Kraretto said:
Hi,
My wife is Canadian citizen and I am a PR of Canada and I landed in 1997. Since we have some personal issues, we moved back to my home country and I only could stay in Canada for a short time around a month... 19 years passed and we didn't have chance to fly back to Canada...... Recently, we are planning to move back to Canada. I checked the CIC website and it shows the situation 1 of "Accompanying a Canadian citizen outside" and it fits to us. I am thinking I can get my PR card (I never have a PR card. As I remember, they didn't start the PR card system in 1997 and I only have my IMM1000) with:
1) my home country passport and travel to Canada and apply PR card/renew my PR status with the exception of “Situation 1. Accompanying a Canadian citizen outside Canada” in any Canada Immigration center.
OR
2) apply PR card/renew my PR status in my home country with the exception of “Situation 1. Accompanying a Canadian citizen outside Canada”. After everything are done, I can travel to Canada.
I have checked many posts in the forum and send email to Canada Immigration. Forum shows many situation and help. But Immigration only replied me some general answers and told me PR of Canada must travel with either a valid PR Card or a PR travel document and give me a link. Does anyone have the experience in similar situation and give me some advices? Many thanks.
For clarity:
To be eligible for a new PR card you must make the application
in Canada and be in compliance with the PR Residency Obligation.
So, unless and until you return to live in Canada, better to not pursue an application for a PR card. While I am not certain, my strong sense this is particularly true in your situation, given your history, and the likelihood there will be elevated scrutiny of you and your application. (As to the latter, see alternative regarding applying for a PR Travel Document discussed more below.)
To be clear, the exception, or "Situation 1," you refer to is simply about what days can be counted toward compliance with the PR Residency Obligation. Days accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse count toward compliance with the PR RO, which is to say they are credited as if days spent in Canada.
I cannot say for sure, but my sense is that accompanying for 19 years is an unusual situation, which as already noted is likely to invite elevated scrutiny. Thus, whether you apply for a PR Travel Document, or are examined at a PoE upon arrival in Canada, or are in Canada and apply for a PR card, my sense is you can anticipate some risk of longer than routine processing time and close scrutiny of your proof.
See the online application for a PR card, and the one for a PR Travel Document, for more information about what proof you need. I disagree with the observation by
canuck_in_uk that essentially brushes off the possibility of a problem when you seek to enter Canada. Unless you have proof of compliance with the PR RO, there is a risk of being issued an inadmissibility Report and Removal Order. If you are accompanying your Canadian citizen spouse on the trip, this risk should be relatively low, but it is better to have a copy of the marriage certificate and some documents showing you have been living together during the last five years, and have these in your hands (not in checked baggage).
The other issue is actually being allowed to board a flight to Canada:
It appears you have a visa-exempt passport.
Since you are a PR, however, eTA is not relevant for you. eTA is only relevant for
Foreign Nationals with a visa-exempt passport,
not all persons with a visa-exempt passport. Since you are a PR you are not a Foreign National.
You do not need eTA to board a flight to Canada, and indeed you would probably be denied eTA if you applied.
The
rules: In the meantime, IRCC information explictly cautions PRs that they need a PR card or PR TD to board a flight to Canada. This is regardless what passport the PR carries. (
steaky is wrong about U.S. citizens who are also Canadian PRs; there is no exemption from the PR card requirement for U.S. citizens who are Canadian PRs.)
BUT -- In practice: There are differences of opinion as to whether, in practice, the PR rule is yet being enforced for all PRs. Some have the opinion that the rule for PRs with visa-exempt passports is not actually being enforced during the leniency period. My take is that there is no reliable source of information confirming this, but rather there is a substantial risk the rule will be enforced, and my
guess (FWIW) is that it is actually now being enforced against all PRs including those with visa-exempt passports (despite the leniency period for FNs).
This has been discussed in depth in multiple other topics. See for example "Please help! Can I renter Canada in such situation?" -- linked and partially quoted:
dpenabill said:
My take, again, to be clear, is that there is a substantial risk the rule will be enforced, and my guess (FWIW) is that it is actually now being enforced against all PRs including those with visa-exempt passports.
For IRCC's formal information regarding this, see:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/about-pr.asp
or
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=064&top=10
But not all situations are created equal. Apparently it has been a long while since you last came to Canada. For the vast majority of PRs, their passport is linked to their Canadian client number. Yours might not be. Until the recent past, airlines screened boarding passengers. But now all passengers boarding a flight to Canada must have their name and passport number submitted to
and cleared by by the IAPI system (operated and maintained by CBSA)
before a boarding pass can be printed.
How it would go for you in particular is thus somewhat uncertain. For example, the IAPI system might not recognize you are a Canadian PR when your passport information is submitted.
In your situation, however, there is no reason to risk encountering a problem boarding the flight to Canada: you are in compliance with the PR RO and thus should be able to apply for and obtain a PR TD.
The more prudent course would be to apply for a PR Travel Document:
A PR Travel Document will for sure allow you to board a flight to Canada. It will obviate the risk of a residency examination upon arrival at the PoE in Canada. It would probably help make the process applying for a PR card go more smoothly once you are in Canada.
In particular, given your background circumstances, once you arrive to live in Canada you are likely to need a PR card for things like obtaining health care coverage in Canada, a Canadian drivers license, or possibly even a SIN if you did not obtain one during your brief sojourn here nearly two decades ago. If you make the PR TD application, support it with appropriate documentation to show that you are in compliance with the PR RO based on accompanying a Canadian spouse, that could easily make the process for obtaining your PR card, after arriving in Canada, faster.
As I initially observed, however, given your history, there is a risk of elevated scrutiny, so it might take longer to process your PR TD application than the norm for many others.
What country you are in, and the location of the visa office where you would apply for the PR TD, are relevant considerations. These too are not all created equal, administered equally, or handle clients equally. But if you are in a visa-exempt country, odds are good the visa office you would have to make your application to is not one of the more problematic locations. This, however, is an area very difficult to forecast regarding.
But given the tendency of visa offices to be more strict if not difficult in conducting residency determinations for PRs, than CBSA officers at a PoE or IRCC at local offices in Canada, there are some who might suggest it is better to get to Canada and then make your case (at PoE and/or in PR card application). But assuming you have the appropriate documentation to readily prove genuine relationship (marriage certificate), partner's Canadian citizenship, and cohabitation, the PR TD application is probably the most prudent way to approach this.
Reminder for emphasis: Do not underestimate the importance of having and showing (at PoE) or submitting (for PR TD or PR card) documents to prove compliance with the PR RO, as to each of the elements:
-- genuine, qualified relationship
-- partner's citizenship
-- cohabitation
