This will be a long post. Most of what is involved is addressed in my previous post. That acknowledged, however, the queries posed illustrate that how this goes in practice, in the individual case, can be subject to a wide, wide range of variables and contingencies.
Bottom line, time a PR is accompanying that PR's Canadian citizen spouse gets credited toward meeting the PR Residency Obligation. "Accompanying" has been interpreted to mean actually
living together.
Nonetheless, what happens in practice can be influenced by many factors, subject to some contingencies (actually being able to prove entitlement to the credit is a key contingency). This warrants further discussion and in-depth elaboration. Hence the long post.
shahmad said:
. . . how much time does it take for the renewal of PR card if my wife comes here before the expiration of PR card ?? Renew the card and come back ... what is the time line ?? I heard it takes close to 6 months which is crazy but maybe its just a rumour.
Overview: All IRCC processing timelines tend to vary, and many (including PR card renewals) tend to vary significantly from time to time. Additionally, like IRCC processing for other types of applications to IRCC, the timeline can vary significantly from one person to another. For
routine PR card replacement or renewal, however, there tends to be minimal variation from person to person, but significant variations from time to time. If the application is handled in non-routine processing, then the timeline varies a lot more from person to person.
For current processing timeline information, see IRCC's information linked from the main IRCC web page (link listed under "Most requested").
Main IRCC web page, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp
Current application processing time for "renewing or replacing a PR card" is
45 days. (Cannot link directly to this information; follow link from main page or go to http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/index.asp and select "Permanent Resident Cards" from the drop down box, which expands to include a second drop down box, and in that one select "No (renewing or replacing a PR card)" and then click the link to "Get processing time.")
Again, be aware, however, that the routine processing timeline for PR card renewal varies from time to time, and in the recent past has ranged from 40 days to around 200 days. More common range seems to be around 50 to 80 days.
Also
be aware that non-routine processing timelines can be much, much longer, and for some it has approached two years.
The longer periods (120 to 200 days) for
routine processing, however, are probably related to unusual circumstances. For example, given the change in citizenship requirements in 2015, those changes had the effect of delaying citizenship eligibility for perhaps as many, or more, than a quarter million PRs, delaying their eligibility from one to two years. There was, thus, a massive surge in PR card renewals. There were concurrently other circumstances stressing the resources of IRCC, also contributing to longer processing times for routine processing.
shahmad said:
Second question is...if she does not come here before the expiration .... Is it a bigger risk? or she can easily apply for PRTD and can come anytime and there wont be any hassle at all because she is living with a canadian spouse ofcourse.
So long as the PR is actually living with the Canadian citizen spouse, and can document all the elements in qualifying for the accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse credit (see details of this in my previous post), under current law there is minimal risk of a problem related to compliance with the PR Residency Obligation.
It should be obvious, however, that those who maintain actual, more or less direct ties to Canada, have a lower risk of problems. Thus, for example, those who at least make a periodic trip to Canada and spend at least some actual time in Canada on occasion, are not likely to attract the more probing scrutiny which may happen to someone who has not been to Canada at all for many years.
Too often the discussion in this forum tends to gloss over how different situations and histories can have a dramatic impact on how things go; cases which are technically the same can involve wildly different scenarios, with dramatically different effect, including as to outcome.
Consider, for example, the query posed by
Calgaryapp1990, asking what happens if the Canadian citizen spouse passes away:
Calgaryapp1990 said:
I have a slightly related follow up question. As of now, spouses of Canadian citizens living abroad are guaranteed to have their PR cards renewed provided they are living together.
What happens if the Canadian spouse passes away? Would the non-Canadian spouse be still eligible to have their PR renewed?
Preliminary note: I would
NOT say that there is ever any
"guarantee" that a PR will have his or her PR card renewed based on meeting the PR Residency Obligation. Burden of proof is always on the PR. There are other requirements to be eligible for a new PR card. Under current law, yes, the PR who is living together with a Canadian citizen spouse meets the PR RO, by virtue of the credit for accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse. But of course to get the credit the PR must prove this, and to obtain a renewed PR card must otherwise meet the other requirements.
Leading to the particular query, as to what happens if the Canadian citizen spouse dies.
