PR renewal + bringing my fiancé

[JoeJoeJoe29]

Hi,
I have a question on PR renewal. I got my PR in September 2017. I landed in Vancouver from seattle on October 1, 2017. I went back to seattle the next day. I didn’t come back until July 2020.
The expiration date on my PR is November 15th 2022.
I reach my 730th day in Canada today (including the 2 days in 2017). I read a few threads and the general consensus is I should be ready for a secondary review, considering I just about satisfy my residency obligation.
I should also add that I’m self employed and I’ve been on 4 vacations since July 2020 (1 long one for about 2 months and 3 short vacations of 1-2 weeks).

1) Is there anything I can do to avoid secondary review? My travel history is pretty clear. My documents are pretty solid. Should I attach passport stamps, tax documents (mine and company),lease docs, insurancecard etc?? Will this help?

2) should I wait and apply in a couple of months. I don’t have any travel plans for the next few months.

3) anything else I can do to avoid a lengthy wait?
Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Ponga]

Hi,
I have a question on PR renewal. I got my PR in September 2017. I landed in Vancouver from seattle on October 1, 2017. I went back to seattle the next day. I didn’t come back until July 2020.
The expiration date on my PR is November 15th 2022.
I reach my 730th day in Canada today (including the 2 days in 2017). I read a few threads and the general consensus is I should be ready for a secondary review, considering I just about satisfy my residency obligation.
I should also add that I’m self employed and I’ve been on 4 vacations since July 2020 (1 long one for about 2 months and 3 short vacations of 1-2 weeks).

1) Is there anything I can do to avoid secondary review? My travel history is pretty clear. My documents are pretty solid. Should I attach passport stamps, tax documents (mine and company),lease docs, insurancecard etc?? Will this help?

2) should I wait and apply in a couple of months. I don’t have any travel plans for the next few months.

3) anything else I can do to avoid a lengthy wait?
Thanks in advance for your help!

1. No way to predict. You should include whatever you have showing that you've met the R.O., including the documents that you describe.
2. Yes.
3. No.

As long as you can provide solid evidence that you meet the ONLY real requirement that is needed to renew your PR card, which is the Residency Obligation that you are already aware of, you likely won't have any trouble; likely being the key word.

If by chance you are a U.S. citizen (think you may be because of your connection to Seattle) you probably can't rely on getting accurate travel history from CBSA and/or CBP, since U.S. citizens exiting Canada may have only started to be recorded as of June 2019 (land border) and 2020 (commercial carrier). Because PRs need to show each trip from/to Canada in the application, many rely on the CBSA to provide that information. It may not be so accurate for a U.S. citizen. Hopefully, you have documented your travels on your own.

 

[JoeJoeJoe29]

1. No way to predict. You should include whatever you have showing that you've met the R.O., including the documents that you describe.
2. Yes.
3. No.

As long as you can provide solid evidence that you meet the ONLY real requirement that is needed to renew your PR card, which is the Residency Obligation that you are already aware of, you likely won't have any trouble; likely being the key word.

If by chance you are a U.S. citizen (think you may be because of your connection to Seattle) you probably can't rely on getting accurate travel history from CBSA and/or CBP, since U.S. citizens exiting Canada may have only started to be recorded as of June 2019 (land border) and 2020 (commercial carrier). Because PRs need to show each trip from/to Canada in the application, many rely on the CBSA to provide that information. It may not be so accurate for a U.S. citizen. Hopefully, you have documented your travels on your own.

Thank you! Appreciate your response. I still have my boarding pass in my phone wallet and the tickets. I don’t have any other evidence. I’m going to wait a couple of months and apply. I plan on going to Mexico in February. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hoping I’ll get my PR card before that.

 

[Ponga]

Thank you! Appreciate your response. I still have my boarding pass in my phone wallet and the tickets. I don’t have any other evidence. I’m going to wait a couple of months and apply. I plan on going to Mexico in February. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hoping I’ll get my PR card before that.

You're welcome!

What do you mean "I still have my boarding pass in my phone wallet and the tickets. I don’t have any other evidence."?

What boarding pass? You also said that your documents are pretty solid. Do you have a Canadian DL, provincial health card, etc.?

 

[JoeJoeJoe29]

You're welcome!

What do you mean "I still have my boarding pass in my phone wallet and the tickets. I don’t have any other evidence."?

What boarding pass? You also said that your documents are pretty solid. Do you have a Canadian DL, provincial health card, etc.?

