PR Residency Obligation – Latest Safe Time to Re-Enter Canada

[Rajasekhar2019]

Hello everyone,

I became a Canadian permanent resident in May 2022 and my PR card is valid until May 2027.

My travel history is as follows:

• I left Canada in February 2023 and returned in February 2024
• I left Canada again in December 2024 and I am currently outside Canada due to family circumstances

I would like guidance on when is the latest safe time for me to re-enter Canada so that I can still meet the 730-day residency obligation within the 5-year period, without risking my PR status.


Specifically:

• Is it safe to enter Canada close to the PR card expiry date if the 730 days have not yet been completed?
• Or do I need to return earlier to ensure I have enough time to accumulate the required days?
• Or can I return to Canada 4 months before expiry.

Any advice or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.


Thank you.

 

[canuck78]

Hello everyone,

I became a Canadian permanent resident in May 2022 and my PR card is valid until May 2027.

My travel history is as follows:

• I left Canada in February 2023 and returned in February 2024
• I left Canada again in December 2024 and I am currently outside Canada due to family circumstances

I would like guidance on when is the latest safe time for me to re-enter Canada so that I can still meet the 730-day residency obligation within the 5-year period, without risking my PR status.


Specifically:

• Is it safe to enter Canada close to the PR card expiry date if the 730 days have not yet been completed?
• Or do I need to return earlier to ensure I have enough time to accumulate the required days?
• Or can I return to Canada 4 months before expiry.

Any advice or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.


Thank you.

You’ll have to do your own calculation of when exactly you would need to return to meet your RO. What matters is when you meet the RO not the expiry date on your PR card although the longer you are out of compliance the higher the risk of being reported likely is.

 

[armoured]

The only 100% safe thing is to return while still in compliance.

To calculate that (easiest way) - you must calculate the number of days you are OUTSIDE Canada in the last five years (discarding any days before you became a PR, so in your case, May 2022.) As long as the number of days outside Canada is LESS than 1095 days, you are in compliance. Count only FULL days outside Canada in your count (any day with partial time in Canada counts as a day in Canada).

You'll have to do the actual day count and arithmetic calcs yourself. Hint: if you use excel or most other spreadsheets and use the format yyyy-mm-dd, you can use simple arithmetic formulae i.e. minus sign (eg cellA - cellB) to get the day count between them.

 

[Besram]

Hello everyone,

I became a Canadian permanent resident in May 2022 and my PR card is valid until May 2027.

My travel history is as follows:

• I left Canada in February 2023 and returned in February 2024
• I left Canada again in December 2024 and I am currently outside Canada due to family circumstances

I would like guidance on when is the latest safe time for me to re-enter Canada so that I can still meet the 730-day residency obligation within the 5-year period, without risking my PR status.


Specifically:

• Is it safe to enter Canada close to the PR card expiry date if the 730 days have not yet been completed?
• Or do I need to return earlier to ensure I have enough time to accumulate the required days?
• Or can I return to Canada 4 months before expiry.

Any advice or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.


Thank you.

Open Excel or Google Sheets, and do the following:

• Add three years (1,095 days) to the date you landed as a PR
• Add the amount of days already spent in Canada since your landing date.

The result is the absolute latest date you can arrive in Canada and still be able to accumulate 730 days of presence by the five year anniversary of your landing date.

 

[Rajasekhar2019]

Thank you all for your responses and guidance so far — it has been very helpful.

I just have one additional clarification. I understand that for maintaining PR status, the residency obligation (730 days in a 5-year period) is what matters most.

I wanted to ask about tax residency. I have heard that a person generally needs to stay in Canada for at least 6 months (183 days) in a year to be considered a tax resident.

My question is:

• Is tax residency in any way linked to or assessed together with PR residency obligation at the port of entry or for PR status?
• Or is tax residency a completely separate matter handled by CRA and not relevant for PR compliance or entry to Canada?

Thank you again for your time and insights.

 

[steaky]

Thank you all for your responses and guidance so far — it has been very helpful.

I just have one additional clarification. I understand that for maintaining PR status, the residency obligation (730 days in a 5-year period) is what matters most.

