Residency Obligations & PR Card Renewal 

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Persons who became permanent residents of Canada less than five years prior to the date of receipt of the application are governed by A28(2)(b)(i). This subsection of the Act allows new permanent residents to qualify under the residency obligation provided that they can
potentially meet the 730-day criteria during the first five-year period immediately after their arrival in Canada. Even if a person resides away from Canada for up to three years following the date of first arrival in Canada, that person will retain permanent resident status as long as they still have the possibility of complying with the 730-days-in-Canada rule.

An officer is not permitted to exclude the possibility that an applicant who has resided abroad for three years may still be able to comply with the residency obligation during the remaining two years of the five-year period.

2. Program objectives

IRPA establishes a residency obligation with respect to each five-year period after permanent resident status has been granted.

7.8 Examining Permanent Residents at a POE (Port of Entry)

When a permanent resident appears at a POE for examination, the officer must confirm that the person is a permanent resident. Officers must remain cognizant of the fact the Act gives permanent residents of Canada the right to enter Canada at a port of entry once it is established that a person is a Permanent Resident, regardless of non-compliance with the residency obligation in A28 or the presence of other grounds of inadmissability.

Port of entry officers (POE) can refuse entry to a Permanent Resident only when the person has already lost the status in accordance with the provisions of A46 (such as when a final determination has been made that they have failed to comply with the residency obligations or when a removal order comes into force).

• Airplane tickets/boarding passes
• Bus tickets/boarding passes
• Accomodation/Apartment information such as Lease, Rent Receipts for the time that you are in Canada
• Hotel receipts

Put simply, this means that the permanent resident bears the full responsibility of demonstrating - with supporting documentation as considered necessary by an officer -that they were physically present in Canada for the required number of days or that they have otherwise met (or will be able to meet) the residency obligation as prescribed in the Act.

The permanent resident also bears the onus of presenting documentation that is credible, in the opinion of an officer, to support any assertion(s) made by the permanent resident, or that may have been made on behalf of that permanent resident. There is no one document that can categorically establish a permanent resident’s physical presence in Canada.

4. If my PR card expires while staying in Canada, will i be legally allowed to stay and continue till i complete the remaining days of residency obligation for PR renewal (Note; i already have a SIN number.)

Losing your permanent resident status does not happen automatically. You cannot lose your permanent resident status simply by living outside of Canada long enough that you don’t meet the residency requirement. Unless you have gone through an official process, you have not lost or given up your permanent resident status, even though you may not be eligible to return to Canada as a permanent resident.
You may lose your permanent resident status if:

• an adjudicator determines that you are no longer a permanent resident following an inquiry; or
• a visa officer determines you do not meet the required residency when you apply for apermanent resident travel document or temporary resident travel document.

You may lose your permanent resident status in one of the ways described above if:

• you do not live in Canada for two out of five years;
• you are convicted of a serious crime and told to leave Canada; or
• you become a Canadian citizen.

You do not lose your permanent resident status if your PR card expires.

It is important to note that a permanent resident does not lose their status under A46(1)(b) until there is a final determination of the decision made outside Canada that they have failed to comply with the residency obligation under A28.

Permanent residents are not finally determined to have lost their permanent resident status until the right of appeal has been exhausted.

5. Departmental Policy

When an officer believes a permanent resident has failed to comply with their A28 residency obligation, then that officer should report the permanent resident under the provisions of A44(1) and recommend the issuing of a departure order.

The form Questionnaire: Determination of Permanent Resident Status (IMM 5511B) has been developed specifically to assist officers in making decisions regarding the permanent residency obligation, keeping in mind that the questionnaire alone is not sufficient to determine compliance with the residency obligation, and a detailed interview including examining humanitarian and compassionate criteria under A28(2)(c) is needed.

Furthermore, the officer cannot seize the person’s documents (such as the IMM 1000, Immigrant Visa and Record of Landing and the IMM 5292B, for example) despite writing an A44(1) report and issuing a removal order unless the officer believes there are reasonable grounds to do so in accordance with A140. The rationale behind this is that the person has a right to appeal the removal order and, until final determination of status, they remain a permanent resident and are the lawful owner of said documents.