doc7 said:
Hi Guys, I moved to Canada in 2010 as permanent resident. I then moved to the US in 2013 to pursue post graduate training in medicine. My wife who is a Canadian citizen moved with me. My PR card is now expired. I am eligible for renewal however I cannot return to Canada for another 2 years until I complete my training. Can I renew my card from the United States? I have relatives in Canada whose address I can provide for mailing purposes. Has anyone successfully applied for a PR card from abroad?
Thank you.
The "can I?" question is inherently loaded. For example, many PRs in relatively similar scenarios have done this. So, sure, it
can be done.
You allude to one avenue for
how this
might be done, using a relative's address in Canada . . . but you say you would use the relative's address for "mailing purposes." That does not work.
As
ttrajan pointed out, eligibility for a new PR card requires the PR to apply from
within Canada.
Item 12. in the application asks for your
current residential address in Canada. You cannot leave this blank. You cannot put "N/A." And while many, many PRs have fudged this, and used a relative's address, or a trusted friend's address, you cannot truthfully use a
mailing address, or any other address which is not where you actually reside.
You
can use the relative's address in Item 12. However, you
cannot do so truthfully.
Make no mistake, many, many do this. Many are successful. Many are not. I suppose it can depend on how willing the PR is to fudge other parts of the application, like the address history.
Make no mistake: the consequences for getting caught making a material misrepresentation far outweigh any
convenience gained by having a currently valid PR card while living abroad.
In particular, as has been discussed in another topic here just this week: why risk making material misrepresentations which could result in serious consequences just to obtain a new PR card when you will not even be back in Canada for another two years?
There are many ways in which other PRs have approached this, albeit they are still fudging, still playing games with CIC, still risking way too much for so little. One is the PR who comes to Canada and actually stays with the relative long enough to make the application and . . . some wait to get the new card (the timeline for this has again gotten longer recently) . . . some plan to travel back and forth, to return as necessary to retrieve the new card or attend an interview if necessary. Despite how many have successfully done this, without encountering a problem,
it is NOT worth the risk.
Note that among other potential snags: CIC will
NOT mail the renewed PR card to a
mailing address or to any address CIC perceives to be other than the address at which the PR is actually residing. Past CIC practices also precluded mailing notice to pick up the card to any address other than the address at which the PR is actually residing. I am not sure if that is the current practice, but overall CIC has implemented practices to preclude PRs from using addresses in Canada when their primary address really remains abroad.
We do not know to what extent those fudging are successful versus getting caught. At what point will the Canadian government go beyond merely denying the application, when the applicant is caught
fudging, and prosecute for
fraud, I do not know. What I do know, however, is that whatever convenience is gained by obtaining the new PR card is not worth the risk of being caught engaging in fraud in an application to CIC.
Also see discussion here:
dpenabill said:
. . . the PR relying on the exception for accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse abroad must also meet the other eligibility requirements for a new PR card.
This includes applying from within Canada.
I mention this because those PRs who encounter problems while applying for a renewed/new PR card, and who are relying on the exception for accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse abroad, tend to be those who are in part playing games with CIC in an effort to obtain a new PR card despite not really living in Canada when they make the application for the new PR card . . .
