Hello everyone, I could use your help with some advice. I'm a Canadian citizen. Few years I've successfully sponsored my parents for a PR. They received their PR status and card but unfortunately in the past five years have spent very little time in Canada, firstly for urgent personal reasons, and in the past two years due to Covid and their preference not fly. They are now still out of Canada and the PR card is about to expire after 5 years. Is there any options here to maintain their PR status/card? Is the 2 years of out 5 still the case or there any exceptions due to Covid? Thanks!
Maintaining PR status/card after 5 years outside Canada?
- Thread starter shipy
- Start date
They can try but there are no guarantees. If they travel to Canada before their PR card expires they have to hope they are not reported. If they are reported they have the opportunity to appeal to try to keep their PR status. If their PR card expired they will need to apply for PRTD based on H&C. No guarantees on whether they will be approved but they’ll have the chance to provide evidence as to why they haven’t spent much time in Canada. The other option is to come via the US land border if they have a visa. They’d be able to enter with their expired PR card but risk being reported at the border as well. If they are not reported they will need to remain in Canada for 2+ years without leaving so they meet RO. I assume you have been living in Canada this whole time.
Thanks for the reply. If they come to Canada just before their PR card expires, can you please clarify why can they still be reported? The PR card is still valid.
Because they won't meet the residency requirement. The PR residency requirement is a rolling five year requirement and at any given time they must have lived for at least two years in Canada out of the last five. The residency requirement has nothing to do with the expiry date of the PR card.
If they return to Canada without meeting the residency requirement of living in Canada for 2 out of every 5 years, it's possible CBSA may report them at the border for failing to meet this obligation. If they are reported, they will be allowed into Canada but will have to appear at a hearing to argue why they should be able to keep their PR status.
Would add that they will need to reapply for healthcare because they have been out of Canada for so long even if they have a valid health card because they have’s meant the RO to qualify for provincial healthcare. They could be reported because they came nowhere close to the 730 days out of the last 5 year requirement. It is also unclear if you actually live in Canada but if you have moved elsewhere then they would have difficulty proving they need to be in Canada.
Thanks everyone for the great responses. My parents are from a European country so they can typically visit Canada with no visa. If their PR card expires and they come to Canada via airplane without PRTD will they still be able to enter Canada on a tourist visa or they might be decline entry? Any ideas of what actually happens at the border?
They will be denied boarding. They must travel with a PR card or PRTD. Have you been living in Canada all this time while your parents are abroad?
Yes, I've been in Canada for about 10 years now and I'm a Canadian citizen. My parents initial plan was to remain overseas for about 3 years to sort out few urgent things, and then move to Canada for 2 years. But then Covid happened and they were hesitant to travel.
Unfortunately when PRs remain outside for 3 years from their landing date they leave themselves with very little wiggle room when it comes to emergencies. Nobody will be able to predict whether they will be reported. They should travel with proof of why they had to remain outside Canada for the first 3.5 years and any additional reason why they couldn’t travel during covid if they have certain health conditions. When it comes to travel during covid from Europe there have certainly been periods where covid rates have been pretty low in both Europe and Canada. If they travel now when covid rates are much higher their reason for not travelling earlier doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Europeans require an eTA in order to board a plane to Canada. However your parents will not qualify for an eTA since they are PRs. They need to have valid PR cards or valid PRTDs in order to board the flight.
They would only qualify for eTAs if they formally renounce their PR status.
Thanks again both. So given that their PR card is expiring next month, and sounds like they won't be able to get a PRTD because they don't meet the RO, can they still fly in the over the next week or so? Their PR card would still be valid though barely, and if I understand correctly they would still be able to enter Canada, though risk being reported. I've read about the U.S. border option, but my parents are getting older, so trying to find the least stressful option for them. Any other option I've missed over the next few weeks while their PR card is still valid?
Yes, they can travel as long as their PR cards are valid and will be allowed to enter Canada (with the potential risk of being reported for not meeting RO).
They can try applying for a PRTD under H&C after their PR cards expire. However given how little time they have spent in Canada this is a pretty massive dice role and will likely result in refusal and loss of their PR status.
The only other option if they want to travel after their PR cards expire (or before) is to fly to the Us and then re-enter Canada through a border crossing using a private vehicle. They will be allowed in but of course may be reported for failing to meet RO.
Apart from that, the only option would be for them to renounce their PR status and have you sponsor them again from scratch.
Those are your options.