I wanted to ask about tax residency. I have heard that a person generally needs to stay in Canada for at least 6 months (183 days) in a year to be considered a tax resident.

My question is:

• Is tax residency in any way linked to or assessed together with PR residency obligation at the port of entry or for PR status?
• Or is tax residency a completely separate matter handled by CRA and not relevant for PR compliance or entry to Canada?

Thank you again for your time and insights.

Completely separate matter (although when submitting for PR card renewal, Canadian tax residency NOA can be used as evidence).

 

[canuck78]

Thank you all for your responses and guidance so far — it has been very helpful.

I just have one additional clarification. I understand that for maintaining PR status, the residency obligation (730 days in a 5-year period) is what matters most.

I wanted to ask about tax residency. I have heard that a person generally needs to stay in Canada for at least 6 months (183 days) in a year to be considered a tax resident.

My question is:

• Is tax residency in any way linked to or assessed together with PR residency obligation at the port of entry or for PR status?
• Or is tax residency a completely separate matter handled by CRA and not relevant for PR compliance or entry to Canada?

Thank you again for your time and insights.

Determining tax residency is more much more complex than a 6 month stay. You can be a tax resident without a 6 month stay.

 

[viveksharmaz]

Hi All,
I have a different situation and need some expert advice .. I was in USA when I got PR in 2021 July and moved to Canada in August 2024. I been working in USA and have been tarveling to and fro from canada to USA since Aug 2024. I have recently brought a home in 2025 .. and My original PR card was valid till Sep 2026 and unfortunetly I lost my PR card in Dec 2025 and applied for a new PR card and I got this below email where they are asking me to provide below documents along with ..

""you are being asked to provide proof of your compliance with the residency obligation for the period of 2021/07/02 up to the present day, as well as any humanitarian and compassionate considerations. Please submit the following documents:



q All passports and travel documents held by you, used to enter or leave Canada or other countries since 2021/07/02, whether valid or expired.

q A complete and detailed list of your absences from Canada since 2021/07/02.

q Record of Landing / Confirmation of Permanent Residence.

q Photo identification.

q Any documentary proof of your establishment and ties in Canada such as employment. This may include:

q Employment records (for example T-4’s, employment letters and other work records).

q Schooling/training records (for example reports cards, diplomas, awards).

q Social and community involvement (for example proof of any community involvement, volunteer duties).

q Medical records (for example proof of hospitalization, medical appointments).

q Home/family ties (for example rental and mortgage documents, whereabouts of family members).

q Supporting documents showing that there are compelling and compassionate factors in your personal circumstances that justify keeping your permanent resident status.

I am not sure how I can provide the any humanitarian and compassionate considerations along with
Supporting documents showing that there are compelling and compassionate factors in your personal circumstances that justify keeping your permanent resident status.

I really need help to reply to IRCC with above quetsions. Anyone has faced the similar issue.

 

[steaky]

Hi All,
I have a different situation and need some expert advice .. I was in USA when I got PR in 2021 July and moved to Canada in August 2024. I been working in USA and have been tarveling to and fro from canada to USA since Aug 2024. I have recently brought a home in 2025 .. and My original PR card was valid till Sep 2026 and unfortunetly I lost my PR card in Dec 2025 and applied for a new PR card and I got this below email where they are asking me to provide below documents along with ..

""you are being asked to provide proof of your compliance with the residency obligation for the period of 2021/07/02 up to the present day, as well as any humanitarian and compassionate considerations. Please submit the following documents:



q All passports and travel documents held by you, used to enter or leave Canada or other countries since 2021/07/02, whether valid or expired.

q A complete and detailed list of your absences from Canada since 2021/07/02.

q Record of Landing / Confirmation of Permanent Residence.

q Photo identification.

q Any documentary proof of your establishment and ties in Canada such as employment. This may include:

q Employment records (for example T-4’s, employment letters and other work records).

q Schooling/training records (for example reports cards, diplomas, awards).

q Social and community involvement (for example proof of any community involvement, volunteer duties).

q Medical records (for example proof of hospitalization, medical appointments).

q Home/family ties (for example rental and mortgage documents, whereabouts of family members).

q Supporting documents showing that there are compelling and compassionate factors in your personal circumstances that justify keeping your permanent resident status.

