Hi,

I have a valid Canadian PR card and lived in Canada for quite a while. But unfortunately I have to go outside of Canada for more than 6 months to help my sick grandfather. I heard somewhere that I won’t be allowed back into the country if I am not physically in Canada for more than 6 months. Is there anything I can do before leaving in order to make things easier when I am coming back?

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The information you received is incorrect. Canadian PR Cards are valid for a 5 year period. You are free to travel outside of Canada during that 5 year period. However, upon renewal of your PR Card, you should have accumulated at least 2 years of residency in Canada within that 5 year period, unless there are humanitarian and compassionate grounds to explain your absence or you were outside of Canada accompanied by your Canadian spouse. The” 6 month rule” used to be in place a number of years ago but now, you have just to be in Canada for a total of 2 years within the 5 year period to maintain your PR Card upon renewal.

Q. I was accepted in Canada as a “Convention Refugee” in early 199 and later received my Canadian Permanent Residence. I have four Canadian kids. I moved with my husband to US in 1997 because my husband got a job in America. By 2003 we became US Citizens. A number of times Immigration Canada contacted me to pick up my PR Card (Permanent Residence Card) but I was unable to go Canada.

My husband left for another country. 12 years have passed and I visited Canada a couple of times as an American. Now my Canadian kids want to go back to Canada and I wish to move back with them. But I’m not sure about my status in Canada. I want to get back my status.  Is that possible? Can I get back my Canadian PR from US before I move back to Canada? What should I do?

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A.  Assuming that you landed in Canada in the early 90s, your settlement in the US since has resulted in you abandoning your status in Canada as a Canadian permanent residence. As you have not picked up your PR Card, and have remained outside Canada, you have lost your status. You therefore have to re-apply for Canadian permanent residence. Your children who are born in Canada are Canadian citizens. However, you will have to apply for Permanent Residence again to get your status back.

Generally, when issued a PR Card, you have to remain in Canada for at least 2 years within a 5 year period in order to renew it.

Dear Niren,
My family have applied for citizenship and also PR Card renewal and meet the requirements.I do not have the residency requirements for renewal.Please advise me whether I qualify for the renewal on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds as I own property and my family resides in Canada.
Regards
Hillary

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Applying for a PR Card renewal where you have not met the residency requirements (2 years in Canada within the last 5 years of applying) can be challenging. In order to maximize your chances of success, it is important that you provide Citizenship and Immigration Canada with a credible explanation for your absence from Canada along with supporting documentation to back it up. Further, it is important to show that you intend to and are able to maintain your residency going forward should your PR Card be renewed. Such applications based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds require careful preparation.  We  have written extensively on this subject here and here.

Our family got Canadian Permanent Residence and a Record of Landing in 1995.  I traveled back to Hong Kong and returned to Canada on a regular basis to meet the legal requirements. In 2000, I stayed in a Hospital (I have medical records) for some months and I did not to return to Canada for few years. My spouse and children are Canadian Citizens now. I only hold a Landing Record.

How I can get Canadian citizenship or my Permanent Resident Card?  My spouse is a worker, two children are studying in University and will graduate in 2010 in the summer.

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Hi

I have applied for my PR Card renewal but I do not have the required 2 years of Canadian residence. Please help me to apply on compassionate grounds as my wife and two children meet the requirements and I have also applied for Canadian citizenship and I work and study in Canada.

I had to go back to my home country as my in laws are old and needed medical attention due to heart problems. I also have property in Mississauga.

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In cases where someone does not meet the residency requirements for PR Card Renewal, you can still apply for a renewal on the basis of humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Since it seems your absence from Canada was due to your care needed for your relatives medical reasons, you may have a case. However, you should document your case by getting a letter from your relatives’ doctors confirming their condition and their need for care.

I sponsored my mother for Canadian PR and she was approved about 3 years ago. She had only visited Canada once for about 2 weeks since she became a PR. She had not moved to Canada because my sister was not approved for Canadian Permanent Residence when I sponsored her as a dependent of my mom (my sister is legally blind and above the age of a dependent). My mom doesn’t want to leave my sister behind alone with her condition. She also does religious missionary work at her temple. Is there anyway she can maintain Canadian PR status if she won’t be able to move to Canada for at least a few more years? Any help would be greatly appreciated

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Your mother could maintain her Canadian PR Status if she has not met the normal residency requirements (living in Canada for 2 years within the last 5 years), if there are humanitarian and compassionate grounds to justify her absence from Canada. In this case, if she can demonstrate that being with her daughter given her medical condition is necessary, she may have a case. However, I am curious as to why your sister who is legally blind was refused for Canadian permanent residence as a dependent in the first place (despite her age).