PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS – Series Part 1 OF 3

Are you still a Canadian Permanent Resident?

Why are we looking at this question?

With the present COVID pandemic, we are getting many inquiries from people who had lived in Canada as Permanent Residents (PR) in the past but have since moved overseas. In light of the fact that Canada has done relatively well with the virus, many are looking to come back to Canada to a more stable environment.

However, even before this present worldwide pandemic, the question of how a permanent resident can maintain PR status has been a central question since the coming into force of the present Act, and has grown in importance in the past 10 years, as the CBSA and IRCC have ever more vigorously pursued alleged violators for breaching the residency obligation set out in section 28 of the IRPA.

One of the widest held misunderstandings about Permanent Resident status is that once the Permanent Resident Card has expired, the PR status is lost.  This is not true. Conversely, people believe that simply by having a Permanent Resident Card you still maintain status. This is not necessarily true either. 

There are many discussions about the issue, but it is important to look at the law or you risk misunderstanding the significance of having the PR card and the residency obligation of a PR.

(Read More… Part 2)