Thanks! Good to know that I should be accompanying my spouse and not the other way around. I have some strong evidence to prove that my spouse initiated the move to the US and not me.
First, for clarity, the main things are:
-- no need to get a new PR card to keep PR status
-- but you do need to comply with the PR residency obligation to keep your PR status
-- as long as you are "accompanying" your Canadian citizen spouse while outside Canada, those days count toward complying with the RO as if they are days in Canada
-- if you need documents enabling you to fly to Canada from outside Canada, you can apply for a PRTD (PR Travel Document), and in a cover letter request a multiple-entry PRTD per the instructions in the guide
Beyond that, generally a PR relying on RO credit for days outside Canada accompanying their Canadian citizen spouse does NOT need evidence to prove that their spouse initiated the move to the US and not them.
For what evidence the PR needs to show they qualify for this credit, see the guide and the appendix in particular, which is here:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-5529-applying-permanent-resident-travel-document.html#appendixa
See "
Situation B. Accompanying a Canadian citizen outside Canada" in particular. There it states the supporting documents the PR must submit to qualify for this credit.
There are some wrinkles in this. "
Wrinkles," like my use of the word "
worry," is not a technical term. I understand why some might say that even PRs who were living with their citizen spouse in Canada before relocating outside Canada should "
worry," or as
@Ponga framed it, at least "
be aware" of the potential for the so-called
who-accompanied-whom issue when relying on this credit for RO compliance.
However, there has been NO hint of this issue arising for PRs whose address and work history, and patterns in travel history, are consistent with a couple who ordinarily reside together and who were living together in Canada before relocating abroad.
So, if that fits your situation, which will be readily evident in the information and supporting documents (mandatory proof to qualify for the credit includes proof of the citizen spouse's residential address for the full five relevant years and copy of spouse's passport), there is no reason to apprehend any who-accompanied-whom problem.
It appears this does fit your situation, so what you need to focus on is providing what is described in the appendix;
NO need for any additional evidence to prove that your spouse initiated the move to the US and not you.
In contrast, for SOME, for PRs whose address and work history, and patterns in travel history, are not necessarily consistent with a couple who ordinarily reside together and who were living together in Canada before relocating abroad, for them, yes, it will be prudent to give this issue more attention. There is another topic here where this credit and this issue are addressed at-length and in-depth, including scores of citations with links to primary sources, including official sources (like the applicable statutes and regulations, and official IAD and Federal Court decisions) as well as not official but authoritative sources (like IRCC website information, including the guide for PR card and PRTD applications). See
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/who-accompanied-whom-can-matter-for-prs-living-with-citizen-spouse-abroad-update.579860/
Further, Longer Observations Re Accompanying Citizen Spouse RO Credit:
The challenge this issue has always posed is how to identify if and when a
who-accompanied-whom question might arise. There is no hint it arises outside some rather extreme circumstances (many, most notably, involve a PR who NEVER lived in Canada).
As many criticize, the IRCC information about proof or evidence showing RO compliance is not as clear as it should be. Which fuels cautions, including the concerns expressed by
@Ponga. In regards to this RO credit, in particular, there is little hint in IRCC's information and instructions as to how much depends on the meaning of "
accompanying," and no hint that there is actually no clear consensus regarding what "
accompanying" means, and that within the IAD (immigration appeal division) and the Federal Courts there is outright disagreement about its meaning.
And it is true that the Minister's representative before the IAD has strenuously advocated that to qualify for this credit the PR must be the one who, in effect, follows the citizen spouse in relocating abroad. While many IAD panels, and Federal Court justices, have disagreed and did not accept the Minister's approach, SOME have.
This signals who-accompanied-whom can be an issue for PRs relying on this credit. To a significant extent, however, for the vast, vast majority of Canadian PRs who have relocated abroad with their Canadian citizen spouse, this is overstating the risk and largely misleading. The thing is there is no hint this issue, the who-accompanied-whom issue, will arise absent rather blatantly extreme circumstances.
Allowing for complicated scenarios (and sure, there are many), between the known cases where, again, there were rather blatantly extreme circumstances giving rise to the issue (the vast majority have involved PRs with almost zero actual in-Canada presence, never establishing in fact residency in Canada), and what is more or less a no-worry zone, in that in-between and thus not for sure range, the risk of this issue arising cannot be entirely ruled out. In this range, yeah, good idea to be paying attention, to be aware of this issue,
DESPITE the fact that so far there are no known actual cases of this issue being a problem in such scenarios.
But, again, there is very little risk of this being an issue for PRs (1) who relocate outside Canada together with a Canadian citizen spouse AFTER they have been living together in Canada, and (2) who continue to reside together while outside Canada.
However, that said, credit for days outside Canada accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse is NOT automatic. This credit is considered an "
exception," and the burden of proving the PR is entitled to this credit, to this exception, is on the PR. So, again, I understand why some bring up potential issues in regards to qualifying for this credit, such as
@Ponga has done (and others as well, such as
@canuck78 and
@scylla in other topics), including cautioning that there are situations in which IRCC (and even CBSA during border examinations, though this appears to be rare) challenges entitlement to this credit based on a narrow interpretation of what "
accompanying" means, such as parsing
who-accompanied-whom, and denying the credit in certain situations, such as where the Canadian citizen spouse traveled outside Canada to join the PR living in another country.
Nonetheless, given that the mandatory proof to qualify for the credit includes proof of the citizen spouse's residential address for the full five relevant years and copy of spouse's passport, which will of course be compared with the PR's address and work history, and travel history, that evidence will readily establish they qualify for this credit . . . again, for the PR who relocated outside Canada together with their Canadian citizen spouse AFTER they had been living together in Canada, and who continue to reside together while outside Canada.