All my travel to and from Canada was by air. I have my e-boarding pass and tickets.. I also have passport stamps from when I visited England and Dubai. That’s about the only evidence I have to prove my travel dates.
Yes, I have a drivers an Ontario drivers license (I only got it 8 months after I moved) and my health card, lease documents etc. I’m hoping these docs will suffice.

 

[Ponga]

All my travel to and from Canada was by air. I have my e-boarding pass and tickets.. I also have passport stamps from when I visited England and Dubai. That’s about the only evidence I have to prove my travel dates.
Yes, I have a drivers an Ontario drivers license (I only got it 8 months after I moved) and my health card, lease documents etc. I’m hoping these docs will suffice.

I think you're good.

 

[JoeJoeJoe29]

I think you're good.

Hopefully . Thanks again!

 

[JoeJoeJoe29]

I should’ve added this to my original question. 2 months back I put in a PR application for my fiancé/spouse. I was still on track to make my RO but without a lot of room. I haven’t heard back on my request to sponsor my spouse.
1) Does not meeting RO (and your time remaining is stretched) at the time of application impact sponsorship? In my case, I was still on track to make my RO but like I said, barely!
2) is there a way to check status of this application? I should’ve used a lawyer but we sought the service of an immigration consultant in Toronto. We realized that their knowledge of immigration law as was quite basic.

 

[Ponga]

I should’ve added this to my original question. 2 months back I put in a PR application for my fiancé/spouse. I was still on track to make my RO but without a lot of room. I haven’t heard back on my request to sponsor my spouse.
1) Does not meeting RO (and your time remaining is stretched) at the time of application impact sponsorship? In my case, I was still on track to make my RO but like I said, barely!
2) is there a way to check status of this application? I should’ve used a lawyer but we sought the service of an immigration consultant in Toronto. We realized that their knowledge of immigration law as was quite basic.

Wait...when you say fiance'/spouse, that must mean that the person is your common law partner, right? You cannot sponsor a fiance' and I don't know why you're stating that the person is both your fiance' and your spouse. If you have not yet lived with your spouse/common law partner for at least 12 continuous months and have solid proof of this, you cannot sponsor your fiance'/spouse. FWIW, the word fiance' has no relevance to a spousal sponsorship application. You have to either be common law, or married. Fiance' is meaningless.

1. Honestly hard to say.
2. You can try contacting IRCC after the application has been submitted. Check some of the recent threads here for more info.

It's worth mentioning that even a couple that is in Canada can submit an Outland application. Historically, they have been faster to process than Inland applications, but the Outland applicant would not qualify for the Open Work permit (OWP) that's available to an Inland applicant. The OWP is usually available to the Inland applicant once they receive AOR (Acknowledgement of Receipt).

 

[JoeJoeJoe29]

Wait...when you say fiance'/spouse, that must mean that the person is your common law partner, right? You cannot sponsor a fiance' and I don't know why you're stating that the person is both your fiance' and your spouse. If you have not yet lived with your spouse/common law partner for at least 12 continuous months and have solid proof of this, you cannot sponsor your fiance'/spouse. FWIW, the word fiance' has no relevance to a spousal sponsorship application. You have to either be common law, or married. Fiance' is meaningless.

1. Honestly hard to say.
2. You can try contacting IRCC after the application has been submitted. Check some of the recent threads here for more info.

It's worth mentioning that even a couple that is in Canada can submit an Outland application. Historically, they have been faster to process than Inland applications, but the Outland applicant would not qualify for the Open Work permit (OWP) that's available to an Inland applicant. The OWP is usually available to the Inland applicant once they receive AOR (Acknowledgement of Receipt).

I was unclear. We are married. It was an arranged marriage in my hometown in Sri Lanka. I say fiancé because we had a civil marriage so we can apply for her PR. We have a proper wedding planned after my extension.

 

[dpenabill]

In addition to what has already been said . . .

1) Does not meeting RO (and your time remaining is stretched) at the time of application impact sponsorship?

To be eligible to sponsor you must be a PR who is not inadmissible. Thus, if the sponsored application is made when the PR is not in compliance with the PR Residency Obligation, that can trigger a Residency Determination, just as an application for a new PR card might.

Whether it will trigger a RD and the 44(1) Report procedure is hard to forecast. It can, but it might not, and whether it will seems to depend on a lot of other factors, the biggest one being how much in breach of the RO the PR is, and the extent to which it appears the PR is now settled in Canada permanently. Many report they have made sponsored applications while in breach with NO problem. Some even insist there will be no problem (but we know of actual cases otherwise . . . typically by PRs who are in breach by well more than a year, that is PRs making the application with significantly fewer than 365 days in Canada).

