SusanGill said:
Hi there I am a Permanent resident of Canada since 2006. I was minor and returned back to my native country. went back again in 2009. Completed 730 days (my high school education completed in Canada during that period) got new PR in December 2011 , but returned back to my country again as i didn't have any college offers. I completed my graduation in my native country. I met a guy 2 years ago and would like to married.
Now my PR is expiring in December 2016 and I have not met the 730 residency requirement on my current PR. I would like to move back to Canada next year as my boyfriend is already there on student visa and wants to make life over there.
What should I do?
1) Should I renounce my PR and start a fresh application when he is PR after we are married?
2) Should I move back to Canada before December 2016 and give my education as the reason? Would I be allowed ?
3) Should we get married before December 2016 and give marriage as prime reason for returning back ?
4) Should I apply for travel document if returning before expiration date?
Probably not a good idea to put much stock in what anyone here says you "should" do. What you should do is something you need to determine for yourself based on all the circumstances in your personal situation and your best understanding about how things work.
Participants here can offer a lot of insightful information about how things work. Some will offer advice about what you should do, but again it is not a good idea to put much stock in any such advice.
Moreover, there are many contingencies and factors which should be taken into account when making these decisions. I reference the plural form, decision
s, deliberately, because the practical reality is that there are multiple ways to approach your situation but each of those in turn have contingencies which will involve making further decisions based on what happens. That is, whichever way you go, the path ahead is not certain but will encounter forks in the road where you will have to deal with this or that
"if this . . . then that or that, but if this other thing . . . then there are different choices to make."
For example, you could board a flight to Canada soon and while someone in the forum can predict what will most likely happen upon your arrival here, there are actually multiple ways that could go and each of those will require you to make a decision based on that event. And while it is most likely you will be issued a 44(1) Inadmissibility Report and a Departure Order (will address this more below), there is a significant possibility of other outcomes.
In other words, there is no way for anyone in a forum like this to reliably map the course ahead for you. So better to ignore any definitive advice about what you should do and learn as much as you can about how things work and make decisions about what you should do for yourself.
Some observations about how things work:
In General:
Since you have been outside Canada for more than 1095 days in the previous five years, you are currently in breach of the PR Residency Obligation. Nonetheless, you are still a PR and
will continue to be a PR unless and until:
-- you are reported for being in breach of the PR Residency Obligation (such as upon arrival at a PoE) and you do not appeal, or if you appeal then when you lose the appeal (if you win the appeal, you keep PR status)
-- or, you apply for a PR Travel Document (such as if you wait to attempt to come to Canada after your PR card expires) and it is rejected; here too, the effective date of loss of PR status will be 60 days (time within which to make an appeal) after this decision if you do not appeal, or if you do appeal then when the appeal is finally decided and you lose (again, if you win the appeal, you would retain PR status)
-- or, you renounce your PR status (this can be done at a visa office abroad or at a PoE upon arrival in Canada)
Note, for example, you do not lose PR status just because the PR card expires. You remain a PR until one of the above events occurs.
If you renounce your Canadian PR status, that has
NO effect on any future application for a new PR visa, including a partner-sponsored PR application.
Also note that a report for being in breach of the PR RO may arise from an application for a new PR card if you are in breach of the PR RO when you make that application (in other words, not a good idea to apply for a new card if you happen to get into Canada without being reported . . . you could stay two years, and then apply for a new card).
Coming to Canada while your PR card is still valid:
I recognize that your plan is not to come to Canada soon but in another year, after your current PR card expires. But, some of the more promising possibilities would be in play if you return to Canada while your PR card is still valid.
In particular, since your PR card is still valid, you can still board a flight to Canada and upon arrival at a Canadian PoE you are
entitled to enter Canada. However, the odds are high you will be issued a 44(1) Report for inadmissibility due to the breach of the PR RO.
At the PoE they may encourage you to renounce your PR status and request entry as a visitor. If you do this, again that will not have any negative effect on any future application for status in Canada.
It is
possible that upon arrival at the PoE you will not be examined regarding compliance with the PR RO. If you are not examined about residency and are waived to enter Canada, you could simply stay in Canada for two years and that would cure the breach of the PR RO. Since you have a valid PR card you could use that to apply for things like a drivers license and health care card, and some provinces allow you to use even an expired PR card for this (for a limited time past the card's expiration). Bad idea to travel abroad during those two years.
It is
possible that upon arrival at the PoE your explanation for the length of absence, in conjunction with explanation of plans for you to now live in Canada, will persuade an examining officer to allow you to enter without issuing a 44(1) Report. This would have the same effect as just being waived into Canada. Better to still wait two years before applying for another card. Similarly, bad idea to travel abroad until the breach of the PR RO is fully cured (that is, wait two years).
Most likely scenario is that they issue a 44(1) Report followed by a Departure Order. You are still entitled to enter Canada. You can appeal this. An appeal will take many months at the least, most take more than a year, some take two years. You are still a PR so long as you appeal. You can live and work in Canada like any other PR. You can also apply for a special one-year PR card while the appeal is pending. One advantage to this approach, even if you were to ultimately lose the appeal, is that if at any time your partner becomes a PR and you marry, or have cohabited for a full year, you could withdraw the appeal, lose PR status, and then be sponsored for PR anew. And this could be done as an inland spousal sponsorship, so you could continue to live in Canada.
If you win the appeal, you keep PR status, you could be the one who sponsor's your partner. But the odds of winning the appeal are probably not very good. That said, if you are well-settled in Canada and employed in Canada pending the appeal, that could improve the odds of winning the appeal some.
The above is just ONE alternative. And, as you can see, it involves multiple possibilities each of which will involve a decision. And, again, there are numerous paths and then forks in each of those paths.
Note for example: if your partner only has a student visa, your partner's path to PR is far from certain. And probably down the calendar more than a little ways (as in years away).
Also note: if by chance you are allowed to enter Canada and are not reported for the breach of the PR RO, in addition to waiting two years before applying for a new PR card, not traveling abroad during those two years,
do NOT attempt to sponsor your partner either until after two years.
