Returning to Canada w/ PRTD and expired PR Status & Spousal sponsorship questions

[SunnyS85]

Hi All.

I'm a PR resident who'll returning to Canada in April, on a PRTD (provided on compassionate grounds; medical). I've lived outside for 5+ years and did not meet the residency requirements to renew the PR card.
I had a few questions that maybe you can help me with?

1. Once I return to Canada on my PRTD (I do not currently meet residency obligations for renewing PR, will take 2 years it seems), will I still be eligble to work?
2. Will I be required to meet the full 2 years residency obligations for the PR Card before I am able to sponsor my wife (Czech)? Or is the PR card and its requirements seperate from my ability to sponsor her immediately upon arriving back to Canada?
3. If no to #2, are there any recommended routes that reduce the time we spend apart?

I'd appreciate any answer, advice, or recommendations that you would be willing to share.
Thank you very much!

 

[Ponga]

It's worth noting that PR status does not expire.

1. Yes, you can work while you wait to become compliant with the Residency obligation to, then, apply for a new PR Card. However...without a vaild PR card, you may have difficulty getting a job, provincial health coverage, a Driver License, etc., so having to stay in Canada for 2 years may be challenging when trying to `live'.

2. Yes. You need to be compliant with the R.O. to be eligible to sponsor your wife.

3. N/A

 

[armoured]

1. Once I return to Canada on my PRTD (I do not currently meet residency obligations for renewing PR, will take 2 years it seems), will I still be eligble to work?
2. Will I be required to meet the full 2 years residency obligations for the PR Card before I am able to sponsor my wife (Czech)? Or is the PR card and its requirements seperate from my ability to sponsor her immediately upon arriving back to Canada?
3. If no to #2, are there any recommended routes that reduce the time we spend apart?

1. If you have a PRTD with the visa issuance code for H&C, which I believe is RC-1, you can safely apply for a PR card renewal. It may take a little longer but the H&C determination has already been made and you should be issued a new card in due course. But please, stay in Canada until it is complete. (Actually please stay in Canada until back in compliance - see below).

2. Opinions differ on this here. It is my understanding that you may in fact be able to sponsor your spouse since the H&C has been determined. I do not see any harm or risk in applying, because - again - H&C determination has already been made. (The usual statement/opinion is that if you apply while out of compliance, you risk being adjudged inadmissible, which both makes you ineligible to sponsor and at risk of having your PR status revoked.* But the other side of the coin is - you've already been determined to be admissible on H&C grounds). So it seems logical / likely that a delay is probably the downside (which is already a given if you ... wait two years before applying.

3. N/A (I think).

*Being in compliance with the RO itself is not formally a criterion for spousal sponsorship - the 'you must be in compliance with RO' requirement comes indirectly from, if I'm not mistaken, not being inadmissible. 'Inadmissibility' itself has to be determined - it doesn't happen automatically when out of compliance with the RO (because ... H&C reasons are a reason to avoid, at least temporarily, that determination.) So to reiterate: if you've just been determined not to be inadmissible by dint of H&C (i.e. you were issued the RC-1 PRTD), and you returned to Canada and remained in Canada, and haven't got any new reasons to be inadmissible (e.g. committed a crime), then you ... are not inadmissible and should be eligible to sponsor. [This sounds confusing and possibly a bit circular, but I think it's accurate.]

A few additional points:
1) Very important to note that this H&C determination is not 'proof' against future departures and returns when out of residency obligation compliance. Or in very simple terms: if you decide to leave after getting your H&C, all of the above is or could be thrown into question again. [Technically perhaps not very likely if the PRTD is multi-entry and still valid and you return while it's still valid, but ... perhaps not advisable given the circumstances.]
2) You may want to consult a lawyer.
3) The residency obligation sub-forum here has the most active discussion on cases such as yours. You will hear all opinions. I think @Ponga is sharing opinions in good faith, I just think may be wrong in this instance. (I used to believe the same things, at least partly).

It's here:
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-i...rd/forums/permanent-residency-obligations.11/

 

[canuck78]

Hi All.

I'm a PR resident who'll returning to Canada in April, on a PRTD (provided on compassionate grounds; medical). I've lived outside for 5+ years and did not meet the residency requirements to renew the PR card.
I had a few questions that maybe you can help me with?

1. Once I return to Canada on my PRTD (I do not currently meet residency obligations for renewing PR, will take 2 years it seems), will I still be eligble to work?
2. Will I be required to meet the full 2 years residency obligations for the PR Card before I am able to sponsor my wife (Czech)? Or is the PR card and its requirements seperate from my ability to sponsor her immediately upon arriving back to Canada?
3. If no to #2, are there any recommended routes that reduce the time we spend apart?

I'd appreciate any answer, advice, or recommendations that you would be willing to share.
Thank you very much!

Would suggest verifying the expiry date on your PRTD. Unless you recently got approved there tends to be a 3-6 month expiry date on PRTDs and being approved for one PRTD doesn’t ensure another PRTD will be approved. As already points out if your PRTD has the RC-1 code you can apply to renew your PR card when you return to Canada. There may be a period for months where you won’t be able to renew your health card due to not having a valid PR card and there are wait times to qualify for healthcare in many provinces. Would take out emergency travel insurance for you and your spouse to cover periods when you don’t qualify for provincial healthcare to cover any health emergencies. Your SIN# may also be on hold if there has been no activity for a long period of time.

 

[Ponga]

3) The residency obligation sub-forum here has the most active discussion on cases such as yours. You will hear all opinions. I think @Ponga is sharing opinions in good faith, I just think may be wrong in this instance. (I used to believe the same things, at least partly).

It's here:
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-i...rd/forums/permanent-residency-obligations.11/

Exactly; sharing opinions in good faith.

Just curious to know if you're referring to the overwhelming `opinions' in these forums, including mine, that a sponsor must be in compliance with their own R.O., to be eligible to sponsor.

 

[armoured]

Just curious to know if you're referring to the overwhelming `opinions' in these forums, including mine, that a sponsor must be in compliance with their own R.O., to be eligible to sponsor.

Two different cases:
-as in case above, where I explained in detail, I do not believe it would apply to sponsors who have been given explicit H&C 'clearance' (as attested by the RC-1 PRTD visa). With some caveats, like remaining in Canada.

-for the more general case: here is more ambiguous and I honestly do not know. The key difference from what I thought before is that it is not that it is expressly forbidden, but that applying to sponsor bears the risk that IRCC will check the RO and ascertain the sponsor is inadmissible. But it seems that they do not do this consistently, possibly not at all for those with minor RO non-compliance issues, and in some cases with slightly longer RO non-compliance, IRCC may just delay processing until the RO issue is resolved.

So overall I think it is less risky than I used to think. Still quite risky, possibly, it seems, for those with longer non-compliance, and still not recommended. But again , would emphasize - do not know for certain.