PR WIFE LIVING WITH CANADIAN HUSBAND OUTSIDE CANADA

[shahmad]

Hi,

I am a Canadian Citizen and my daughter is also a Canadian citizen. My wife is a permanent resident and she has completed 2 years and still 2 more years to go before she can apply for citizenship. Things were going as planned and we bought a house too and started to plan our lives here in Canada as we love this country so much. Suddenly I got laid off and things started to get worse and there were some family problems too back in my former country so we decided to move back for few years till things get settled down. I am concerned about my wife’s status because she is still a permanent resident and I know that if she is living with me then she will remain a permanent resident but there is a lot of confusion and I have following questions…

1) I want to keep paying income tax on my world income and don’t want to surrender my and my family’s health card and other benefits. Can I do it in the first place? please suggest any good accountant or lawyer as well who can handle such cases.

2) If my wife is living with me outside Canada then will she always be a permanent resident of Canada or is there a time limit for that too?

3) My wife’s PR Card will expire in 3 years after that does she have to apply PRTD (Permanent Resident Travel Document) every time she comes to Canada? PRTD is valid for how many years ?? or is it good for one time entry only?

4) What kind of documents should we keep record of to prove that my wife is living with me (Canadian Citizen) throughout our time outside Canada?

5) Has anyone of you gone through such situation … what was your experience??

Please share any valuable information you have regarding this if I missed something.

Thanks for your help everyone!!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

1) I want to keep paying income tax on my world income and don’t want to surrender my and my family’s health card and other benefits. Can I do it in the first place? please suggest any good accountant or lawyer as well who can handle such cases.

2) If my wife is living with me outside Canada then will she always be a permanent resident of Canada or is there a time limit for that too?

3) My wife’s PR Card will expire in 3 years after that does she have to apply PRTD (Permanent Resident Travel Document) every time she comes to Canada? PRTD is valid for how many years ?? or is it good for one time entry only?

4) What kind of documents should we keep record of to prove that my wife is living with me (Canadian Citizen) throughout our time outside Canada?

1. It sounds like you have moved your life out of Canada and therefore no longer qualify as a resident for tax purposes. You need to be very careful about claiming you are a resident just to try to keep benefits. If you are not a genuine resident for tax purposes, CRA could decide you are comitting tax fraud.

Paying taxes while living outside of Canada doesn't entitle you to keep health coverage. You were required to inform the provincial healthcare authority when you left Canada. Except for a few exceptions, people can't keep health coverage when they aren't actually residing in the country. You need to inform them now that you are no longer living in Canada.

2. Under the current rules, her PR status will be maintained while she resides with you.

3. PRTDs can be single or mutiple entry and are generally valid for around 6 months.

4. Mail, lease/mortgage, joint statements, matching travel documents etc.

 

[Bs65]

One other thing and others can correct me that whilst in accompanying you as a citizen outside Canada your wife can still retain her PR same cannot be said I believe for her citizenship qualification which has a physical residency in Canada time requirement .

 

[Rob_TO]

If you are not a genuine resident for tax purposes, CRA could decide you are comitting tax fraud.

This usually happens in reverse, where a Canadian living outside Canada wants to claim non-residency status so they can avoid paying Canadian taxes, but ties to Canada makes CRA claim them as a deemed resident.

I don't think claiming residency for tax purposes while being a non-resident is actually tax fraud. If one wants to live outside Canada and continue paying all their taxes, I think CRA is fine with that! A big portion of being a resident is an "intent" to return to Canada in the future. So as long as that intent is there, you should always be able to be a deemed/factual resident of Canada only for tax purposes.

However as you mentioned, simply paying taxes doesn't entitle one to keep all their Canadian benefits. So would need to check with each government department on if physical residency is also required for certain things (like healthcare).

 

[canuck_in_uk]

This usually happens in reverse, where a Canadian living outside Canada wants to claim non-residency status so they can avoid paying Canadian taxes, but ties to Canada makes CRA claim them as a deemed resident.

I don't think claiming residency for tax purposes while being a non-resident is actually tax fraud. If one wants to live outside Canada and continue paying all their taxes, I think CRA is fine with that! A big portion of being a resident is an "intent" to return to Canada in the future. So as long as that intent is there, you should always be able to be a deemed/factual resident of Canada only for tax purposes.

Yes, it is usually the reverse but this situation is seen as well. People outside of Canada who are residents for tax purposes are able to claim some benefits/credits, such as child benefit. If they are in a country with a taxation treaty with Canada, they will most likely pay very little tax to CRA, if any, but still be able to claim many thousands of dollars in benefits that they aren't actually entitled to.

