Married to Canadian Citizen, do I need to meet PR Obligations?

[manasi0392]

Hi,

I am gonna be married to Canadian citizen, I already have a Canadian PR however due to my work I stay in the US, and I am hoping to stay in the US and he's soon gonna move to the US for work too.

My question is me being PR, and if I get married to a citizen, do I have still have to meet all the Canada PR maintainence obligations?

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[scylla]

Hi,

I am gonna be married to Canadian citizen, I already have a Canadian PR however due to my work I stay in the US, and I am hoping to stay in the US and he's soon gonna move to the US for work too.

My question is me being PR, and if I get married to a citizen, do I have still have to meet all the Canada PR maintainence obligations?

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you.

There isn't going to be a clear answer to this question. It might work or it might not. There is a rule that allows you to count time spent outside of Canada with a Canadian spouse towards the residency requirement. However there is also a "who followed whom" element to this rule which IRCC seems to apply inconsistently. Per the "who followed whom" bit, the reasons why you are outside of Canada should be primarly due to your spouse (e.g. their employment). If the primary reason for being out of Canada is due to you, then IRCC will not always allow you to count this time. Based on what you've descriped, you are already outside of Canada and your Canadian spouse will be moving to be with you. So this means you will not meet the "who followed whom" bit. Whether IRCC applies this or not when you apply to renew your PR card is not possible for us to guess. They may or may not.

 

[manasi0392]

Makes sense !
Thank you for your response ! I will also consult immigration lawyer and check.

There isn't going to be a clear answer to this question. It might work or it might not. There is a rule that allows you to count time spent outside of Canada with a Canadian spouse towards the residency requirement. However there is also a "who followed whom" element to this rule which IRCC seems to apply inconsistently. Per the "who followed whom" bit, the reasons why you are outside of Canada should be primarly due to your spouse (e.g. their employment). If the primary reason for being out of Canada is due to you, then IRCC will not always allow you to count this time. Based on what you've descriped, you are already outside of Canada and your Canadian spouse will be moving to be with you. So this means you will not meet the "who followed whom" bit. Whether IRCC applies this or not when you apply to renew your PR card is not possible for us to guess. They may or may not.

 

[canuck78]

Makes sense !
Thank you for your response ! I will also consult immigration lawyer and check.

A lawyer or consultant won’t be able to guarantee whether you can count the time together towards your PR. There is a very good chance that you will face opposition when it comes to whether you can count the time together because you had already left Canada before getting married and it seems as though you have never even lived in Canada. If you are told that you can’t count time together and you pursue legal action it is tough to say whether you will then be able to count the time together.