What is considered "Factual Resident?" Studying or Working Overseas?

[geyser]

Dear Canadavisa community,

I became a landed resident in 2010. I was originally planning to attend school in Canada (and was informed that I had a good chance of being accepted), but ultimately did not gain entrance. Meanwhile, I've tried to find work in Canada, but it's been very hard trying to find the suitable job (unless I accept substantial salary reductions or take a career detour). As of now, I haven't met the 730-day requirement in the 5-yr period. I'm trying to understand how the following two situations might impact the renewal of my PR card:

1) If I accept a job offer from another country and live there, but continue to pay taxes to the Canadian government and try to make arrangements to return as much as possible (or negotiate potential partial telecommute options), would I still likely be denied renewal at the 5th year mark?

2) On this site: http: //travel.gc.ca/travelling/living-abroad/taxation, there's a classification called "factual resident" that includes a full-time student studying abroad status. Does this mean that the time spent abroad attending school could still be counted towards the 730-day requirement?

Obviously, I'm keen on maintaining my Canadian residency. However, it'd be totally impractical to just live there and fulfill the time requirement and not be doing anything. I'm assuming and hoping that the folks at immigration would understand these situations?

Thanks for any advice or sharing of experiences!

 

[Msafiri]

.......
1) If I accept a job offer from another country and live there, but continue to pay taxes to the Canadian government and try to make arrangements to return as much as possible (or negotiate potential partial telecommute options), would I still likely be denied renewal at the 5th year mark?......

You need to meet the Residence Obligation (RO) of at least 730 days of physical presence in Canada in each 5 year rolling period from date of PR acquisition. Only exceptions to maintain RO when outside Canada are if/where you are:

(i) employed in Canada and assigned abroad - employer must be a bonafide operating for profit Canadian company not some mom and pop set up to avoid the RO.

(ii) work for the Feds/Province (e.g. embassy) or the Canadian Armed Forces.

(iii) accompanying a PR spouse to whom (i), (ii) applies

(iv) accompanying a Canadian Citizen spouse

Paying taxes doesn't cut it sorry else there would be a line up of PRs from Vancouver, BC to Sidney, NS eager to pay up at double the tax rate.

......
2) On this site: http: //travel.gc.ca/travelling/living-abroad/taxation, there's a classification called "factual resident" that includes a full-time student studying abroad status. Does this mean that the time spent abroad attending school could still be counted towards the 730-day requirement?.......

No it doesn't. Your status as a tax payer is distinct from your PR status. PRs can be liable for taxes even when absent from Canada hence the factual resident classification...check Canada Revenue Agency website for detail.

......
Obviously, I'm keen on maintaining my Canadian residency. However, it'd be totally impractical to just live there and fulfill the time requirement and not be doing anything. I'm assuming and hoping that the folks at immigration would understand these situations?.........

You don't have to be idle in Canada...it seems you did not give it enough time. How many days did you actually stay in Canada before returning and what was the reason for not getting into the school? Did you return to your previous job? Part of moving to a new country is accepting that you may have to start at a lower level.

Ultimatley your call but at some point in time you will need to live in Canada to maintain your PR.

 

[scylla]

As Msafiri explained, you must live in Canada for 2 out of every 5 years to maintain your PR status.

The time you spend studying outside of Canada cannot be counted towards the 2 year residency obligation. Similarly, the time spent working outside of Canada (even if you still pay taxes in Canada) cannot be counted towards the 2 year residency obligation. You need to physically live here.

 

[geyser]

Thank you for the detailed explanations.

To someone who has become a citizen, the 2 year residency obligation would no longer apply, correct? I'm a US citizen and I know I can work and reside overseas without jeopardizing citizenship.

I believe a have almost a year in Canada now. I don't think schools tell you exactly why you're not offered a seat other than there're too many competitive applicants and too little space...

I have an attractive offer that would relocate me to Hong Kong and I'm trying to understand the ramifications of accepting it. :-\

 

[scylla]

Yes - once you have citizenship, the 2 year residency obligation no longer applies.

To qualify to apply for citizenship, you must live in Canada for 3 out of the last 4 years. Note that processing time for citizenship applications is approximately two years at this time.

 

[geyser]

Yes - once you have citizenship, the 2 year residency obligation no longer applies.

To qualify to apply for citizenship, you must live in Canada for 3 out of the last 4 years. Note that processing time for citizenship applications is approximately two years at this time.

Thank you, Scylla!