PRO - definitely not met...

[baynaynays]

Hi all!

So, I'm going to try and make this as brief as possible whilst still giving you as much detail as I can. I obtained PR status in Canada in 2008 after marrying my then husband in 2007. Unfortunately the marriage did not work out and in late 09 we divorced, amicably. I then got into another relationship, this time with a US citizen who, as it turns out, was incredibly physically abusive. I left Canada in late 2010 with said boyfriend, and went to another country as I was convinced that perhaps a fresh start would help (spoiler: it didn't).

I returned to my home country sans abusive ex (Belgium) in 2012 and have been living here since. I had honestly not given much thought as to what would happen to my PR status as I was pretty convinced I would never return to Canada. Wrong. Fast forward a few years, I am in a relationship with another Canadian. He wants me to move there to be with him, I'm willing to give it a fair go. As I was going through the process of figuring out exactly what to do (usually he comes here, I've not had to go back there yet), I came across my PR card which expired in 2015. After a bit of research, I found out I'd never cancelled it, or done anything else as I was quite ignorant of the whole process. I just thought that if I didn't meet the conditions it would automatically be cancelled? Apparently that is not the case but feel free to correct me if i misinterpreted that.

Onto my questions:

1a. Am I still able to go and live in Canada with the PR status I currently have (or don't have)? I have no way of proving the abusive relationship, aside from contacting said ex which is not happening. So I am assuming I should just call it a loss at this point?

1b. Assuming I am no longer eligible for re-entry with PR, can I apply for just the regular visitor visa without any issues (this first trip is just to go see him for a month)? Or do I first have to contact Immigration Canada to let them know I wish to cancel my PR?

2. Should my current boyfriend and I decide to get married, will there be issues in applying and obtaining another PR status for me due to my previous stupidity in managing my PR from 08?

I plan on going back to Canada in November, and will be entering the country via air, not land!

Thanks in advance for the answers!

;D

 

[Naheulbeuck]

1a. Am I still able to go and live in Canada with the PR status I currently have (or don't have)? I have no way of proving the abusive relationship, aside from contacting said ex which is not happening. So I am assuming I should just call it a loss at this point?

1b. Assuming I am no longer eligible for re-entry with PR, can I apply for just the regular visitor visa without any issues (this first trip is just to go see him for a month)? Or do I first have to contact Immigration Canada to let them know I wish to cancel my PR?

2. Should my current boyfriend and I decide to get married, will there be issues in applying and obtaining another PR status for me due to my previous stupidity in managing my PR from 08?

I plan on going back to Canada in November, and will be entering the country via air, not land!

1a. Your PR status is still active even if your PR card is expired, however, as you know now, you do not meet your RO. Right now you can still travel by air by not mentioning that you are a PR to the airline. The ETA is not required yet, however starting november 9, you will need an ETA and this will be an issue for you: You cannot get an ETA as you are still a PR, but without the ETA you would need a non expired PR card which you do not have. (all this is based on the assumption that you have a belgium passport which is visa exempt for Canada).
After November 9, you will only be able to travel via land border.

In both cases, you are likely to be reported by the officer which would start the process to revoke your PR status. If you do not get reported, you would need to stay 2 years without leaving canada for you to meet your RO and only then apply for your new PR card. This will make things difficult as some government agencies require your PR card to give you your SIN and other official documents.
Since i guess you do not plan to move permanently to Canada at this point, I do not think it matters too much for you, if it gets revoked, you will still be allowed in Canada (as you are still a PR until they revoke your status or ask for it to be revoked yourself). If you travel just to visit for a couple of month, this will be the best way for you (keep in mind the november 9 deadline to determine how you should travel).

1b. Since you are a PR you cannot ask for a regular visa. However once they revoke your PR status and you do not appeal that decision (you can't really justify why you did not meet your RO), you will then no longer be a PR and you will be able to apply for ETAs (again i am assuming that you are a citizen of Belgium which does not require visas to visit Canada). If you do not get reported, you can either do the same (this time via land border as you the airline won't let your board the plane without your PR card and no ETA) until they revoke it or just ask for your PR to be cancelled.

2. Well not really. Canada will not penalize you for not meeting your RO, you will just be like any other applicant being sponsored by their spouse (if you don't live together prior to marrying though they may question more whether the marriage is real but that would be the only real caveat).

 

[Rob_TO]

I have no way of proving the abusive relationship, aside from contacting said ex which is not happening.

The reason of why you left Canada so long ago is not relevant at all, so you don't need to worry about it now. Whether you had proof of former relationship details or not is irrelevant. Either way you are now a PR who does not meet the residency obligation by your own choosing since 2012, so you can't claim any H&C reasons for not meeting it.

It will be an incredible pain for you to try to sneak back into Canada without being reported and then be stuck for 2 years here with no PR card and unable to travel before coming back into compliance with the RO.

IMO your best course of action is to immediately renounce your current PR status. Then you can come to Canada as a visitor with eTA when you want, and apply for new PR when you are married/common-law.