SchnookoLoly

Hehe!

cbrown89

So looks like my situation has changed once again and I now need to think more about the PR application.

Our office will be closing down by March of this year due to the dip in oil price, so they are going to try to relocate me to a different country which seems to be my only option. This being because my second IEC open work permit expires in July 2015 and I cannot extend it nor apply for a bridging work permit.

If and when I get my PR card is there a time limit that I need to activate it by? I know that in order to keep PR status I have to be in the country for a certain number of days. Also, if I do stay in the country for the required number of days and for whatever reason I apply again will I be at a disadvantage for not fulfilling the PR requirement?

SchnookoLoly

So if your application is filed outland, you can be anywhere in the world and still have your application processing, that's not a problem - it's one of the advantages of outland.

So when your COPR is issued, it will be issued with an expiry date of one year of your medical. All you have to do is show up at the Canadian border before that expiry date and activate your PR. You don't have to stay in Canada at this point, you can turn around and leave on the next plane if you want, no problem there.

In terms of your residency requirement, yes, you have to be in Canada for 2 years in a 5 year rolling period... however, if you are living abroad with your Canadian spouse, which you presumably will be, then that time also counts for PR (but not for citizenship). So if you spend a few years living elsewhere, you're still fine to keep your Canadian PR, and then you have it for if (when?) you decide to settle back in Canada.

Hope that helps. Sorry for the bad news, btw.

cbrown89

Ach bad news been coming for a while was just confirmed today, luckily I work for a company of European decent so we have a month to figure our stuff out.

Ok I was unaware of keeping the PR through living with a spouse. I thought this rule applied when you were either an expat with a Canadian company or if you are on holiday for a short time with your Canadian spouse. Does it still apply for long durations?

garethr1989

Ok so we're finally ready to submit the application today. I think she'll send it by courier once she has some time available (and it gets to a reasonable time of day over there).

I was just wondering, as neither of us have had any communication with CIC before, we have no UCI number so I am right in thinking this would mean we can't use the online system to check the progress until we get our first email or letter after submitting?

Would we get any communication before the approval of the sponsor stage? (like an email to notify us they have received it)

Dave_kel

Thanks Andrew, we'll keep you updated with any changes

Former Lancastrian

A28(2)(a)(ii) and A28(2)(a)(iv) provides that each day a permanent resident is outside of Canada, accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse, common-law partner or, in the case of a child, parent with whom he or she ordinarily resides, is deemed a day of physical presence in Canada.
No timeframe mentioned nor reason why so you will be ok.

sunshinedust

I arrived at Pearson as a visitor yesterday, had a relatively smooth trip through immigration - I was pulled through to secondary immigration which set my nerves off a little, but all the guy there wanted was to make sure I knew I couldn't work, a little more about my husband, run through my options for staying permanently (specifically pointing out the inland sponsorship work permit program) and to congratulate us on our marriage. I had a whole folder of supporting documents (bank statements, evidence from my university that I had to return there for exams, letter of support from my husband, wedding documentation and pictures) but wasn't asked to show anything.

Now we're just waiting for a legalised version of the marriage certificate to come through (Iceland isn't hasty in such matters), my police certificate and his Option C then we'll be ready to submit!

SchnookoLoly

Boo, sorry to hear the bad news! As FL posted further up, you maintain PR just fine as long as you remain living with your Canadian spouse while abroad. Renewing your PR card in 5 years is a bit more of a headache if you are still abroad, but it's certainly possible to do so. So I'd say just continue with the process, then at least you have it done and dusted!

You may or may not get an acknowledgement of receipt... some people do, and some people don't. (Look at the Notes column of the spreadsheet.) I'd say just expect that you will NOT hear anything, and then be pleasantly surprised if you do. You will likely not be able to check ECAS until you get sponsor approval in about 3 months.

Glad it all went smoothly and you have your game plan ready for submitting!

cbrown89

I would put on the envelope the program you are applying for.

cbrown89

Perfect

Denzel_pompey

Update guys, I finally received my COPR a few minutes ago. I can't believe it yet! )
Surprisingly I have till January 2016 to activate it, which is really nice as my partner and I thought we would have to go land in a few weeks and then return to the UK to wind things down. We now plan to land in June.
Many thanks to all the forum administrators including SchnookoLoly & Andrewbrit. You give so much valuable information and advice on this forum. Thanks guys!

andrewbrit

Spreadsheet updated, thanks!

Also thanks for mentioning me in the same breath as SchnookoLoly!

SchnookoLoly

Glad it all worked out, you are very welcome!

(FYI we aren't admins, we just maintain the spreadsheet, and we both clearly spend way too much time on here. )

SchnookoLoly

This is perhaps a little bit off-topic... but some of you guys might find this interesting.

Occasionally when I have some time to kill but don't want to make it look totally obvious that I'm procrastinating at work, I'll read up on federal appeals cases for immigration. It helps give an idea of the types of things that CIC consider when evaluating a relationship and/or an application. I am doing that this morning. Here are a few interesting ones.

This one is a relationship between a 40 year old and a 71 year old... tons of flags, inconsistencies in their stories, contradictory evidence, and so on: https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/irb/doc...nlii79205.html

This one is a woman who sponsored two previous husbands and divorced them shortly after their arrival in Canada... her sponsorship of her third husband took a total of 7 years to be resolved (ultimately dismissed upon appeal), but the appeal notes have oodles of information from their interviews etc and is quite interesting: https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/irb/doc...nlii81655.html

Enjoy!