My daughters age 18 and 17, cannot meet the 730 days obligations to renew PR car

[jenjen]

Hi everyone,

My family and I landed in Canada in April 2008. We had physically moved into Canada in Feb 2011. Our PR cards expiring in July 2013.

I have two daughters age 18 and 17 (by july 2012) are full time students in Ontario. They visit their father in USA very frequently. As a result, it is impossible for them to meet the obligation to stay in canada for 730 days by July next year even if they stop visiting their father today until july next year.

I would have met the 730 days obligations to renew my PR card in July 2013. Would i be able to renew my daughters PR card if i had met the obligations?

Please help! I looked up cic.ga and even wrote them an email requesting for answer. I am still not getting the answer.

 

[Msafiri]

1. You meet the Residence Obligation (RO) at PR Card renewal if you have 730 days of physical presence in Canada in the 5 year period prior to the date of renewal application.

2. You can claim Humanitarian and Compassionate reasons as to why PR Card renewal should proceed if you have not met the above criteria. Visiting family doesn't cut it. After all their father can visit them in Canada.

3. You don't need a valid PR Card to reside in Canada so wait until you meet the RO then apply.

Note every time you cross the border/ enter Canada the Immigration Officer can and should assess if you meet the RO. So far you have been lucky not to be reported which is the start of the formal process to revoke your PR...sooner or later luck does run out.

You need to choose whether you want to retain PR or not and cut back on the travel.

 

[Leon]

You can not meet the PR requirements for your children. You can renew your PR card when it expires if you meet the requirements yourself. If your daughters want to retain their PR, they should stop travelling, let their cards expire and not apply to renew until they have 730 days in Canada at which time they will meet the requirements again. Only then apply to renew their cards. In the meantime their father will have to visit them in Canada if he wants to see them.

You really should have thought of this earlier. At the time you moved, you only just had 2 years and 2 months until your 5 years PR anniversary so they really should not have been outside Canada for more than 60 days after moving in order to be able to meet the residency obligation in their first 5 years of having their PR.

There are other options. They could renounce their PR status as they do not meet the requirements and you could sponsor them again because they are both under 22 and still count as dependent children. Then they would have a brand new PR and would just have to stay in Canada 730 years in the next 5 years after they get it. However, this transition period between renouncing their PR's and getting their new one, they should probably stay with their father in the US because as visitors in Canada, they will not have health care and they will need study permits in order to continue with their schooling plus you may have to pay international student fees for them.

 

[jenjen]

Thanks Msafiri and Leon,

I will have the girls cut back on their travels in 2013 and 2014 and apply once they meet the RO of 730 days.

Thank you so much.

NEXT QUESTION:

My husband is still employed in USA. He has to stay in USA to take care of our investment properties. Since becoming a Canadian PR in 2009, we have been trying to sell our investment properties but due to bad economy in USA, we were not able to sell them. When 2012 approached, we had to make the decision to move the whole family to Canada in order to meet the PR obligations.

In 2012, he has been spending three weeks in Canada every month. However, he would still not meet the Residency obligation. We are talking about far from 730 days. Do you think he can claim Humanitarian and Compassionate reason?

Appreciate your time.

 

[Msafiri]

He has made a personal decision to remain outside Canada for employment and business reasons - this is nowhere near a H&C case.

You will end up having to sponsor him in the Family Class if his absences continue.

A postion taken by several Federal Court Judges is that PR status is not a glorified visitors visa eventually its lost if the Residency Obligation is not met.

 

[scylla]

In 2012, he has been spending three weeks in Canada every month. However, he would still not meet the Residency obligation. We are talking about far from 730 days. Do you think he can claim Humanitarian and Compassionate reason?

I agree with the previous posted - financial challenges aren't seen as hardships from an H&C perspective. If you apply - you should be prepared for a refusal.

Can he return to Canada before his PR card expires? If so, then one option would be to return and move to Canada before the expiry date and hope he's not reported by immigration at the border for failing to meet residency requirements. If he makes it in without being flagged, he should remain in Canada until he meets the residency obligation (even once his card has expired) and then apply to renew his card once he meets residency requirements.

 

[Leon]

Scylla is right. If he makes it to Canada without being reported, he can stay for 2 years without leaving and then apply to renew his PR card as he will meet the residency requirements again. If he gets reported, he will probably lose his PR but you can sponsor him again.

 

[jenjen]

Thank you so much!