It appears, however, you have not been in breach of the RO. During the first five years after landing a PR does not need to have been in Canada at least 730 days to be in compliance as long as there are enough days left in the first five years that the PR can be in Canada at least 730 days within that first five year time period (from date of landing; PR card expiration date is not relevant).

Cutting-it-close can indeed trigger a referral to Secondary Review or other non-routine processing when an application for a new PR card is made, but does not appear to have much affect on a sponsorship application. This is assuming the PR remains in Canada pending the processing of the application . . . noting that short trips abroad are OK but any extended absence can put the sponsored PR application at risk, since to be eligible to sponsor a PR must be IN Canada.

A number of forum participants suggest that waiting to apply for a new PR card with a month or two buffer can help avoid a referral to Secondary Review or other non-routine processing. Probably a good idea BUT it warrants noting that this still means the PR has been living and present outside Canada more than IN Canada, by quite a lot, so other factors very likely have significant if not a lot of influence in whether there is a referral to Secondary Review or other non-routine processing . . . and the extent to which it is readily apparent the PR is settled PERMANENTLY in Canada is perhaps one of the biggest factors.

The expiration date on my PR is November 15th 2022.

We have a proper wedding planned after my extension.

To be clear: You almost certainly mean the expiration date of your PR card is November 15th 2022. PR status does not expire. There is no extension of PR status.

 

[armoured]

It was an arranged marriage in my hometown in Sri Lanka. I say fiancé because we had a civil marriage so we can apply for her PR. We have a proper wedding planned after my extension.

You should check the spousal forum here. Generally strongly recommended that for arranged marriages, the 'proper wedding' should be held before applying. Having only the civil marriage has a much higher risk of refusal for an arranged marriage.

Why? Well, precisely because it won't be considered a 'proper marriage'.

 

[dpenabill]

We are married. It was an arranged marriage in my hometown in Sri Lanka. I say fiancé because we had a civil marriage so we can apply for her PR.

You should check the spousal forum here. Generally strongly recommended that for arranged marriages, the 'proper wedding' should be held before applying. Having only the civil marriage has a much higher risk of refusal for an arranged marriage.

Why? Well, precisely because it won't be considered a 'proper marriage'.

The caution noted by @armoured warrants careful consideration.

In particular, although I have not been following sponsored spouse applications much in recent years, but both historically and from what I have seen over the years in actual cases, this is something to seriously consider.

Importantly this is given the provision in the regulations which defines a marriage "entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring any status or privilege under the Act" to be in bad faith and one that does NOT qualify for spousal sponsorship.

I generally say that IRCC does not engage in gotcha games, but this is one aspect in which there are signs they might. You state, for example, "we had a civil marriage so we can apply for her PR." That could be disqualifying, since you married to obtain status in Canada, EVEN though the relationship and marriage are genuine. Once a marriage relationship has been disqualified, there are cases stating that it cannot be fixed. Even where there has been a formal divorce and subsequent re-marriage, the courts have upheld IRCC decisions denying the relationship qualifies.

Additionally, arranged marriages in particular seem to invite suspicion as to their genuineness.

Some marriages or relationships are screened more aggressively, more skeptically. Again, I have not kept up with this, so I cannot frame the risks in any concrete way. As @armoured suggests, the part of this website where spousal sponsorships are the primary subject would be a good place to start, including in particular discussions about arranged marriages.

To be clear, if IRCC determines EITHER the marriage is not genuine, OR it was entered into to obtain status in Canada, that will make the relationship not qualify for sponsorship. Technically the latter is about entering into the relationship "primarily" for the purpose of obtaining status, but relying on that distinction is gambling at best.

Reference: Section 4(1)(a) IRPR (the immigration regulations); which is here: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2002-227/page-2.html#h-685476

This was not the law when I was sponsored. This regulation was amended in 2010 . . . one word making all the difference, the word "and" replaced with "or." See version which applied when I was sponsored here: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2002-227/section-4-20060322.html#wb-cont

 

[JoeJoeJoe29]

Thanks e

example, "we had a civil marriage so we can apply for her PR."

Yeah, that does sound a little weird when I read it back. When I read it back, I realize it is also not completely true. We did have PR in mind, especially because we want to live in the same place ASAP.
Also, even though we had a civil ceremony we had family and friends for dinner and drinks after. It just wasn’t a wedding with 500 people like weddings in that part of the world tend to be. It was more intimate and it surely wasn’t cheap .
Appreciate all your help! Hoping for the best with my renewal. Thank you all!