I am not sure how I can provide the any humanitarian and compassionate considerations along with
Supporting documents showing that there are compelling and compassionate factors in your personal circumstances that justify keeping your permanent resident status.

I really need help to reply to IRCC with above quetsions. Anyone has faced the similar issue.

We've seen your post before. How much more do you need?

Let's be honest with IRCC and try request for a withdrawal of the PR card renewal. Hoping for the best.

 

[armoured]

We've seen your post before. How much more do you need?

Let's be honest with IRCC and try request for a withdrawal of the PR card renewal. Hoping for the best.

I don't know for sure but I think withdrawing the PR card renewal app does NOT guarantee that any inquiry into status/residency obligation compliance will be halted. So I think would likely do more harm than good.

Whereas: while this thread has concentrated on the negatives and risks (yes, it would have been better to not apply, although perhaps not realistic given circumstances of being employed in USA) - it seems that the residency obligation non-compliance is actually not that significant in this case *(less than six months? less than a year anyway). And in big pluses, the applicant is residing in Canada, employed, contributing to a Canadian household, residing with spouse/child in Canada (who could sponsor if the PR status was revoked, rendering revocation a bit pointless). Add to that some 'reasons' for not having returned earlier (economic uncertainty, hadn't found a job in Canada, whatever), the chances of this going badly (i.e. PR status revocation) are perhaps not that high. "Interests of a child resident in Canada" alone might do the trick)

(Yes, we can't estimate, and certainly don't know. But perhaps a better case than many)

*I'm referring to @viveksharmaz case, who jumped into this thread, not the other poster

 

[dpenabill]

We've seen your post before. How much more do you need?

Let's be honest with IRCC and try request for a withdrawal of the PR card renewal. Hoping for the best.

I don't know for sure but I think withdrawing the PR card renewal app does NOT guarantee that any inquiry into status/residency obligation compliance will be halted. So I think would likely do more harm than good.

Whereas: while this thread has concentrated on the negatives and risks (yes, it would have been better to not apply, although perhaps not realistic given circumstances of being employed in USA) - it seems that the residency obligation non-compliance is actually not that significant in this case *(less than six months? less than a year anyway). And in big pluses, the applicant is residing in Canada, employed, contributing to a Canadian household, residing with spouse/child in Canada (who could sponsor if the PR status was revoked, rendering revocation a bit pointless). Add to that some 'reasons' for not having returned earlier (economic uncertainty, hadn't found a job in Canada, whatever), the chances of this going badly (i.e. PR status revocation) are perhaps not that high. "Interests of a child resident in Canada" alone might do the trick)

(Yes, we can't estimate, and certainly don't know. But perhaps a better case than many)

*I'm referring to @viveksharmaz case, who jumped into this thread, not the other poster

Please avoid the confusion of carrying on conversations about the same topic in multiple threads. No big deal for regular participants (notwithstanding their complaints about it), who are accustomed to dealing with this, but for those who pose queries and others who are reading in search of information about similar situations, it can be difficult for them to follow the discussion when it gets scattered in multiple threads.

Here, AFTER posting the query in this thread, long before you both responded to it in this thread, @viveksharmaz had started an "original thread" and only further engaged in this subject there, in that thread, also doing that well before you posted here.

Please see thread titled "Lost PR card and beiing asked-humanitarian and compassionate considerations for residency requirement" . . . where any further comments about it (including those by me) should be posted.

 

[steaky]

Please avoid the confusion of carrying on conversations about the same topic in multiple threads. No big deal for regular participants (notwithstanding their complaints about it), who are accustomed to dealing with this, but for those who pose queries and others who are reading in search of information about similar situations, it can be difficult for them to follow the discussion when it gets scattered in multiple threads.

Here, AFTER posting the query in this thread, long before you both responded to it in this thread, @viveksharmaz had started an "original thread" and only further engaged in this subject there, in that thread, also doing that well before you posted here.

Please see thread titled "Lost PR card and beiing asked-humanitarian and compassionate considerations for residency requirement" . . . where any further comments about it (including those by me) should be posted.

Talking to himself...