When you need to re-enter Canada you need either a

Permanent Resident Card or Travel Document

PR Card PR Travel Document Calculating Residency Auxilium Law PC

Permanent Resident Card and Permanent Resident Travel Document

 
Permanent Residents who travel outside of Canada require a Permanent Resident Card or a Permanent Resident Travel Document to be able to re-enter Canada.
 
If a person has not left Canada and their Permanent Resident Card has expired they would still maintain their Permanent Resident Status seeing that their Permanent Residence status would only be lost once there is a decision rendered by an Officer that the person failed to meet the residency obligation.
 
There are cases where time spent outside of Canada is counted towards time spent inside of Canada as we will see.
 

Permanent Resident Card

 
Individuals who plan on leaving Canada should apply for a Permanent Resident Card in order for them to be able to return to Canada.
 
Permanent Residents may renew their Card if they resided in Canada two years out of the five previous years before submitting their application.
 
If a person does not meet the residency obligation of seven hundred thirty days they might be able to

claim days spent outside of Canada if they:

  • Traveled with a Canadian spouse or common-law partner, or are a dependant child accompanying a parent, or
  • Employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business or the Public Service of Canada and are assigned to a position outside of Canada, or
  • The spouse, common-law partner or child of a permanent resident who is outside Canada and who is employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business or the Public Service of Canada.

If an immigration officer determines that you have not complied with your residency obligations and that the rules regarding time spent outside of Canada being counted towards time spent inside of Canada does not apply the officer may issue you a removal order that requires you to leave Canada.

Permanent Resident Travel Document


If you are outside of Canada and your Permanent Resident card is expired you can apply for a Permanent Resident Travel Document.  If you do not meet the residency obligations you may argue that there are sufficient Humanitarian and Compassionate Considerations that warrant the granting of an exemption form your failure to meet the residency obligation.

The Officer will have discretion to grant or deny your application and the onus rests on you to demonstrate that relief is warranted.

If you are outside of Canada and do not meet residency obligations a Canadian overseas visa Office may inform you in writing that you have lost your permanent residence status.

Appealing the decision

 
Individuals can seek  an appeal at the Immigration Appeal Division if a Canadian overseas visa office determined that they did not meet their residency obligation as a permanent resident. There are no restrictions or exceptions to make a residency obligation appeal. However, if a person received a removal order inside of Canada because they did not meet their residency obligation, they will need to make a removal appeal.
 

Individuals who have been issued a refusal or removal order for failing to meet their residency obligation may appeal their case at the Immigration Appeal Division within sixty days.

If you require assistance with respect to your residency obligation including calculating your days or determining if your time spent outside of Canada counted towards your time inside of Canada you may want to book a paid consultation with us to discuss your case.

Please note that this is general Information and should not be construed as legal advice.

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