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Upon returning to renew PR?

M

micro

Newbie
Mar 31, 2010
8
0
Hello,
If someone has spent 730 days after obtaining their PR in Canada and then spent what is remaining (3 years) outside of Canada. Upon arrival to Canada, what questions the Immigration could ask in terms of showing proof that the person has indeed spent 730 days (out of 5 years) in Canada, in order to be eligible to renew their PR?

Thank you in advance.
 
Is your passport stamped when exiting Canada (I'm a citizen and Canada doesn't stamp my passport on exit or entrey, but it may be different for PRs)? If so, then the stamps will show how long you were outside the country, hence the remainder of the4 time you had to be IN Canada.

If no stamps exiting Canada, presumably other countries stamped your passport when you entred; so these are the same as exit stamps from Canada, allowing a calculation of time spent outside Canada, hence by deduction the rest of the time had to have been spent INSIDE Canada.

Best to do the calculation yourself, and write it on a piece of paper, citing a passport page number for each stamp, to make it easy for the border officer to check your calculations.
 
Thank a lot for the feedback Toby!

Actually the passport is brand new with no stamps...so in that case, will the person be scrutinized with other questions to prove that they actually stayed in physically in Canada for 730 days?
 
Is your PR expired? If it is, then I guess there will be some hiccups unless you are from a visa exempt country. If your PR card is not yet expired then I don't think there will be a lot of hassles.
 
PR is still valid and the person will be coming back from a non visa exempt country. I was guessing perhaps they might ask questions related to work history, addresses, tax returns?
 
They will not ask you to prove it on the spot but if they suspect that you do not meet the residency requirements, they can tell you so and give you 30 days to appeal their decision to revoke your PR status. You can then enter Canada and have 30 days to work on your appeal. As for proof that you were in Canada, you could include a lease of an apartment, letter from employer or educational institution, copies of passport stamps, phone bills and bank statements. It may be hard to get those records from 3 to 5 years ago but you should be able to get at least copies of bank statements.
 
Micro:

Leon's suggestions should work for you,although Canada tends to discount bank statements since they don't prove you were in Canada. Leases etc are stronger proof. So would be a credit-card statement showing purchases in Canada (remember to erase the credit card number.)

But a question about your old passport. Did IT have stamps? Did you not keep it when you got your new passport? I have learned to ALWAYS request my old passport back.
 
Bank statements may show things like withdrawals at ATM's in Canada, purchases made in Canada etc. just like a credit card statement. A lease proves that you had an apartment but that does not necessarily mean that you were staying there. I think really the best thing would a a statement from an employer stating that this person has worked for me from date x to date y during which time they were definitely in Canada. Pay slips could also help because they would show the number of hours you worked.
 
I agree, Leon.

Talking about proofs, I just figured out that one can change the dates that show on digital photos, so they are no real proof that on was in that place on the date indicated. This is really annoying, since I built my case for spousal residence partly on dated photos (to show time spent with my wife).

Next someone will tell me there is no Santa Clause.
 
Yes, you can play dress up and keep changing the date on your camera. Decorate house for xmas and wear big sweaters in one photo for example ;)
 
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