Dana201 said:
Why wouldnt my passport serve as proof of entry/exit? Or even their ability to get my Entry/Exit themselves? That seems redundant. Like a waste of my time and more expense. I have no idea on how to even contact these countries for the information?
The response from
thecoolguysam says most of what you really need to know. The PR has the burden of proving compliance with the PR Residency Obligation, and thus needs to submit, as best the PR can, the
evidence IRCC requests.
Do what you can (making a concerted effort, being diligent and proactive), and submit what you can, and submit an explanation about what is omitted, including why and briefly about what efforts you have made to obtain that information.
If you make a concerted effort to make a responsive submission, and it is what IRCC perceives to be a good-faith submission, and it is relatively responsive, there is a good chance that will suffice. But of course a lot depends on all the other facts and circumstances in your case, including how much you have been in Canada in the
last five years (while the history prior to that is relevant and taken into consideration, it is
not part of the calculation itself . . . which is to say, how much you were in Canada prior to five years ago, as of the date you made this application, does not count at all toward meeting the PR Residency Obligation).
I can offer more in-depth observations and explanations, and I will, but again what the PR really needs to know, as
thecoolguysam straight-forwardly stated, is that the PR's burden is to provide the evidence requested.
In the meantime, make a concerted effort to provide IRCC with the information and documentation requested. And I do mean a
concerted effort. You can
start by contacting respective embassies or consulates here in Canada, but if that does not suffice, continue to make a concerted effort to obtain the requested information.
Visit the Citizenship conference here and look for topics about travel records or records of movement, since there is far more discussion about this in that conference. You might consider starting a similar topic there, but perhaps drop the reference to PRC application in the topic title and be more specific; suggested title: "Exit/entry records for Ireland, Italy, Australia, Mexico, and Cuba" (or at least as much will fit into the character limit for topic titles).
Longer, more in-depth observations:
Why wouldnt my passport serve as proof of entry/exit?
Some passport stamps may verify a date you entered Canada. But passports are not always stamped when someone enters Canada, so Canadian entry stamps cannot prove all entries into Canada since they do not document all entries into Canada.
Canada rarely stamps passports for travelers exiting Canada, so this is even more true relative to exits from Canada. Simply put: passport stamps rarely document let alone prove exits from Canada.
Obviously, stamps in a passport made by other countries do not document an entry into Canada and do not document an exit from Canada. They do verify that the individual was abroad on those particular dates and transiting border controls in that country on that date. Here too, however, they are not necessarily complete, they do not necessarily show whether the individual entered or exited other countries on other dates.
Overall: Again, passport stamps rarely document let alone prove exits from Canada. Passport stamps may prove
some entries into Canada but cannot be relied upon to prove there were no other entries into Canada.
Why wouldnt my passport serve as proof of entry/exit? Or even their ability to get my Entry/Exit themselves? That seems redundant. Like a waste of my time and more expense.
As noted already, passports do not come anywhere near close to proving all entries into Canada, and do not provide much if any proof about exits from Canada.
I assume "their ability to get my Entry/Exit themselves" refers to the CBSA travel history. Overall, to the extent that CBSA has an IRCC client's travel history, that
travel history is NOT relied upon to be complete. It may be relied on to verify the events documented, but does
NOT verify there were no other entries or exits.
Beyond that, it is increasingly true that CBSA can provide a record of entries which, for most individuals and most of the time, is complete or nearly complete. This is because most of the time (approaching nearly all the time) a traveler's travel document is scanned or otherwise entered into the system attendant entry into Canada. Again, however, this is
NOT relied upon to verify there were no other entries into Canada.
Moreover, there is enough information in the databases for CBSA or IRCC to, in effect, build a record of exits as well. Best I understand, however, this would require essentially investigatory queries into data which is stored but not compiled particular to individual clients, such as accessing shared data from the U.S. as to entries into the U.S. from Canada, among other data sources. (Depending on the scope of the investigatory queries, it may be possible they could go so far as to access flight manifest data or even individual customs' declarations; but CBSA is not going to do that to document a PR's case, even though the scope of an investigation of fraud may proceed that extensively and deeply.)
In either respect, however, IRCC does not utilize this information to calculate a client's travel history. Rather, IRCC uses this information to verify, that is to cross-check, the accuracy and completeness of what the individual reports. IRCC is, in effect, looking for information which shows either an entry or exit on some date other than those which the PR has reported. Or, for indications the PR may have been either in Canada or outside Canada contrary to what has been declared. (Yes, if IRCC finds information suggesting a PR was
In Canada at a time the PR has reported he or she was outside Canada, that tends to go against the PR because it indicates the PR's account is not accurate and cannot be relied upon. That is, yes, indications of being in Canda more than declared will
hurt not help.)
And we are increasingly seeing these requests for the PR (and citizenship applicants) to submit travel records from other countries. Obviously IRCC also wants to cross-check all the information the PR has provided against those records of movement as well.
In this regard, note that among things that IRCC is looking for, IRCC is particularly concerned about the possible use or possession of travel documents which have not been declared or presented to IRCC. (Because such travel documents could, possibly, be used to enter and exit Canada without the entry or exit being recorded in respect to the client's CBSA records.)
Relevance of exit and entry dates:
There is a widespread misunderstanding about how entry and exit dates relate to proof of time in Canada.
This misunderstanding is in large part due to the fact that for the vast majority of individuals, in the vast majority of Residency Determinations (including presence calculations for purposes of citizenship applications), IRCC generally concludes that the PR was present in Canada all the days between a last-reported entry date and the next-reported exit date.
And scores and scores of PRs depend on IRCC making precisely this inference, the inference that the PR was inside Canada all those days in-between a last-reported entry date and the next-reported exit date.
What is overlooked is the extent to which IRCC can readily assess the veracity of work and address history, and other indications of living a life in Canada, which substantively supports that inference, the inference that the PR was inside Canada all those days in-between a last-reported entry date and the next-reported exit date.
The extent to which this inference is relied upon, however, can be considerably diminished if IRCC has concerns about the accuracy or completeness of the travel history, or otherwise perceives reason to be concerned about the PR's actual presence
in-between known travel dates.
The PR's burden of proof goes up a lot if IRCC does not infer the PR was in Canada days in-between a last-reported entry date and the next-reported exit date. In these cases, proof of dates of travel are still important, but no where near enough to meet the PR's burden to prove presence in Canada.
This does not appear to be your situation, not yet anyway. You are, it appears, only being asked to more completely document your travel dates.
I went into detail about this, however, given the emphasis your query placed on the exit/entry record, and to more or less indicate where things could go if IRCC has doubts about the accuracy or completeness of the declared travel history.
Overall observations:
This request may be little more than a quality control check:
IRCC might not have any particular concerns about your compliance with the PR RO, no reason to be overtly suspicious.
Or, this request may have been generated due to some concerns but they are relatively minor and can be readily resolved if you make a relatively responsive submission.
So it is important for you to make a
timely, responsive submission of what is requested, at least as best you can (and again,
best-you-can really does mean making a concerted, diligent effort). Do this and the odds are good this will be little more than a minor bump in the road.
Indeed, this request may be little more than a means of verifying you are in Canada and living at the residential address you provided in the application, and thus any reasonably responsive submission may well suffice for this to proceed and a new PRC issued with only a small delay.
That said, you know the facts and circumstances in your situation. You know how much time you have actually spent in Canada. You should have a fair idea whether or not the odds might not be so good. If, for example, you have spent more time outside Canada than in Canada, during the last five years, then you know there is a greater risk that IRCC is going to approach your situation more skeptically.
