Will working with expired PR Card hurt chances of future immigration?

[kyeno1]

Bit of a complicated situation. I am currently in canada on a long expired PR card and I am working for the summer, but then am leaving Canada to be with my partner in America. I know I can just stay for 2 years and then reapply for my PR, but I have decided to not live apart from my partner and so I'm giving it up and returning to the states to be with him. We are planning on immigrating together in the future when the time is better for us (he tried but couldnt get a job in Canada and because my card is expired I cant sponsor him in until I renew it in another 2 years).

My question is, will this hurt my future chances of re-immigrating to Canada? I crossed the border smoothly but I did not show my PR card, I just used my american passport. Do I have to declare I'm a PR? 5-10 years down the line will they see that I was working here on my SIN number on an expired PR card after entering the country and not declaring that I was a PR, and will that hurt my chances?

 

[Elizajoey]

You are still a permanent resident if your card expires. My suggestion would be that you renew your PR card so you will have the card before you depart at the end of the summer. I think processing time is about 60 days. Have you been in Canada for 730 days within the past five years as that's the residency obligation to be eligible to renew your card.

 

[kyeno1]

No, im outside the 2/5 year requirement so I either stay for 2 years (away from my partner) or give it up for now. I'm not staying away from him so I'm forced to give it up, but we want to immigrate in the future. I just want to make sure that I'm setting myself up for the best chances of starting over again in the future.

 

[Rob_TO]

Bit of a complicated situation. I am currently in canada on a long expired PR card and I am working for the summer, but then am leaving Canada to be with my partner in America. I know I can just stay for 2 years and then reapply for my PR, but I have decided to not live apart from my partner and so I'm giving it up and returning to the states to be with him. We are planning on immigrating together in the future when the time is better for us (he tried but couldnt get a job in Canada and because my card is expired I cant sponsor him in until I renew it in another 2 years).

My question is, will this hurt my future chances of re-immigrating to Canada? I crossed the border smoothly but I did not show my PR card, I just used my american passport. Do I have to declare I'm a PR? 5-10 years down the line will they see that I was working here on my SIN number on an expired PR card after entering the country and not declaring that I was a PR, and will that hurt my chances?

You are confused on many aspects around your PR status.

First, having a valid PR card is irrelevant to working in Canada. As long as you're a PR, and have a valid SIN, that is all you need to legally work here. PR card being expired does not matter to working.

And second, it's not so easy to just "stay 2 years" to renew your PR status. As soon as you don't meet the Residency Obligation (so once you've been outside Canada 3 years), you are in violation of the RO. On entries into Canada after that point you may be lucky and CBSA will not question you, or they may see you are a PR that doesn't meet the RO and report you, which would start process to formally revoke your PR status. CBSA can determine your PR status even if you don't tell them, and of course if asked you must be honest and declare you're a PR.

If you intend to move permanently out of Canada and try to come back much later, it may be better for you to voluntarily renounce your PR status, and then you can try again to apply later on when you wanted to. Renouncing your PR status would have no effect on a future PR app.

 

[kyeno1]

Thanks for the reply, I was wondering whether it was best to renounce my PR or not.

I do know that I am a legal PR and can work, my only concern is that I just crossed the border smoothly, but did not declare I was a PR, and acted as just a visiting American citizen. My worry is that they will see that down the line and that my failure to inform the officer that I was a PR will hurt my chances of future immigration.

 

[Rob_TO]

Thanks for the reply, I was wondering whether it was best to renounce my PR or not.

I do know that I am a legal PR and can work, my only concern is that I just crossed the border smoothly, but did not declare I was a PR, and acted as just a visiting American citizen. My worry is that they will see that down the line and that my failure to inform the officer that I was a PR will hurt my chances of future immigration.

No, they will not go into random individual border crossing details on future PR apps. Will not have any impact.

Also "acting like a visiting American" does not always work. If asked specifically your status in Canada, you must answer honestly you're a PR. Or if CBSA chooses to dig a bit deeper, they can determine you're a PR whether you tell them or not.

So what happened on previous entries, may not on future entries. Entirely depends on the CBSA officer you happen to encounter.

 

[kyeno1]

Great, thank you.