 

[shahmad]

Yes, it is usually the reverse but this situation is seen as well. People outside of Canada who are residents for tax purposes are able to claim some benefits/credits, such as child benefit. If they are in a country with a taxation treaty with Canada, they will most likely pay very little tax to CRA, if any, but still be able to claim many thousands of dollars in benefits that they aren't actually entitled to.

@canuk ... people inside Canada does the same so if CRA has to do something they will definitely start to look inside Canada and probably think about citizens outsise Canada later ... The amount of tax i pay annually...mostly people earn that much in a year here in Canada so i can still pay taxes outside Canada and deserve all the benefits.

But if it is a law that one can not keep his health card even if he pays his taxes and have properties generating income and bank accounts still here in Canada then a law is a law nobody can do anything about it.

 

[shahmad]

This usually happens in reverse, where a Canadian living outside Canada wants to claim non-residency status so they can avoid paying Canadian taxes, but ties to Canada makes CRA claim them as a deemed resident.

I don't think claiming residency for tax purposes while being a non-resident is actually tax fraud. If one wants to live outside Canada and continue paying all their taxes, I think CRA is fine with that! A big portion of being a resident is an "intent" to return to Canada in the future. So as long as that intent is there, you should always be able to be a deemed/factual resident of Canada only for tax purposes.

However as you mentioned, simply paying taxes doesn't entitle one to keep all their Canadian benefits. So would need to check with each government department on if physical residency is also required for certain things (like healthcare).

I second what you said...paying taxes also shows the intent that the person will return back thats why he is keeping his ties and doing everything lawfully. Is it enough to keep ur health benefits after doing all this ??.. hmmm...have to figure out .. thanks.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

@canuk ... people inside Canada does the same so if CRA has to do something they will definitely start to look inside Canada and probably think about citizens outsise Canada later ... The amount of tax i pay annually...mostly people earn that much in a year here in Canada so i can still pay taxes outside Canada and deserve all the benefits.

But if it is a law that one can not keep his health card even if he pays his taxes and have properties generating income and bank accounts still here in Canada then a law is a law nobody can do anything about it.

No, people inside Canada don't do the same thing, as there is no question about their residency and therefore no question about their eligibility. Interesting that you think you "deserve all the benefits" regardless.

If you actually qualify as a resident for tax purposes, then there is no issue.

 

[Rob_TO]

I second what you said...paying taxes also shows the intent that the person will return back thats why he is keeping his ties and doing everything lawfully. Is it enough to keep ur health benefits after doing all this ??.. hmmm...have to figure out .. thanks.

No, health benefits require meeting certain physical residency requirements in your province. Your taxes are irrelevant in terms of provincial health benefits.

 

[Leon]

If you are taking benefits such as child benefits etc., be 100% clear with CRA that you are not living in Canada, when you are leaving and when you expect to return. If your return is delayed, talk to them again. You do not want the hassle of having to refund them because they overpaid you.

If you are no longer living in Canada and do not own a home in Canada, you can request that CRA considers you a non-resident for tax purposes which means that you don't have to file taxes in Canada anymore. This will not have any effect on your wife's PR status. If you move now, you file for 2016 and in 2017, you can request that they consider you a non-resident.

As for health care, you generally can't keep health care in Canada while living abroad for long term. Besides, why would you need to? If you break your arm for example, you are not going to fly to Canada to get it mended. If you decide to visit Canada, you can get travel insurance during your visit. In some cases, provincial health care allows you to keep your coverage for a longer absence, especially if you are studying or working on a contract and your absence is temporary. You would have to ask them about it. You should let them know when you leave. When you return in a few years, you simply sign up again. Depending on your province, you may have a waiting period before you are eligible.

Your wife as a PR who is accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse, can count her days living with you outside Canada towards her PR residency requirements as if she had spent them in Canada so therefore she will meet the residency requirements and keep her PR. To prove that you are living together, keep official mail sent to both of you at the same address and keep any utility bills or other records that are addressed to both of you.

She can however not qualify for citizenship while living abroad. Currently the requirements for citizenship are 4/6 years in Canada which means if she wants to use the 2 years she already spent, she can spend a maximum of 2 yrs. outside or she will be reset to zero and have to start from scratch. The rules are supposed to change to 3/5 years and so it's the same thing, if she spends more than 2 yrs. outside, she'd have to start from zero and spend 3 years before she can apply.

She can apply for a multiple entry travel document when her PR card expires based on that she is living outside Canada but meets the RO. You can read about this here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5529ETOC.asp at the bottom of the page. Single entry travel documents tend to be valid for 6 months most of the time but a multiple entry could be valid for longer. I have seen someone say he was granted one for a year. However, it will not be valid longer than her passport.