residence status

[Sara Adli]

I am the principal applicant for permanent residence under Express Entry. I have been outside Canada for one year, but my temporary resident status remains valid for another two years. My husband and children continue to reside in Canada, and we maintain a rental home there for them.

Should I update my current country of residence to reflect that I am outside Canada, or should I continue indicating Canada as my residence since I still hold valid temporary resident status and maintain a home there for my family?

 

[CanGoldDigger]

It depends on how you are planning to land as a PR. If you are going to be outside Canada when you finalize your PR application, you should update it.

 

[CanGoldDigger]

You will also be able to update it when IRCC will request this information before issuing a confirmation of PR, although that might delay finalizing.

 

[canuck78]

I am the principal applicant for permanent residence under Express Entry. I have been outside Canada for one year, but my temporary resident status remains valid for another two years. My husband and children continue to reside in Canada, and we maintain a rental home there for them.

Should I update my current country of residence to reflect that I am outside Canada, or should I continue indicating Canada as my residence since I still hold valid temporary resident status and maintain a home there for my family?

You don’t have temporary resident status if you’re not actually living in Canada and haven’t been for 1 year. You are a resident of wherever you are living.

 

[PP1984]

I am the principal applicant for permanent residence under Express Entry. I have been outside Canada for one year, but my temporary resident status remains valid for another two years. My husband and children continue to reside in Canada, and we maintain a rental home there for them.

Should I update my current country of residence to reflect that I am outside Canada, or should I continue indicating Canada as my residence since I still hold valid temporary resident status and maintain a home there for my family?

How are you maintaining the temporary resident status if you are not in the country?
Which permit do you have? Study? Work? Spouse open work permit?

In your case your address is where you currently live. if you are outside Canada, it should be your current address and country of residence.

 

[Brucker]

Honestly, for the purpose of your PR application and any official forms like the IMM 5406, you should update your current country of residence to where you are actually living now . Canadian immigration and tax rules make a clear distinction between where you reside physically and where you maintain "residential ties" .
Your situation is actually pretty common. You're what the CRA would call a "factual resident" - you live outside Canada temporarily, but you still have significant residential ties here because your husband, kids, and the family home are all in Canada . For tax purposes, that means you still file as a Canadian resident and report your worldwide income .
The good news is that because your family and home are still here, you maintain those strong residential ties, so there's no gap in your connection to Canada. Just be honest about your physical location while making sure all your forms consistently show your Canadian address as your family home .