would like to return to Canada to look after aged parent

[Elsacocopops]

Hi all, this is my situation, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
I immigrated to Canada in 1974 as a tenager with my family, I married a Canadian and have five children who were born in Canada.
In 1999 my husband, myself and children moved to Australia. Only One of my five children is back in Canada living there.
My problem is....
my dad who is/has always lived in Canada and is a permanent resident is now 82, he has had a mild stroke and I would like to go back to Canada for 1/2 years.. not sure if it would be longer.... I will obviously have to work while I am there to support myself.
I do have a SIN and did have all Canadian benefits while i lived there,
what visa do I need to apply for?

thanks in advance for any advice, have a great day! ;D

 

[truesmile]

If you're travelling on an Australian passport, are you not "visa exempt"?? If so, you cannot apply for a visa.

 

[zardoz]

If you're travelling on an Australian passport, are you not "visa exempt"?? If so, you cannot apply for a visa.

If the OP is a "landed immigrant" aka PR, they cannot apply for any form of Canadian Visa, as they are not eligible. (Insert usual PR residency obligation noncompliance advice here).

 

[truesmile]

(Insert usual PR residency obligation noncompliance advice here).

Which is "enter as a visitor (at least try), stay for 2 years, and then renew PR card", right?

 

[Lammawitch]

If the OP is a "landed immigrant" aka PR, they cannot apply for any form of Canadian Visa, as they are not eligible. (Insert usual PR residency obligation noncompliance advice here).

If the OP has been living with a Canadian citizen spouse abroad, she is not in violation of the residency requirements; proof will be necessary, see here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5445ETOC.asp#appendixA

 

[Lammawitch]

Which is "enter as a visitor (at least try), stay for 2 years, and then renew PR card", right?

Not necessarily in this case, see my reply above .

 

[truesmile]

Good catch. You're absolutely correct. Perhaps elsa should renew her PR card while here. Research the requirements first though, for starters i believe you need scanned pages from your Citizen spouse's passport. A lot of that stuff could be brought along.

 

[Lammawitch]

Good catch. You're absolutely correct. Perhaps elsa should renew her PR card while here. Research the requirements first though, for starters i believe you need scanned pages from your Citizen spouse's passport. A lot of that stuff could be brought along.

. Requirements are listed in the link I provided .

 

[zardoz]

If the OP has been living with a Canadian citizen spouse abroad, she is not in violation of the residency requirements; proof will be necessary, see here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5445ETOC.asp#appendixA

Very true. Nice save...

 

[Rob_TO]

Do you still have your old PR card and landing papers? This will probably make it a lot easier to apply for PR card renewal once you are back in Canada.

When boarding the plan in Australia, you should not mention your PR status though to the airlines. Since you don't have a valid PR card on you, if you tell them you're a PR but then don't have the proof of it with valid non-expired documents, they may cause trouble boarding. It's better to simply tell the airline (if they even ask) that you are traveling to Canada on your visa-exempt passport to visit family, and that is all.

Once in Canada, you can tell CBSA that you are a PR who left in 1999, but have been living abroad with your Canadian citizen spouse so are not in violation of residency requirements. You can show your expired PR card/landing papers, and you should have proof on you of living with your husband so a copy of his passport and any evidence that shows you live in the same home in Australia (so both names on lease/mortgage, joint accounts, a letter from your husband, etc). CBSA should allow you to enter Canada as a PR. And once in Canada you should immediately apply for PR card renewal.

Keep in mind that depending what province you are going to, you may need to re-qualify for provincial healthcare so may have to wait up to 3 months after arriving, and may need to get some document that shows you have re-established residency in the province. Make sure if that's the case, you have your own emergency travel medical coverage during that time.

 

[Lammawitch]

PR cards didn't exist back in 1999, just saying ... it'll be a case of using original landing papers .

 

[Mapleson]

Is the OP a Canadian Citizen or not? If they immigrated in 1974 and lived in Canada until 1999 (25 years), it seems like they would have gotten their Citizenship at some point.

 

[Lammawitch]

As the OP doesn't mention citizenship, I have assumed that she is a PR from the information provided.

Some PRs do not apply for citizenship, even after *many* years residence. I know quite a few.