My PR card is valid till December 22 2020
I may be short of a month when it comes to RO--of 2/5 years
I would like to know if
PR card validity is enough at POE in Canada
or
do officers check Residency Obligation for every PR holder
or is it luck by chance--some get checked and some dont
If you read other threads here you will get some sense of this. PR card validity should be enough to get you on the flight to Canada. As a PR, you will be let into Canada, but you could be reported for being out of compliance (i.e. review subject to appeal of status).
You do not give any more information (such as how long you have been out of Canada this time) as there are many factors at the border/point of entry. But short form is: it could go either way. You may get asked more questions and sent to secondary review, warned about being slightly out of RO, or -possibly- formal review process started. Or you may get waved through without further comment. For example, if you accumulated most of your days in Canada shortly after your landing and have now been out of Canada for close to three years, more chance your case will be looked at closely. The closer you are to the validity date of your card, the higher the chances of more careful review.
At this point, to venture a guess which should not be relied upon: a fairly good chance you will be let through with not much more than a warning to comply with your RO if you have any plausible 'reason' for being delayed in returning, especially if covid related. The sooner you return/the less out of compliance the better. Tell the truth, have some documentation if possible, get informed; if you don't have documentation of specific reasons, 'covid concerns' and wanting to be prepared for covid requirements may at least get some sympathy.
Oh, and have a quarantine/self-isolation plan. They WILL ask about this right now (and possibly pay more attention to this than anything else). "Took me longer to return than planned because I needed to arrange for self-isolation may be seen as a reason to give you the benefit of the doubt.
If you are let through (waved through with few questions or only a verbal caution), do not believe that this means you are good and problem resolved unless and until you are in compliance with your residency obligation - being let through today does not mean it will be okay the next time you leave/return. Best to stay, and apply for a new card only once you have some buffer. Do not believe that if you are waved through that there hasn't been a note made on your file about RO.
To sloganize, being waved through is NOT a waiver of residency obligation.
Others will undoubtedly weigh in, mine is only one opinion. Again if you read through some of the many other threads on this topic you\ll get some sense of the factors.
