (as for citizenship)? Or do I count any part of a day spent in Canada as a full day? Or do I just count full days (i.e. days when there is NO travel outside the country)? I've heard several different answers, so I'm quite curious.

Many thanks. I greatly appreciate all the helpful information in this forum.

 

[Leon]

It is clear on the CIC website that any part of a day spent in Canada counts as a full day in Canada towards the PR residency requirements.

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.

 

[wilbur71]

Thank you, Leon. One more question: when calculating the days of absence for each of my trips, how would I do that? For instance, hypothetically, if I am gone from Canada for a trip from the 10th to the 17th (leaving Canada on the 10th, returning on the 17th), how many days of absence would that be?

Sorry to be so obsessive-compulsive, but I don't want to make mistakes on my application.

 

[Leon]

Any part of a day spent in Canada counts as a full day in Canada so the 10th counts as a full day and the 17th too because you were in Canada for some portion of those days. This means that the days you were fully outside Canada were the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th, that's 6 days outside.

 

[wilbur71]

Thank you for your very helpful response, Leon.

 

[rushi_20m]

Does it means If I leave on 10th and come back on 11th I was out of Canada for 0 days. (No absence at all ?)

 

[Leon]

Does it means If I leave on 10th and come back on 11th I was out of Canada for 0 days. (No absence at all ?)

For PR, 0 days. For citizenship requirements, you would have been gone for 1 day.

 

[rushi_20m]

For PR, 0 days. For citizenship requirements, you would have been gone for 1 day.

Thank you Leon, is there any link form CIC where I can see this information ?
I can see this info (which may be for Citizenship only) eservices.cic.gc.ca/rescalc/redir.do?redir=faq#Q4

Its very critical for me as my job is in USA and I need to travel there frequently.
Thanks

 

[Msafiri]

Thank you Leon, is there any link form CIC where I can see this information ?
I can see this info (which may be for Citizenship only) eservices.cic.gc.ca/rescalc/redir.do?redir=faq#Q4

Its very critical for me as my job is in USA and I need to travel there frequently.
Thanks

IRPA - As Per Department of Justice (Laws section)

28. (1) A permanent resident must comply with a residency obligation with respect to every five-year period.
Marginal note:Application

(2) The following provisions govern the residency obligation under subsection (1):

(a) a permanent resident complies with the residency obligation with respect to a five-year period if, on each of a total of at least 730 days in that five-year period, they are

(i) physically present in Canada,

(ii) outside Canada accompanying a Canadian citizen who is their spouse or common-law partner or, in the case of a child, their parent,

(iii) outside Canada employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business or in the federal public administration or the public service of a province,

(iv) outside Canada accompanying a permanent resident who is their spouse or common-law partner or, in the case of a child, their parent and who is employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business or in the federal public administration or the public service of a province, or

(v) referred to in regulations providing for other means of compliance;

 

[Leon]

Thank you Leon, is there any link form CIC where I can see this information ?

For PR, see here the definition of a day:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/ENGLISH/RESOURCES/manuals/op/op10-eng.pdf on page 10:

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.

 

[allyp]

Any part of a day spent in Canada counts as a full day in Canada so the 10th counts as a full day and the 17th too because you were in Canada for some portion of those days. This means that the days you were fully outside Canada were the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th, that's 6 days outside.

Hi

In the above e.g how will you fill up the PR Card renewal form FROM and TO Fields. E.g travelling on the 2010-04-10 back in canada on 2010-04-17 ( 6 days absence) will be entered in the FROM and TO fields like 2010-04-10 to 2010-04-17 (there is a entry stamp on passport for the 17th) or 2010-04-11 to 2010-04-16.

Also if you are travelling during unemployment and come back on the 17th and have 3 months of unemployment, how would you fill WORK AND OR EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. Will you fill 2010-04-10 to 2010-04-17 AS vacation to another country then fill the 3 months as Unemployment / Looking for work period. If you are on EI / Parental, do you state that?

Thanks

 

[Leon]

In the from and to fields, you can put your travel dates.

If you were unemployed before going on vacation and also after going on vacation, your work history would read unemployed for the whole period but your travel history would show that you took that vacation.

If you were unemployed on EI, you can write that. If you were on EI parental leave, you can write that.

 

[allyp]

In the from and to fields, you can put your travel dates.

If you were unemployed before going on vacation and also after going on vacation, your work history would read unemployed for the whole period but your travel history would show that you took that vacation.

If you were unemployed on EI, you can write that. If you were on EI parental leave, you can write that.

thanks Leon. I have one more query.

Hi

Since my PR card is going to expire, and no news on my citizenship application (42 months) applied Sept 2010 , I started collecting documents and one of the requirements is to send photocopy of passports held in the last 5 years and translate any Non English stamps on it. With this I am also attaching a copy of the first and last page of the expired passport > 5 yrs old which has the Canada visa on it and the landing date.

When I was looking at what translation I have to do, I recollected how I did my translation of arabic stamps (English date, araboc text) for my RQ submission. They asked me to submit legible copies of current and expired passport, any foreign dated stamps to be translated. They also stated that the list of supporting documents must include the 4 year period prior to the date of application i.e. Sept 2010. I did provide all current and expired passport color copies. For the translation, I translated stamps which were after 2004 (the date of landing). This would cover all stamps right from 2004 and also the 4 year period 2006-2010. I did not translate older stamps before 2004 and I have stamps like from 1994. I am not sure if this will be a problem. Should I send them the other translations (before 2004) as additional documents for RQ submission? My RQ was submitted in Dec 2011 with additional documents once sent in Dec 2012. Not sure if it will be good to submit another set of additional documents now when I am already 42 months from date of application and I am pushing them to finalize my application through MP and letters and maybe some legal action too later. Or is it better to just wait and let them respond as they have not reviewed the RQ yet as per the ATIP reports.

 

[Leon]

If the stamps are foreign dated, how would immigration know that you only translated the stamps from after 2004? They will see a bunch of stamps, you have some translated but not all.

Therefore, I think you should have all of them translated.

 

[allyp]

If the stamps are foreign dated, how would immigration know that you only translated the stamps from after 2004? They will see a bunch of stamps, you have some translated but not all.

Therefore, I think you should have all of them translated.

The dates are in english but the text around it is arabic