Is 730 days valid up til PR expiry or from date of landing?

[Rezr]

Hi,

If someone landed as an immigrant in April 2010, and received their PR in the post in May 2010 with an expiry of May 30 2015 - is the residency obligation 730 days from date of landing (up til April 2015) or up til the date of expiry on PR card?

 

[zardoz]

Five years from the date of landing, NOT the PR card expiry date.

 

[Leon]

You have to have 730 days in Canada in your first 5 years as a PR counting from your landing date AND any rolling 5 year period after that, including the 5 year period just before your PR card expiry. Once you have been a PR for more than 5 years, your days stayed in Canada in the beginning start to move outside the 5 year window and so will have to be replaced with new days stayed in Canada.

 

[Rezr]

Thanks for replying Leon.

So for example - currently if I go to Canada and stay there until the end of the first 5 year period since landing (April 2015), I will be approximately 30 days short of the 730 day obligation. If I continue to stay for another 1-2 months, can I apply for a renewal of my expired PR card and just use the 730+ days from the 5 year period at the point of application (say around June 2015)?

 

[Leon]

Yes, if you enter Canada without immigration suspecting that you have been gone too long and that you don't meet the residency obligation, then you can make sure you stay for at least 730 days and then apply to renew your PR card. If they didn't catch you at the point that you did not meet the obligation, they can only look at the past 5 years and can not go further back in time.

Should they for some reason realize how long you have been gone and that you do not meet the residency obligation as you enter Canada, they could report you for it in which case you would have to appeal for your PR. However, it is not very common to get reported when you still have a valid PR card for another couple of years.

 

[Rezr]

Thank you again. When filling out the declaration card of when I was last in Canada, it will be apparent that I've been out of the country for approx 3 years and 1 month. Although my PR card will still have a full 2 years before the expiry date.

Is it likely I'll have trouble at the airport and be questioned? If so, any advice?

 

[Leon]

Thank you again. When filling out the declaration card of when I was last in Canada, it will be apparent that I've been out of the country for approx 3 years and 1 month. Although my PR card will still have a full 2 years before the expiry date.

Is it likely I'll have trouble at the airport and be questioned? If so, any advice?

It is possible that they pull you out and ask you or tell you something but it's not certain that they will report you. They may ask you why you were outside so long. Just be polite and tell the truth and hope they have mercy on you.

 

[Rezr]

Thanks again, really appreciate all your advice.