Technically, proof of the spouse's Canadian citizenship, the marital relationship, and that the couple lived together for at least two of the preceding five years, will suffice to show the PR meets the PR RO. This should suffice for a PR TD application; a PoE examination upon arrival in Canada; or for an application to renew the PR card.
Potential logistics in providing such proof should not overlooked, particularly given that IRCC considers certain documents to be, in effect, mandatory.
For example, IRCC in effect demands copies of
ALL passports and Travel Documents the citizen spouse could have used in the preceding five years. A PR who cannot provide these, for whatever reason including those which might arise due to the citizen spouse's death, should be able to provide alternative proof and offer an effective explanation. But in practice this could be difficult and the scope of skepticism involved may depend on which Visa Office will be processing the PR TD application.
This leads back to the query by
shahmad as to the risks involved, and my observation that of course there may be more risks in some circumstances.
Compare, for example, the following scenarios for PRs living abroad with a Canadian citizen spouse:
Scenario I: a PR who has been in Canada within the previous year, and who has a currently valid multiple use PR TD, or at least who had a PR TD relatively recently, and thus for whom there is already a record-trail in IRCC/CBSA files regarding this PR and compliance with the PR RO based accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse abroad.
Scenario II: a PR who has been living abroad for six or ten or more years, who has rarely visited Canada during those years, who has not had a valid PR card or PR TD in years, and whose only significant ties to Canada are having the Canadian citizen spouse and having PR status.
All other things being equal, the PR in
Scenario II is more likely to encounter some difficulty when applying for a PR TD, undergoing a RO compliance examination at a PoE, or applying for a new PR card. How much difficulty will be dependent on many factors, with the nature and quality of the PR's proof looming large.
The latter leads to the scenario involving a deceased Citizen spouse, and the prospect that it could be more difficult to gather and submit the proof.
Among other factors which can have an impact on how any evaluation of the PR's status goes, including evaluating compliance with the PR RO, there is the matter of how much time was actually spent living in Canada at any time. Thus, for example, for either PR, one in
Scenario I or one in
Scenario II, how long the PR lived in Canada before going abroad accompanying the Canadian citizen spouse, could be a big factor.
The latter, how long or how well settled the PR was in Canada before going abroad, is technically
NOT an element in assessing the PR's compliance with the PR RO based on credit for accompanying a citizen spouse.
This leads to recognizing the impact of factors which relate to whether the PR
deserves-to-retain-PR-status. Technically this is
NOT an element. But, along with factors which relate to the PR's credibility, this nonetheless can loom very large, very, very large.
This is true for all PRs applying to IRCC for a PR TD or new PR card. Regardless of how much time the PR has spent in Canada, or can be credited for, within the five years that specifically count in calculating compliance with the PR RO,
how well settled in Canada the PR has been, historically, can influence how things go. Whether it appears to be the case, that the PR
deserves-to-retain-PR-status, will often influence how strict or skeptical an officer is in conducting an assessment. For obvious reasons.
Thus, for example, a PR who spent relatively limited time in Canada before accompanying a Canadian citizen abroad, and then has lived for 8 or 10 years abroad with minimal travel back to Canada, is more likely to face elevated scrutiny when trying to obtain a PR TD or when returning to Canada.
Thus, for example, a PR who in the past was settled and living in Canada, before moving abroad, and who applies for a PR TD and plans to return to again settle and live in Canada within a few months after the PR's Canadian citizen spouse dies, is less likely to encounter the degree of scrutiny or skepticism such a PR might face if the PR TD application is made two years or so later.
In this regard, it is probably worth noting that the PR accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse is probably more at risk if there is a breakdown in the relationship and the Canadian citizen spouse decides to be uncooperative, such as refusing to provide copies of his or her passport, or proof of his or her Canadian citizenship.
The range of scenarios which can influence how things go is huge, far too many to attempt covering them in much detail. I hope the above helps illuminate the nature of the vagaries and contingencies which can have an impact.
As previously cautioned: in the meantime, any PR abroad should stay informed about IRCC rules regarding maintaining PR status. And, in general, more ties to Canada makes a better impression, and impressions can matter.
BTW,
Bs65, it is correct that time accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse only counts toward compliance with the PR RO, and not toward qualifying for citizenship (with some very narrow exceptions).
