Some Clarifications (largely procedural):
(Note: the observations I offer here are based on NORMAL processing, including both routine processing and non-routine processing, as these are NORMALLY done. ALL IRCC processing is currently entangled in procedures outside the parameters of normal processing due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.)
I live outside of Canada with my wife who is Canadian. . . . .
I understand I can get a PRTD to return to Canada however what I would want to do is return to Canada file the paper work before returning to where we live and then return back to Canada to collect the documentation, having it posted to a family member or having to go and collect it.
IRCC generally tends to facilitate issuing new PR cards to PRs
living in Canada and, it appears, expects PRs living abroad to utilize the PR Travel Document procedure in order to facilitate travel to Canada. Current instructions, including
those prescribing eligibility requirements, state the application must be made in Canada
and "
to be eligible" you must "
be physically present in Canada."
However, there is NO basis in the statutory provisions or IRPA regulations for denying PR cards to PRs living abroad. In particular, technically IRCC cannot deny a PR card application on the basis that the PR was not in Canada at the time the application was made, or on the basis that the PR is outside Canada while the application is being processed.
The manner in which IRCC actually handles PR card applications relative to this is NOT at all clear (and for now also subject to the impact of Covid-19 disruptions). Moreover, it appears there is
NOT a uniform, consistent approach.
There are sufficiently reliable anecdotal reports to conclude that many times a PR living abroad is able to do what you describe wanting to do: briefly travel to Canada, make the PR card application, and be issued a new PR card which is delivered via mail to an address in Canada.
HOWEVER, NOT ALL PRs are successful in doing this. Complications range from being required to pick-up the new PR card in person at a local IRCC office, to IRCC in effect NOT processing the application pending either a referral for Secondary Review or otherwise simply suspending processing, which may be until the PR either applies for a PR TD from abroad or is examined at a PoE upon returning to Canada, or some other transaction triggers action on the application.
Multiple-entry PR Travel Documents were not issued much until around 5 or 6 years ago. In the meantime, the number of anecdotal reports have decreased in the last couple years. It is very difficult to draw any reliable inferences due to the scarcity of reporting. So we do not know to what extent IRCC is currently issuing multiple-entry PR TDs, or what the criteria is for issuing them. Similarly, despite a significant number of 2018 and 2019 cases raising concerns, we do not know to what extent IRCC is now overtly screening
PR-accompanying-citizen-spouse-abroad scenarios more aggressively, to verify the PR is actually the one accompanying the citizen-spouse rather than the citizen-spouse accompanying the PR abroad (typically referred to as the
who-accompanied-whom issue).
How YOU approach this is thus a very personal decision. With a number of factors to take into consideration. Frequency of travel to Canada, for example. Prospective plans for relocating to live in Canada another factor. Ongoing Canadian ties in addition to or apart from being in a marital relationship with a Canadian citizen, likewise a factor.
OVERALL: IRCC appears to prefer PRs living abroad rely on the PR TD for purposes of facilitating travel to Canada. But many PRs appear to do OK doing what you describe wanting to do. Which ever way you elect to proceed, a pattern including travel to Canada, at least periodically, PROBABLY reduces the risk of complications.
FURTHER PROCEDURAL CLARIFICATIONS:
I live outside of Canada with my wife who is Canadian. . . . .
I have read on the cic website you can do this in a private vehicle but I seen others on various forums say they had some issues doing this and that the border guard makes the choice. . . .
My understanding was if you arrive on the US/CAN border you then answer some questions show some documentation and the border guard makes the call as to if you are allowed in or not. If they say no then they start the process of revoking your PR status.
-- PRs are Canadians --
While it is likely your reference to a "Canadian" spouse means a spouse who is a Canadian
citizen, there is reason to clarify and emphasize that PRs are also "Canadians." (Canadian immigration law explicitly defines "Foreign National" to be someone who is NOT a Canadian citizen and NOT a Canadian PR; see
Section 2(1) IRPA).
One key reason for recognizing this is that Canadians will be allowed to enter Canada. Once a traveler is identified as a Canadian, either a Canadian citizen or a Canadian Permanent Resident, border officials have no discretion to deny that person entry into Canada and thus MUST allow the Canadian entry into Canada.
Of course PoE officials have other responsibilities and powers related to enforcing a range of Canadian laws in regards to the importation of items and other immigration rules, and can examine travelers accordingly, including Canadian citizens as well as PRs and Foreign Nationals. For example, even though the border officers must allow a PR to physically enter Canada, the officers nonetheless can screen and investigate a returning PR relative to the PR's compliance with the RO. If border officials determine a PR is inadmissible based a failure to comply with the RO, that can lead to the issuance of a 44(1) Report for Inadmissibility AND a Removal or Departure Order . . .
BUT the PR is STILL ALLOWED to ENTER Canada . . . the Removal Order is NOT enforceable for 30 days, and if the PR appeals, continues to be unenforceable for at least as long as the appeal is pending.
You should NOT need to worry about that process, as it appears you qualify for sufficient credit toward RO compliance to meet the RO. I go into the full explanation to clarify why a PR does not need to worry about being turned away at the border.
Leading to . . .
-- Border Officer Decision-Making as to Allowing Entry--
That said, it is true, as you say: "
My understanding was if you arrive on the US/CAN border you then answer some questions show some documentation and the border guard makes the call as to if you are allowed in or not."
Except this statement leaves out crucial factual determinations that govern the border officer's decision-making in regards to allowing entry, or not. While in practice there are nuances, generally border officers have wide discretion to deny entry to any one who is a Foreign National . . . that is, the border "guard" in effect does indeed make the call whether a FN is allowed into Canada or not.
A border officer cannot, however, deny a Canadian entry. Including Canadian PRs.
Leading to . . .
". . . and the border guard makes the call as to if you are allowed in or not. If they say no then they start the process of revoking your PR status."
The call the border official may make in regard to a PR, as previously discussed, is whether the PR is admissible or inadmissible. Even if the PR is "inadmissible," the PR is nonetheless a Canadian and must be allowed into Canada. While some describe this as the "
start" to "
the process of revoking PR status," actually the process (with some exceptions) not only starts there
but is also concluded then and there, while the PR is still in the PoE. If border officials issue a 44(1) Report AND Removal Order, that is a decision terminating the PR's status, but is subject to appeal.
For a PR living abroad with a Canadian citizen spouse, who has not been in Canada at least 730 days within the previous 5 years, how that process goes will largely depend on sufficiently demonstrating eligibility for the
accompanying-citizen-spouse-abroad credit, which usually requires proof of (1) spouse's citizenship; (2) marital status; and (3) cohabitation. The vast majority of PRs living abroad with a Canadian citizen spouse will be given this credit based on that proof; however, in some scenarios officials might consider
who-accompanied-whom in deciding whether the PR gets this credit, a subject discussed in depth in other topics (
such as here).
