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Minimum residency obligation not met - planning to move to Canada

vaz

Member
Jul 20, 2010
16
0
I am currently residing in the US on a H1B visa. And I plan to move to Canada in the next couple of months.
I have a Canadian PR issued with an expiry date of April 2019. I had completed my landing formalities in Jan 2014 and travelled back to US. But since then I have probably l spent around 10 days in total in Canada. Hence I haven’t met my minimum residency obligation of 2 years.
I plan to travel to a Canada via road ( Niagara Falls)
My question is will I be able to move based on my PR ? Or will my PR be rejected at the border? Is there any chance that my PR could be accepted despite not meeting residency obligation?
Or would I need to apply for a work permit and travel ( I plan to work for the employer as I currently do in the US)

If I were to travel on basis of the PR and in the scenario that it doesn’t get accepted at the Canadian border, what will happen? Will I be deported back to India? My US visa is expired and hence I cannot enter back into US. Appreciate any response on this. Thanks.
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
92,835
20,492
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
You don't qualify for a work permit as a PR. You would need to officially give up your PR status to qualify for a work permit.

The short answer is that it's impossible for us to say what will happen when you return to Canada. You definitely do not meet RO. However provided you arrive in Canada before your PR card expires - you will be allowed in. The question is whether you will be reported at the border for failing to meet RO or not (this is something none of us can predict). If you are NOT reported, then you can live in Canada for 2 years straight and will then be able to successfully renew your PR status. If you ARE reported when you enter Canada, then you will have to appear at a hearing to argue why you should be allowed to keep your PR status. You should expect to lose your PR status unless you have strong H&C reasons for having failed to meet RO. You should note that employment / financial reasons aren't accepted.
 

vaz

Member
Jul 20, 2010
16
0
You don't qualify for a work permit as a PR. You would need to officially give up your PR status to qualify for a work permit.

The short answer is that it's impossible for us to say what will happen when you return to Canada. You definitely do not meet RO. However provided you arrive in Canada before your PR card expires - you will be allowed in. The question is whether you will be reported at the border for failing to meet RO or not (this is something none of us can predict). If you are NOT reported, then you can live in Canada for 2 years straight and will then be able to successfully renew your PR status. If you ARE reported when you enter Canada, then you will have to appear at a hearing to argue why you should be allowed to keep your PR status. You should expect to lose your PR status unless you have strong H&C reasons for having failed to meet RO. You should note that employment / financial reasons aren't accepted.
Thank you for your quick response! So regardless of whether I get reported or not for not meeting the RO I will still be able to get into Canada and fight for retaining the status if required, correct?
 

Bs65

VIP Member
Mar 22, 2016
13,190
2,419
Thank you for your quick response! So regardless of whether I get reported or not for not meeting the RO I will still be able to get into Canada and fight for retaining the status if required, correct?
But as Scylla said if you do manage to get back without being reported you will need to stay without leaving for 2 years to reset your residency. Until you have completed the 2 years is advisable to keep any interaction with immigration to a minimum , so for example do not apply for PR card renewal until RO has been met. Assume you applied for a SIN when you completed your initial landing which you will of course need to work.