PR living in US working in Canada

[kiahsmom]

Hi all,

I landed in Canada in 1999 and then moved back to US in 2001. I was then, and still am, living with my Canadian Citizen husband in USA. I never obtained a PR card as they did not begin issuing them until 2002 so I still have my record of landing, but no other proof of PR status. We recently moved back to the Pacific Northwest, but are buying a house in WA instead of in Canada but I am working in Canada. Crossing the border without a PR card has been problematic on many occasions so I am now applying for my first PR card. My residency obligation should be met as I have lived with my Canadian husband ever since, so hopefully I will not have a problem getting the card as long as I apply from within Canada and use a Canadian address for correspondence. Am I correct in this?

My question other question is...in the event that anything should ever happen to my husband, would my daily trips into Canada (for work) count toward my PR obligation or would I have to move back to Canada right away so that I could maintain my PR status and continue to work/run a business there?

Thank you!
TM

 

[CanV]

You are correct, you still maintain PR status because you are accompanying a Canadian spouse outside Canada. You should be able to get a PR card on this basis.

For the purpose maintaining PR status while you are not accompanying a Canadian spouse or are not employed by a Canadian company outside Canada, any part of the day you spend inside Canada counts as a day for the purpose of meeting PR residency obligations. So to answer your question, yes you can count those days when you cross into Canada to go to work, but obviously not the days you aren't in Canada (like on weekends if you have those days off). For that purpose, you may have to maintain records that shows you are in Canada in the days of work.

This is only my opinion and not an expert advise.

Good luck

 

[Leon]

CanV is right. You should not have a problem getting a PR card using a Canadian address when you show you have been living with your Canadian citizen husband.

Also that any part of a day spent in Canada counts as a day spent in Canada towards the residency requirements. In order to prove that you have been in Canada, should you ever have to, the easiest would be to get a letter from the employer stating that you work for them full time and come in 5 days a week in a normal week followed by how long you have worked for them.