Again we are family from 6 members coming back to live again in Canada with clear positive H&c.
We have got PRTD with H&C Rc1 category
I understand from members that I can soon apply for renewal pr cards but paid lawyers said not.
Renew pr it’s important for issues midcal insurance ,driving license university tuitions , going back home for emergencies,etc.
Two of us my sons still studying at home country faculty of medicine at university ,they should come back to continue studying.
So I am looking for answers for my questions as mentioned above.
As I have observed elsewhere, the response posted by
@Naheulbeuck is an EXCELLENT overview. I envy how well
@Naheulbeuck has expressed the essential elements and answered most of your questions as well as they can be answered. Heed what
@Naheulbeuck has offered and things should go well.
Probably not necessary, but I will offer some further observations:
A big part of understanding your situation, and your family's situation, is to recognize (as
@Naheulbeuck and others have said), you have been given "
a chance to keep PR status," and this is despite FAILING to satisfy your obligations as a PR, your Residency Obligations. It is NOT a clean slate. It is not a blank cheque. You are given a chance to keep PR status and live in Canada because there were sufficient H&C reasons to justify giving you this opportunity, this chance.
It might not make sense that Canada will give you this chance to keep your PR status but not make the various collateral situations at least easier to deal with . . . noting the problem getting health care, drivers' licenses, enrollment in school and so on, while it takes so long to get a new PR card.
It is not a perfect system, that is for sure. Especially problematic currently given processing delays. Sorry, this is how it is. Not easy.
REGARDING the LAWYERS' VIEW:
I realize you feel that the lawyers' advice has caused some confusion. I will not presume to know their reasoning or second-guess their opinions, but my GUESS is that they are providing advice based on what they are certain about, what will for-sure work for you. When you apply for a new PR card, to be eligible you need to be in compliance with the PR Residency Obligation. As of the day you apply, and that is based on how many days you have been IN Canada during the preceding five years, and to FOR-SURE meet this requirement, you need to have been IN Canada for at least 730 days within the previous five years. Since you have been outside Canada for more than three years now, the only way you can meet that is to come and stay for at least two years before you apply for a new PR card. The lawyers' advice appears to be based on this, what will For-Sure meet the requirements with no risk the PR card application will trigger a RO examination that could lead to a decision terminating your PR status.
That is, if you apply for a new PR card BEFORE you have stayed in Canada for at least 730 days, at the time of that application you will NOT be in compliance with the Residency Obligation, because you will not have been IN Canada at least 730 days within the preceding five years. The risk is the application could result in a formal RO examination, and if as of the date of that examination you still have not been IN Canada at least 730 days within the preceding five years (again, as of that date), you could be issued a 44(1) Report and a Removal Order, terminating your PR status . . . unless again IRCC determines that you should still be allowed to keep PR status based on H&C reasons. That is the risk. And the lawyers' advice avoids taking that risk.
In contrast, many forum participants, me included, have seen enough reporting that in conjunction with various reliable sources of information, to be quite confident (but less than certain) that the positive H&C decision in your PR TD application will be enough for IRCC to proceed to approve the PR card application and issue and deliver a new PR card. Thus, your positive H&C PR TD decision means it SHOULD be OK to apply for a new PR card without having to wait two years.
But this comes with caveats:
First caution:
This is NOT a universal opinion. And we are not experts. We are not Canadian lawyers. Some forum participants agree with what the lawyers said, that you should wait two years to apply for a new PR card.
Second caution:
The view that it is OK to apply for a new PR card without waiting depends on the PR having made the move to Canada, actually being physically present in Canada, and (in my view anyway) clearly being SETTLED in Canada.
Third caution:
How it goes can depend on the particular circumstances in the individual case. This gets complicated. Too complicated to try to sort it out in a forum setting like this, because there are so many variables, including contingencies (if A happens, then X; but if instead B happens, then Y). Except I will address a couple circumstances which may be common and more likely to have an impact.
Nonetheless, as described above, a solid H&C case that resulted in a positive H&C decision for the PR TD should mean it will go OK when you apply for a new PR card [edited to correct reference to TD] . . . WHEN you are actually IN Canada.
Among particular circumstances that can potentially lead to a negative outcome:
-- The H&C case itself was questionable; this does NOT appear relevant to your situation, so there should be little or no need to worry this would affect how the PR card application is decided.
-- There is a change in circumstances between the date the PR TD was approved and the date the PR card application is made. Most common change in circumstances: significant additional absences from Canada after the PR TD was issued OR there are otherwise facts or circumstances indicating the PR is maintaining residence outside Canada, NOT IN Canada. Obviously, a combination of these two is more likely to be seen as a change in circumstances which could lead to a negative outcome; that is, if the PR leaves Canada and the circumstances indicate the PR is not settled in Canada but, rather, still has a home outside Canada, the risk is higher IRCC might perceive a change in circumstances warranting a different H&C outcome.
So, in any event, the lawyers' view makes sense EVEN THOUGH several of us in the forum offer a different view. Following their advice will avoid any risk of a negative outcome, based on RO compliance, when you apply for a new PR card.
Regarding the children: even though you all obtained a PR TD, more or less as a family or based on the family's situation, from now on each individual will mostly be ON THEIR OWN in terms of meeting the PR RO and qualifying for a new PR card. Each will need to make their OWN application for a new PR card. If your sons leave Canada before they are actually approved for and issued and, importantly, ALSO actually DELIVERED a new PR car, there is a real risk their PR card applications will not be approved even though your application is, and even if approved, and even if issued, a risk they will not be mailed their new PR card (which you could forward to them abroad) but rather required to appear IN PERSON to pick up the card, and they would then need to apply for a new PR TD to return to Canada. And there is a real risk they would not get a positive H&C decision for that new PR TD application.
As I and others have also cautioned:
a new PR card does NOT entirely restart the clock. It is not like starting over. It is not like being issued PR status anew. So whenever any of you go abroad, even with a new PR card you could be questioned about RO compliance when you next arrive at the Port-of-Entry on your return to Canada. RO compliance will be based on how many days you have been IN Canada within the previous five years of that day. Less than 730 means NOT in compliance, and means the border officials will have to make a positive H&C decision to allow you to keep PR status. The previous positive H&C decision will be considered in that evaluation. So if you are just on a day trip to the U.S., for example, odds are very high there will be NO problem. But if you have been abroad for a significant number of days, and especially if you have been abroad long enough it appears you are not actually settled in Canada, a different outcome for the H&C assessment is possible . . . remember, these things are always based on the situation as of that very day. This includes H&C factors.
