pdarwin

I am a Canadian citizen, my wife only has PR. We have lived in Canada 16 years. We fly to Europe in 2 days but my wife cannot find her PR card. She has her European passport. She can show bank statements, etc that she lives in Canada. Will that be enough to get her back into Canada? Does she need to do anything before we fly out? Bear in mind it's the weekend.
I do have a scan of the PR card that I can print out.
Thanks for any advice.

Former Lancastrian

Getting out is no problem its the journey back from the UK that is the problem area. When do you return to Canada? If after the 29th September then eTA is supposed to be in full force and those without cannot fly to Canada. As a PR she cannot apply foe eTA even if travelling on a UK passport. You will need a PRTD issued from an overseas office unless you flew into the USA on return then drove across the border.
Urgent processing of a permanent resident card

pdarwin

Holy smoke - we turned our house absolutely upside down this evening and after many hours and big panic she found the card in a jewellery case. My god - what a place to put it! Hey FL, thanks for your help. Very much appreciate the fast response.

Snowy560

If she's lived in Canada for 16 years, is it now time for her to become a Canadian citizen? (and avoid this kind of hassle?)

S

pdarwin

That would be ideal and it works for me, a Brit, to have dual citizenship. Trouble is, she is a German and they don't like their citizens to have dual nationality as a rule and as she wants to keep her German citizenship then if she took Canadian she would lose it.

Snowy560

I think it may be possible in some circumstances for Germans to now hold dual citizenship and this change is actually quite recent. I don't know the full details but look into it. I was talking to a German citizen about a year ago who hoped to take Canadian citizenship and had got permission to hold both.

S

PMM

Hi

Here is the required information, not an easy process.

"The German law on citizenship mandates that German citizens who voluntarily apply for and accept the Canadian citizenship will automatically lose the German citizenship if they have not been granted a permission to retain the German citizenship prior to becoming Canadian. This "Beibehaltungsgenehmigung" is granted by the competent authority in Germany on an individual basis. To obtain the permission, you must prove that you still have substantial ties to Germany and are in a personal situation in which the obtention of the dual German Canadian citizenship would be beneficial to you and/or avoid individual detriments. Please note that applications have to be submitted to the German Foreign Mission and that proficiency in German is mandatory. More information on the "Beibehaltungsgenehmigung" (in German language only)
"

pdarwin

It sounds like it's do-able. Would have to go through lots of German red tape no doubt. We will look into it and see fully what's involved.

Gozit

She just needs to show sufficient ties to Germany. Does she still speak German? Does she have parents there that she goes and visits, or other family members, etc. If she has any of that, she can apply for the "Bei........" and as long as she gets it before she applies to naturalise she is good to go.

In any case, as long as you guys remain married, if you leave Canada, she remains a PR indefinitely whilst spending time outside Canada married to a Canadian citizen, so you guys can still come back at will. It just wouldn't count as time towards citizenship, so if you came back to Canada you'd have to wait the 4 years (or maybe 3 now) until she can become a Canadian citizen.

pdarwin

Thanks for the info. She is German, born and raised there and her mother-tongue is German. Both her parents are still living in Germany. Sounds like it will be worth pursuing then.

Snowy560

I think your wife's "lost" PR card, which caused your post to BE and the info you found out may be a blessing in disguise. Let's hope it helps your wife achieve the best of both worlds.

Please update us!

pdarwin

Thanks. I guess every cloud has a silver lining somehow.