MAINTAINING PR! 3 OUT OF 5 YEARS OUT OF CANADA? THEN CAN ONE LEAVE AGAIN?

[serious_indian]

Hi there!!

Just have a technical question. The guidelines for PR obligations state that to maintain Permanent Residency, one has to be present in Canada 2 out of 5 years.

Ok, now here's my question (based on an example),

Lets say one becomes permanent resident in the month of January 2011 and then leaves Canada on 1st of July 2011 (same year, due to unavoidable health and family reasons back home). And then returns back to Canada somewhere May 2014.

Now as per the timeline, he/she has returned back just about spending close to 3 years outside Canada (i.e from July 2011 to May 2014). Now if he/she enters Canada in May 2014 the as per the rules, he/she has to stay for next 2 years before leaving the country again (in order to maintain his/her) permanent residency. Now what if there is some emergency again in those two years because of which he/she might have to go out of Canada for brief period of time?? Then can it cause any problem at the point of entry while returning back to Canada in those 2 year time period?

Would be helpful to have some advice on this.

 

[Rob_TO]

Now what if there is some emergency again in those two years because of which he/she might have to go out of Canada for brief period of time?? Then can it cause any problem at the point of entry while returning back to Canada in those 2 year time period?

If you stay the max 3 years outside Canada and then return, you must then spend 2 straight years in Canada without leaving. If you did leave and upon re-entry the CBSA officer noticed you don't meet the 2 in past 5 years RO, there is a chance you will be reported for not meeting the RO, and then a chance that CIC will revoke your PR status.
If you're reported for not meeting RO you would have a chance to argue it was due to some unavoidable H&C reason, however this may or may not be accepted by CIC/CBSA. So to answer your question if you leave while not in compliance with the RO you are putting your PR status at risk.

 

[Almost_Canadian]

According to my understanding of PR, you have a valid PR status for 5 years. So based on your example, if you became PR on Jan 2011, your PR status is valid upto Jan 2016 . In between that time, you can go in and out of the country as many times as you wish and for as long as you wish. Your PR cannot be revoked until the end of the 5 year validity.
The problem will arise when you have to renew that PR status. At that time, the condition is that you must have spent 2 years out of the last 5 years (based on the date you apply for a new PR card) within Canada. If you didn't fulfil that criteria then there are 2 possibilities.
1. If you are back in Canada before your PR card expired, then you can continue to stay in Canada even with expired status. Then you need to accumulate the extra time needed to get 2 years out of the previous 5 years and then apply for a new PR card.
2. If you are out of the country, then it is almost impossible to renew your PR unless you have some extremely compelling Humanitarian reasons.
Normally what would happen when you flew back into Canada during the 5 years Jan 2011 to Jan 2016, the officer will ask you how long you have been overseas and if you have fallen short of 2 years out of 5 , he will probably enter the data into the system and possibly give you a warning that you are going to lose PR since you didn't fulfil the conditions.
But as I know, as long as your PR status is valid , he cannot stop you from entering the country. ( I could be wrong on this so best way would be to recheck with a lawyer).

 

[zardoz]

According to my understanding of PR, you have a valid PR status for 5 years. So based on your example, if you became PR on Jan 2011, your PR status is valid upto Jan 2016 . In between that time, you can go in and out of the country as many times as you wish and for as long as you wish. Your PR cannot be revoked until the end of the 5 year validity.
The problem will arise when you have to renew that PR status. At that time, the condition is that you must have spent 2 years out of the last 5 years (based on the date you apply for a new PR card) within Canada. If you didn't fulfil that criteria then there are 2 possibilities.
1. If you are back in Canada before your PR card expired, then you can continue to stay in Canada even with expired status. Then you need to accumulate the extra time needed to get 2 years out of the previous 5 years and then apply for a new PR card.
2. If you are out of the country, then it is almost impossible to renew your PR unless you have some extremely compelling Humanitarian reasons.
Normally what would happen when you flew back into Canada during the 5 years Jan 2011 to Jan 2016, the officer will ask you how long you have been overseas and if you have fallen short of 2 years out of 5 , he will probably enter the data into the system and possibly give you a warning that you are going to lose PR since you didn't fulfil the conditions.
But as I know, as long as your PR status is valid , he cannot stop you from entering the country. ( I could be wrong on this so best way would be to recheck with a lawyer).

Actually, you can be reported at any time if you have already spent more than 1095 days outside Canada since you landed as a PR, within that first 5 years. This is because you can't possibly meet the residency obligation. You no longer have sufficient "credit" left.

 

[Rob_TO]

In between that time, you can go in and out of the country as many times as you wish and for as long as you wish. Your PR cannot be revoked until the end of the 5 year validity.

This is completely wrong, as also mentioned above. From the date you get your PR card, if you then leave Canada for 3 years + 1 day, you are in violation of the RO since you can't then meet the rolling 2 in 5 years requirement. So even though you have a valid PR card, upon trying to re-enter Canada if CBSA notices that RO is not met they can report you to CIC. CIC will then start proceedings to revoke your PR status, however you will be given the opportunity to present any H&C considerations. If they don't accept your H&C reasons, then your PR status will be revoked even if it's before the intial 5 years validity date.

However with a valid PR card, even if CBSA reports the RO violation you are guaranteed to be allowed entry to Canada even if you don't meet RO. This is basically to prepare to attend your RO hearing with CIC if you want to appeal it.