URGENT ADVICE !!

[Dom21]

I landed in Canada as a Permanent Resident in 2004. I was 17 at the time. I was accompanied by my mother. I stayed for a few weeks, then returned to my home country with my mother. We both (mother & I) returned in 2005 and stayed for 2months and we returned to our home country due my mother having family responsibilities. Our PR card expired in Aug 2009. We arrived back into canada 3 days before it expired.
We sent in our PR card for re-newal in Jan 2010. We have been here from Aug 2009 to now. My mother has a full time job and I've just finished school.
CIC has sent us 2 letters since saying our card is still in process.
The situation has arose where we both need to travel back home for 3weeks due to a family crisis. We have no valid PR card to re-enter Canada.

My question is:
1. How long does re-newals of PR cards take?
2. For Urgent travel, it states we can send our stuff in to speed up the process somehow, will this happen in our case?
3. If we leave without our PR cards, do we have enough grounds to be issued a travel document to re-enter canada?

Please we are desperate for advice, we really need to travel home, at least one of us, what can we do?

 

[Alabaman]

PR card renewals currently take surprisingly 7.5 months . See link http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/canada/process-in.asp However, from reading posts by other forumites, if you apply for urgent renewal it takes 2 - 4 weeks.

On a different note, it seems you are far from meeting the residency requirement of 730 days. Wouldn't this be an issue?

 

[Leon]

As a PR, you must stay in Canada for at least 730 days in each 5 year period. You were lucky that they did not catch you on entry to Canada. If they had, they would have started the procedure to revoke your PR right then. Since they did not, you should have waited to apply for renewal until you had your 730 days in Canada. Since you did not, you have now brought it to their attention that you did not meet the residency requirements and invited them to revoke your PR. If that turns out to be what happens, your mother could possibly appeal on H&C grounds if she had a compelling reason to be in another country for that period and you could possibly appeal based on being a dependent child and having followed your mother.

However, I would advise you to stay in Canada if you want to go through with this appeal. If you leave now, you still do not meet the PR residency requirements and so if you apply for a PR travel document from your home country, you will be waiting out the appeals there instead of in Canada.

 

[Dom21]

Thank you for the replies. I am desperate for some response.

Leon, thank you for detailed reply. I have a question in relation to what you said : "if you leave now, you still do not meet the PR residency requirements and so if you apply for a PR travel document from your home country, you will be waiting out the appeals there instead of in Canada." By this, I understand once I leave and apply for a travel document, i will have to wait there till they decide. That i understand. Do you know of any cases similar to that, where those people waiting eventually got through to re-enter canada?

How does one make an appeal? and can we make an appeal even though they have not responded to us saying anything as yet?

Our reason for leaving was my mother was primary care taker of my dad's mother (who is also a canadian citizen). And our reason now for wanting to travel is because her mother is now dying and she's all we have left. I may have to step up and stay some time to sort out her affairs but my mother doesn't have that time to stay out of canada.

Do you have any idea how long we will have to wait until we hear something from them? My mother may not leave given the complexities at the moment, but I may have to leave. If i'm out of canada for the purpose of my grandmother's situation, and i am waiting for the appeals there, do you know my chances of being able to return?

 

[Leon]

It's very hard to say what kind of chances you have of winning an appeal. Taking care of a dying relative would be considered a H&C reason so your mother might win her appeal and keep her PR. As for you, if you were under 22 or a student, you were financially dependent on your mother and so you have that excuse and might win your appeal too but nobody can say for sure. Appeal is what you do after they refuse to renew your PR. They haven't actually refused to yet, it's still pending from what you have said so appeal is something you would file if you were refused.

 

[Dom21]

Hey Leon,
Thanks again for all your advice. I have an update and another query for you, if you could spare me your advice once more. We've received a letter from CIC with a residency questionnaire. We are completing that. My question is, have you any idea how long it takes them to process that since we still need to travel urgently in another month. I greatly appreciate your advice.
Regards, Dom

 

[Leon]

I think it will definitely take more than a month.

 

[Dom21]

Hhhmm I had a feeling it would be so. Do you think if I send in an urgent request for proof of travel, they will try to do something. My situation is a bit strained. Dying relative with prob 2 months to live is on my hands.

 

[Dom21]

Oh! I almost forgot. The letter with the residency questionnaire ask for documentary evidence. They ask for our passports. Does this mean we have to hand over our passports directly to them or they want a copy of the details of our passport? Sorry to be such a bug.

 

[Leon]

If they ask for your passports, they want your actual passports, not copies. However, your embassy may be able to issue you a new passport or a temporary one if you need to travel urgently and your passport is with immigration. That or you can go now and send your passport in once you are outside the country. Then you'd have to wait there to do your appeal.