730 day rule

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There is a process for surrendering PR status. It can be done at a POE. 

You do not say how much time you have actually spent in Canada to date. I gather it is minimal and thus you fall way short, not just somewhat short, of the 730 day requirement. 

The 730 residency requirement to maintain PR status is not a hard and fast rule. Moreover, there are many reports of PRs returning to Canada with a valid PR card without being questioned about meeting the residency requirement. I am not sure what will trigger a residency examination at a POE, but if you are not examined, you enter and your PR status is intact. Of course you cannot renew the PR card without meeting the residency requirement, but you do not need to have a current or valid PR card in possession while living in Canada. 

In other words, if you really intend to settle in and live permanently in Canada, your most direct route would be to return to Canada sooner rather than later, and there is (it appears from most reports) a very good chance you will be allowed entry without being examined as to meeting the residency requirement. Once in Canada, you use your current PR card to get necessary documents like a drivers license, health card, and SIN if you do not already have one, and then the fact that your PR card expires long before you will be able to renew it will only preclude you from re-entering Canada if you travel abroad. You can remain in Canada, work in Canada, and once you have been here two years you can renew the PR card, and after three years apply for citizenship. Obviously whether or not that is something you want to do depends on how seriously you want to truly be a permanent resident of Canada, as opposed to having the status of a Permanent Resident (the latter is a matter of status, the former is about where a person really lives). 

How obvious an absence from Canada for more than three years is on the face of your passport may or may not be a consideration in how likely they are to conduct a residency examination at the time you seek to enter Canada.

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dpenabill Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Top Member Joined: 29 Nov 2009 Status: Offline Points: 6407	Post Options Post Reply Quote dpenabill Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 18 Aug 2010 at 12:29am
	There is a process for surrendering PR status. It can be done at a POE. You do not say how much time you have actually spent in Canada to date. I gather it is minimal and thus you fall way short, not just somewhat short, of the 730 day requirement. The 730 residency requirement to maintain PR status is not a hard and fast rule. Moreover, there are many reports of PRs returning to Canada with a valid PR card without being questioned about meeting the residency requirement. I am not sure what will trigger a residency examination at a POE, but if you are not examined, you enter and your PR status is intact. Of course you cannot renew the PR card without meeting the residency requirement, but you do not need to have a current or valid PR card in possession while living in Canada. In other words, if you really intend to settle in and live permanently in Canada, your most direct route would be to return to Canada sooner rather than later, and there is (it appears from most reports) a very good chance you will be allowed entry without being examined as to meeting the residency requirement. Once in Canada, you use your current PR card to get necessary documents like a drivers license, health card, and SIN if you do not already have one, and then the fact that your PR card expires long before you will be able to renew it will only preclude you from re-entering Canada if you travel abroad. You can remain in Canada, work in Canada, and once you have been here two years you can renew the PR card, and after three years apply for citizenship. Obviously whether or not that is something you want to do depends on how seriously you want to truly be a permanent resident of Canada, as opposed to having the status of a Permanent Resident (the latter is a matter of status, the former is about where a person really lives). How obvious an absence from Canada for more than three years is on the face of your passport may or may not be a consideration in how likely they are to conduct a residency examination at the time you seek to enter Canada.
	Bureaucracy is what bureaucracy does, or When in doubt, follow the instructions. Otherwise, follow the instructions. BTW: Not an expert, not a Can. lawyer, never worked in immigration

annexdan11 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Junior Member Joined: 17 Aug 2010 Status: Offline Points: 17	Post Options Post Reply Quote annexdan11 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 17 Aug 2010 at 10:59pm
	Hello; I became a landed immigrant in Feb 2006. I left Canada for personal reasons and did not fulfill the 730 day requirement (i.e. the first five years expire in Feb 2011, and I don't have enough days left until then to sum up 730). I understand that I have now lost the ability to renew my resident card in Feb 2011; however, I also understand I can still enter Canada, since the card is still valid. Now, what I was thinking of doing was to enter Canada, and testify (is this in front of some sort of judge, CIC, someone else?) that I let the residency expire on purpose, and somehow formally surrender it... This way the case would be closed and I would be clear to apply again in the future if I thought it necessary. Any advice on this? Thanks!