PR card renewal (6 days short of obligations)

[john_petrucci]

Hello,

I became a permanent resident of Canada in July 2008. I had to travel back and forth between my home country and Canada. I have been living in Canada since Oct 2011 (haven't gone back). Now, at the 5 year checkpoint (July 2013), my residency count is 724 days instead of the 730 days. My question is, how can I renew my PR card under this condition? BTW, my PR card's expiry date is in Aug. So, if I wait the extra 6 days after the 5 year checkpoint, my PR card would still be valid. Pls give me some suggestions.

Thanks.

 

[Leon]

When you apply to renew your PR card, they ask how long you spent outside of Canada in the past 5 years. Generally you need to have at least 730 days in Canada but the PR card renewal application actually asks if you have 1095 days or more outside Canada in the past 5 which is the same thing.

If you do not meet the residency requirements, do not apply to renew.

Even if you have to let your PR card expire, do not apply to renew until you meet them.

Keep in mind that staying an extra 6 days after your 5 year PR anniversary will not necessarily give you an extra 6 days because I assume you stayed in Canada at least 6 days after landing. Once your landing is 5 years in the past, these first days will move outside the 5 year window and will not be counted any more. You will need to wait until there are 5 years since you left Canada after your landing and then count 6 days. Better if you give it a couple of weeks more just in case.

 

[john_petrucci]

Thanks Leon.
So, whenever I reach 730 days (by counting backwards 5 years), I will be able to apply for PR Card renewal? I have calculated this and this implies I would have to apply about 3 weeks after my PR Card expires.

 

[Leon]

Actually the PR renewal application asks you to count the days you were outside Canada and they mention less than 1095 in the past 5 years but yeah, when you meet the requirements for the past 5 years, you can apply. However, you might want to give you a safety buffer of a least a couple of weeks in case you miscalculated or forgot about some trip.

 

[bfhoney]

PR card renewal

What if the criteria is met and apply for renewal from outside of canada? Is there any issue if we apply outside of canada for PR renewal.

 

[Leon]

The rules state that a PR application must originate inside Canada. However, they also say that an applicant can not be refused solely on the basis of being outside Canada. How you understand that is up to you. To me, that means that if you have friends or family in Canada who will let you mail them your PR renewal application and they mail it in for you and you write in a cover letter that you do not live in Canada at the moment but you do have this secure mailing address that you would be ok.

However, whether being outside Canada when you apply might cause immigration to give you a residency questionnaire (RQ) is another story. An RQ is when they suspect that you did not stay in Canada as much as they say you do and so they ship your file off to your local office (where your mailing address in Canada is) and when they get around to it, they will ask you in for an interview so you can prove your time in Canada. This can add a year or two to the processing time.

An alternative solution to being outside Canada with an expiring PR card is to let it expire but apply for a travel document before you want to return to Canada. If you still meet the residency requirements when you apply for the travel document, you will get it, use it to return to Canada and then apply for a PR card from the inside.