son studied university abroad - not met days required for residency - PR renewal

[vt]

Hello,

As soon as we arrived to Canada my now 21 year old son decided to continue his university studies abroad. He has been in total in Canada 20 days out of the past 5 years. He now wants to come back and settle here in Canada. His PR card expires next month.He plans to come back before then. We were planning on renewing his PR card explaining why he has not met the requirements (he had surgery abroad then he went to University- we could not afford to send him here in Canada to study) but that he will now reside in Canada and is living here permanently. However reading some posts here they may not even renew his PR card.

Should we not renew the PR card next month and just wait to renew the PR card after he resides 2 years + and then apply to renew. Is that legal? Could he work here in Canada with an expired PR card? Could he travel to the US with us for pleasure ? Will they even renew his PR card if we did that?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks
VT

 

[Bs65]

Others will probably comment or correct but it is likely when your son returns that he will be reported for failing to meet residency obligation. Attending university or having surgery outside of the country is a personal choice and unlikely to influence any PR retention decisions.

Even if not reported your son would need to stay in Canada for 2 years straight and not leave the country not even for vacation to the US.

I cannot answer the PR card renewal dilema as there are various opinions on that although whatever the status of the PR card your son is still a PR regardless as PR does not expire , it can only be renounced by him or withdrawn by the government.

 

[scylla]

If your son is able to re-enter Canada without being reported for failing to meet the residency requirement - he will need to remain in Canada for two years without leaving before he will be able to apply to renew his PR card. He should absolutely not attempt to renew his PR card any earlier. Studying outside of Canada is not accepted as a reason for failing to meet the residency requirement. He should avoid all travel outside of Canada for the 2 year period if keeping PR status is a priority (including trips to the US).

 

[Leon]

Agree with scylla. Going to university is not humanitarian grounds for not meeting your RO. Saying you could not afford university in Canada is irrelevant. Canadians manage to afford it and plenty of PR's and international students too. Having surgery could have been done in Canada too.

He could at the very least have spent his holidays in Canada which he obviously didn't if he only managed to spend 20 days over a 5 year period.

If he gets in without being reported, you should therefore take no risk and not attempt to renew his PR card. Get his health card and drivers license taken care of before his PR card expires. Then wait 2 years before you attempt to renew. The rules are such that if they don't catch him before he meets the RO, they have to consider after spending 2 years that he meets the RO at that time and they would have to renew his PR card, no questions asked. He should definitely not leave Canada during the 2 years but he is still a PR so it is perfectly legal for him to work.

If he does get reported, you can try to appeal based on the university claim as well as if I understand you correctly, he was 16 when he landed so a minor and he can claim that he was removed as a minor by his parents who made the decision for him that he should go to university overseas. I think it is not a strong case because he could have returned to Canada at his age of majority at age 18-19 when he still could have met the RO. However, it is worth a try if he gets reported, either appeal or accept the loss of his PR.

If he does get reported and appeals, he can renew his PR card for 1 year at a time but he should not leave Canada and he should try his best to show that he is well settled with a job and an apartment by the time of his appeal hearing. The processing can take a couple of years so in some cases people's appeals have benefited because they were considered well settled while if he were to appeal and then go back to your home country, he'd have a very slim chance at winning that appeal and they would not consider it serious and throw it out.

If he loses the appeal, his time spent in Canada, even if it is more than 2 years of processing, will not be considered and he will lose his PR and be asked to leave. He would then have to leave and find a way to apply for PR on his own if he wants to return.

 

[dpenabill]

I disagree that attending university will not have a positive influence.

And, this is particularly so if the PR is not married and has remained in school, supported by parents, since before age 19 (while some changes in law made by the former Conservative government no longer define such a child as a dependent, it appears the Liberals may restore this at least to some extent, and otherwise it is my impression the current administration is likely to be more lenient if not generous in approaching this sort of situation).

As I have also often commented, any and all reasons for why a PR did not return to Canada sooner can and actually MUST BE CONSIDERED.

That said, it is typically difficult to succeed based on H&C reasons.

My sense is that there are probably a lot of positive factors involved here, especially if the parents and remainder of immediate family are settled in Canada. But there are also negative factors (in addition to the total time absent from Canada, which hurts, apparently there were no visits to Canada, no personal establishment in Canada).

It is important to make the trip to Canada while the PR card is still valid. Get SIN immediately (even if reported and he appeals) if he does not already have a SIN. Likewise, if possible, a drivers license, and apply for health care (in at least some provinces with a waiting period, the application itself can be made prior to the end of the waiting period, but the coverage will not begin until the waiting period is complete).

He should be prepared to explain his situation, honestly and as straight-forwardly as possible, when he goes through the PoE upon arrival in Canada. He may or may not be reported for inadmissibility based on a breach of the PR Residency Obligation.

If he is reported, he needs to appeal. Best to obtain professional legal assistance in doing this, but many do this without a lawyer.

Generally, otherwise I concur in the observations made above by others, such as probably best to not make a PR card application until in compliance with the PR RO, that is if he is allowed to enter Canada without being reported; such as to settle down, get employment, and so on, including if he is reported (to show extent of settlement in Canada when the appeal is actually heard, which can easily be a year or even longer away).

 

[vt]

I want to thank you all - dpenabill, Leon, scylla, and Bs65 - for replying to my thread and helping us make a decision.

We will not renew the PR card until he meets the RO and purchase his plane ticket right away so he is here before it expires and hopefully they will not report him once he gets in.

You are all so knowledgeable. Again greatly appreciated for your time!

Thanks
Vanessa