PR RENEWAL - HUMANITARIAN GROUNDS

[sidrashahid]

This questions is on the behalf of my friend.

Here is the scenario:

Received PR card in 2005, stayed in canada for two months but due to family reasons had to go back to homeland.

His father was sick so had to take care of him there. He passed away last year and now wants to come back to Canada and settle down.

He recently changed the country of passport as well.

Questions:

How can he enter canada with the expired PR? I know one way is the travel document but that is risky and might take long too. What other solutions are there?

Also, can he apply for PR renewal from outside canada?

His wife and children are in the process of Canadian Citizenship.

Thanks in advance!
-S

 

[scylla]

What happened with the PR renewal application you submitted back in 2011?

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/pr-renewal-local-office-delay-in-process-timing-t91253.0.html;msg1173030#msg1173030

 

[Leon]

Immigration prefers that people are in Canada when applying for PR renewal. There is a rule that says that a PR card can not be denied simply because the person isn't in Canada though but a PR card application on H&C grounds is likely to take forever and when if he ever gets called in for an interview or asked to pick up his card, he would still have to apply for a travel document which could still be denied.

If he is visa exempt, he can simply travel to Canada, explain his situation on entry and see what happens.

If he is not visa exempt but has or can get a US visa, he can fly to the US and enter Canada by land, then explain the situation on entry and see what happens.

There are a couple of possible scenarios resulting from such an entry. One is that the immigration officers will simply let him enter in which case he can stay in Canada for the next 2 years without applying for anything and then apply to renew his PR card. Another is that they will report him for not meeting the RO in which case he can appeal and he would be allowed to renew his PR card for a year at a time and stay in Canada during the appeal processing.

If he is not visa exempt and can not get a US visa, the best option would be for him to apply for a PR travel document. If refused, he can appeal. If still refused, he will lose his PR but if his wife is living in Canada and meets the RO, she can sponsor him for PR again. However, this is not a fast way to go back as the sponsorship can easily take months.