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Hello everyone,
I became a Permanent Resident in
March 2022. I received my eCOPR and PR card while in Canada. At the time, I was a student and resided in
Scarborough from mid-March 2022 to mid-May 2022 (approximately two months). Unfortunately, my health condition deteriorated significantly, requiring me to return to my home country for medical treatment.
In
September 2024, I briefly returned to Canada (for about one week) after receiving a Government Job offer in British Columbia. However, my condition had not improved, and I had to return home once again for continued care.
In total, I have spent roughly
two months and one week in Canada since landing. Due to these prolonged health-related absences, I have not yet met the 730-day residency obligation (I am still within my first five-year period as a PR).
I have compiled comprehensive medical evidence covering the period from March 2022 to the present, including:
- Prescriptions and medical receipts from multiple doctors (allopathic/English medicine, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, and others)
- Diagnostic reports and X-rays
- Photos and videos from physiotherapy, chiropractor sessions, and yoga sessions with a personal trainer
I am planning to return to Canada in
September or October 2026. My PR card remains valid.
Questions:
- What are the chances of being denied entry at the Port of Entry in my situation?
- Would it be advisable to apply for a Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD) first from outside Canada on Humanitarian & Compassionate (H&C) grounds, or to travel directly and address the matter at the port of entry?
- How strong might my H&C case be based on the detailed medical timeline and supporting evidence? What additional documents or elements in a personal statement do officers typically look for in health-related cases?
- Has anyone with a similar background (health-related prolonged absence as a 2022 PR with short stays in Canada) successfully returned? I would greatly appreciate hearing about your experiences at the border or with a PRTD application.
- Do you have any tips on preparing the PRTD application or a supporting letter to clearly demonstrate that the circumstances were beyond my control and that I now intend to reside permanently in Canada?
I plan to be fully transparent with a clear timeline of my time in Canada and the medical reasons for my absences. I have also reviewed the official IRCC guides regarding residency obligations.
Any insights, similar case experiences, or practical advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your time and help!
Overall: recognize that how it goes is specific to the particular individual. Similar cases can illuminate procedural aspects but not offer much insight into how this will go in your case (or any other individual case) given the extent to which individual variables will influence how it goes.
1. What are the chances of being denied entry at the Port of Entry in my situation?
A Canadian PR will not be denied entry at a PoE; assumes the traveler presents documentation sufficient to establish identity and PR status (proof of identity is usually sufficient, but a valid PR card seals the deal, and for land border crossings a recently expired PR card should, ordinarily, easily do the trick).
2. Would it be advisable to apply for a Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD) first from outside Canada on Humanitarian & Compassionate (H&C) grounds, or to travel directly and address the matter at the port of entry?
I generally do not offer advice but this one is easy: as you have a valid PR card, you are not eligible for a PR Travel Document.
Even though you should be prepared to explain your situation at the PoE, as to why you did not return to Canada sooner, that is
IF you are questioned about RO compliance. There is a significant chance you will be questioned about RO compliance and subject to inadmissibility proceedings. But how it actually goes at the PoE can and often does vary considerably.
Note that generally it appears screening of PR TD applicants is more strict than RO compliance examinations in other contexts, such as in PoE screening or PR card applications (by PR in Canada). This is in part due to the presumption that a PR outside Canada and without a valid PR card does not have valid status. Hard to say how much positive influence there is due to just the tie of being in Canada, or at least arriving here ostensibly to stay.
3. How strong might my H&C case be based on the detailed medical timeline and supporting evidence? What additional documents or elements in a personal statement do officers typically look for in health-related cases?
It is difficult to predict how it will go for even the strongest H&C case. H&C cases are inherently tricky. Remember, the RO is considerably lenient and flexible, and H&C relief is for unusual cases.
A lot depends on the particular details in the individual case. Since Canada has comprehensive health care (notwithstanding some serious flaws), and there is not a lot of information available about the underlying analysis in cases where a PR leaves Canada to obtain health care elsewhere, it is especially difficult to forecast how a total stranger bureaucrat will assess the case. Moreover, given how different personal health care issues are, it would be very difficult to apply how it has gone in other cases to your case or any other particular case.
The underlying medical information, such as detailed information in reports, x-rays, photos, and such, is not particularly relevant. What matters is a definitive diagnosis or medical description of the medical condition, and how that has affected your capacity to return to Canada. This is typically shown in a doctor's statement of the individual's medical issues and, perhaps, depending on the particular condition, an explanation why the condition and/or its treatment precluded returning to Canada (recognizing, again, that health care is available in Canada, so it could be important to show how your medical condition explains not returning to Canada).
4. Has anyone with a similar background (health-related prolonged absence as a 2022 PR with short stays in Canada) successfully returned?
Yes. Of course. But given how variable health conditions are, and how variable other relevant factors are (the number of days in breach of the RO looming large), not to mention variable personalities (as to PRs and officers), those experiences are not likely to illuminate much for you. Moreover, there are many contingent factors which influence how PoE screening goes, several
if-this, then-that forking paths in the process.
There are scores and scores of personal anecdotal reports here in this forum, and lots of commentary about those. There are many discussions here addressing the variables in how it can go at the PoE, including some specifically outlining the particular procedural steps involved. Some of the discussions here include citations and links to accounts of actual cases as reported in official decisions, or you can research RO breach cases yourself at the
https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/ website. The latter includes PR TD and PoE and other RO enforcement proceedings, many before the IAD, some before the Federal Court.
Bottom-line, what happens at the PoE can range from being waived through (potentially even similar to how it went in 2024) to being issued a Removal/Departure Order (which you would need to successfully appeal in order to keep PR status). Regardless, you will be allowed to enter.
5. Do you have any tips on preparing the PRTD application or a supporting letter to clearly demonstrate that the circumstances were beyond my control and that I now intend to reside permanently in Canada?
Again, a PR TD application is not appropriate so long as you have a valid PR card.
For what to present at the PoE when questioned about RO compliance,
IF questioned about RO compliance, you could consult with a Canadian immigration lawyer (not consultants). But generally the best most PRs in breach of the RO can do is be prepared to simply tell their own story and have some (not a lot) supporting documents (such as doctor's statements as to medical condition and treatment), explaining why they did not get to Canada to stay sooner. If you run into the worst case scenario, that is if issued a Removal/Departure Order, you will be able to present your case anew in an appeal to the IAD (best to get a lawyer's help with that).
If you are admitted into Canada without encountering inadmissibility proceedings, in effect
waived-through, be sure to wait until you are in compliance with the RO before you make an application for a new PR card.
