The IRCC seems to count 5 years from the current date five years ago rather than 1825 days, making it period assessed 1826 or 1827 days depending on the specific years in question. But the PR renewal forms also say that your absences must not exceed 1095 days. Doesn’t that make the positive requirement 731 or 732 days instead of 730?
How many days are there in 5 years?
- Thread starter steven_wuqida
- Start date
You are misquoting the PR card application form. Neither the instructions nor the form state "your absences must not exceed 1095 days." That is NOT what the form says.
Moreover, since the PR Residency Obligation is a continuing one, or as many refer to it, a "rolling" requirement, with broad allowances for H&C relief, in its practical application RO enforcement does not turn on an exact number for any particular day.
Just a little more than a year ago I responded to your query about being stuck in line at the border after arriving there before midnight but not clearing border control until after midnight, and in addition to affirming that a person is not in Canada for purposes of a physical presence calculation until they are actually admitted into Canada by border control, I added:
Generally, if a PR's total time outside Canada in the previous five years, as of the date of the calculation, is less than 1095 days, the PR APPEARS to meet the RO. Of course that will depend on verification of physical presence for 730 days within the relevant five year period . . . AND it will also depend on at least 730 days IN Canada within the five year period preceding any subsequent date. (Note, even though a PR meets the RO on the date a PR card application is made, that does not preclude inadmissibility proceedings if the PR leaves Canada after applying and then falls short of meeting the RO . . . even if the PR gets a new PR card.)
Not counting days for which one of the exceptions apply, if a PR's total time outside Canada equals or exceeds 1095 days, in the preceding five years, the PR card application form advises the PR they "may not meet" the RO. Whether or not they are in RO compliance will depend on the particular details in their individual situation.
As noted before, one day either way is not going to be what determines whether a PR is subject to inadmissibility proceedings for a breach of the RO. Not at all likely a week or three weeks will either. While this is largely due to the inherent flexibility in the RO, and a generally lenient approach to its enforcement, it is also a function of the "rolling" nature of the obligation. IRCC can take a wait-and-see approach in many cutting-it-close scenarios. Suffice to say, whether the PR is currently settled in Canada, or not, can have a big influence in the scope of scrutiny they encounter . . . and perhaps even influence the extent to which IRCC will give full credit for all days between the PR's reported dates of entry and the next reported date of exit. (There is a tendency by many to just assume they will benefit from the inference of presence for days in-between a known date of entry and next known date of exit, and of course this inference is applied in the vast, vast majority of cases; but it is just an inference that is not necessarily applied; IRCC can require direct evidence of presence for those days and deny credit if direct evidence is wanting.)
Wow. Now THAT'S a deep dive!
Since every 5 year rolling window has at least 1 Leap Lear, that total would be 1826.
With 2 Leap Years, it would clearly be 1827.
ALL that is required to meet the Residency Obligation is to simply have 730 days combined (whether sequential or not) within any 5 year window, looking back, from the date that a PR Card renewal application is submitted; Leap Year(s) or not.