DanH82

Hi everyone,

My family and I soft-landed to activate our PR in Vancouver in May 2019 and returned back to the UK after a 2 week holiday.
We need to be in Canada for 730 days (2 years) of the next 5 years from May 2019 meaning that we need to arrive before May 2022 to be there long enough to renew our PR.

Does anyone know if there is any indication of extending the 5 years due to Covid-19?

christmasoompa

Hi, welcome to BE. No, there's no way of getting an extension I'm afraid, can't see that changing as there's been nothing stopping you returning (PR's have always been able to enter).

Don't forget to factor in a bit of time just in case you had to leave Canada in an emergency, so best to try and go with a couple of months leeway and get there by March 2022 (or earlier) if you can. And don't forget it's a rolling 5 year period, not just from May 2019.

Best of luck with the move back.

DanH82

Hi, thank you for such a quick reply.
Yes I think we would probably already be out there as we were planning to move last summer but I didn't want to travel during the Covid pandemic although it seems we won't have much choice now.

Can I just ask about "And don't forget it's a rolling 5 year period, not just from May 2019." I thought it was a 5 year clock based on the date we landed and activated the PR?

Thanks again!

christmasoompa

It is, but it's any 5 year period from then on i.e. the 5 year period doesn't reset in May 2024. So any date after May 2024 you'll need to be able to count back and have spent at least 730 days in Canada.

Hard to explain it but here's an example - somebody spends the first 2 years after landing in Canada i.e. May 2019 to May 2021. Then then leave thinking they've ticked the box and met the requirements before the next 5 years starts in May 2024. Then they leave the 2 years residency to the end of the next five year period i.e. try to return in May 2027 to complete the 2 years. That would mean they hadn't spent the time in Canada required, as counting back they'd have left it too long.

Does that make sense? It does in my head. 😆 You probably already know this, but just worth flagging just in case.

DanH82

This is great, thank you so much. The plan will be to get there early 2022 and to stay there permanently so it should be fine.

christmasoompa

Fab, good luck with it.