PR residency obligation query

[nachos]

Good day!
I am a Canadian PR. I moved to Canada during July 2010 on work permit.Got my PR on Feb 2012.Now my company who has business here in Canada has decided to send me to overseas on a long term(16 months) assignment. I will be paying income tax and other things even though i am out of country.I saw on CIC website in order to maintain my PR& status i need to be in Canada 2 out of last 5 years. My question is does this rule count prior becoming PR time or after becoming PR?
I need to know if my PR status will be under question since I will be away for 16 months?
How does 2 years out of 5 works for me. Say I lived in Canada Prior becoming PR close to 19months and almost close to 20 months after becoming PR.
I will be eligible for citizenship in May 2014(calculating half time prior to PR and full time after becoming PR). Since the oversea's assignment is unavoidable,I am wondering 2 years obligation for PR is the total time spend in canada out of last 5 years and not 2 years straight?
Can anybody throw some light on this topic

 

[scylla]

You won't be able to count the time you spend overseas towards your citizenship residency obligation. So no - you won't qualify to apply for citizenship in May 2014. Once you return to Canada after your overseas posting, you'll have to accumulate 3 years of physically living in Canada (out of the previous 4 years) before you'll be able to apply for citizenship.

You should be able to count the time you spend overseas towards your PR status. Are you currently working for this company in Canada and have you been working for them for a while? If so, then the time you spend outside of Canada working for them should be counted towards your PR residency obligation (same rule applies to your wife if she is accompanying you).

The 2 year rule for the residency obligation is any 2 years within the last 5 years. The 2 years don't have to be consecuitve.

 

[Leon]

The time for PR residency requirements is only counted after you got your PR so you must have accumulated 730 days in your first 5 years as a PR and any rolling 5 year period after that. There will therefore be no problem for your PR status leaving for 16 months and aside from that, your time working for a Canadian employer while posted abroad for a full time position also counts as time in Canada.

Unfortunately, this long absence will set your citizenship clock to zero again. For citizenship, you need 3/4 years in Canada and so you can not be outside Canada for more than 1 year during that time. 16 months gone in one stretch will ensure that any time spent in Canada before that can not be counted towards the citizenship requirements so you will be spending another 3 years in Canada after your return before you can apply.

 

[Msafiri]

nachos,

For your employment overseas to qualify as time in Canada for PR purposes your company must meet the legal definition of a Canadian business in the current Immigration Act. The short version is if its a major Canadian business with presence on the TSX then you are good..if its a mom and pop set up in which you are the majority owner then no dice.

Where does your company fit in regards to size, turnover, number of employees, registration in a Canadian Province/ Territory etc? Have you actually worked for the company in Canada for some time prior to the assignment overseas or is this an immediate posting upon job commencement? Are you directly employed and will the tax be deducted at source by the company or are you a consultant and intend to file your own taxes?