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730 day rule

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annexdan11 View Drop Down
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    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!
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dpenabill View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dpenabill Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post 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
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annexdan11 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote annexdan11 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Aug 2010 at 8:19am
Thanks for your reply!
 
I spent about a year there, so roughly half of the 730 days (I have the exact number in my PC at home)... There is about half year left until Feb 2011, so if i went there today, I'd fail the requirement by about half a year or 7 months.
 
I guess my question is, how would they know whether or not I met the 730 day rule at all? they only know when I entered the country, not when I left.
 
Thks again.
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dpenabill View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dpenabill Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Aug 2010 at 8:03pm
They may or may not know, they may or may not notice. Actually, they do not have "to know," since the burden is on you to show you have met the residency requirement. If there is something about your record or passport or anything that triggers some question, then they conduct "an examination" which really means they ask you questions about your residency. Misrepresentations at that stage, if caught, can only make things much, much worse.

But as I said in my first post, the odds are that if you entered Canada soon they would not conduct an examination. The odds. No guarantees. They might. They probably would not. Depends. And the closer you get to the fifth anniversary of your landing before trying to enter, the more likely some suspicion will arise and a residency examination conducted.
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
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canvis2006 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote canvis2006 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Aug 2010 at 9:22pm
I think you would only find out if you return to Canada, CBSA may or may not write you up for non-compliance,depends on the border services officer.

IF you want to attempt to save your PR status you should immediately return to Canada, but if you renounce it from abroad by writing to Canadian embassy,surrendering your PR Card etc, then it will be over.

Note though, that the FSW class is no longer the easy way to migrate, its gotten very tough/restricted now....so think hard before you decide. If you lose it, don't regret in the future.
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annexdan11 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote annexdan11 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Aug 2010 at 9:44pm
Got it, thanks.
 
But once I re-enter (assuming no issues at the POE), I won't be able to renew my card without them asking... My guess is I'd be kicked out once the card expires in Feb of next year and I try to renew it.
 
The other thing is just to tell them I left a week ago, or something like that, but that seems kind of outright wrong.
 
...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote canvis2006 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Aug 2010 at 9:51pm
No, if you pass through POE without issues, simple make sure you apply for renewal AFTER 2 years.
Because CIC goes from 5 years from the date you apply for renewal, so you can wait to qualify and then apply. During that time you should find work, build your residential ties, etc

Only thing is you should not leave the country for some time until you get it renewed
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote annexdan11 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Aug 2010 at 12:05am

Understood. What if I did say in the entry form that I only left a week or two before?

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote canvis2006 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Aug 2010 at 12:37am
That will be misrepresentation, you should always be honest and you will be worry-free.

Edited by canvis2006 - 19 Aug 2010 at 12:37am
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annexdan11 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote annexdan11 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Aug 2010 at 1:00am
indeed... thks
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