Permanent residents and residency obligation.

• Author: Ning, Alex

People from all over the world make applications to come to the promised land of Canada.

They may come via many categories of immigration, including Family Class, Skilled Worker Class, Entrepreneur Class, Investor Class, Self-Employed Class, Canadian Experience Class, or Refugee Class. Once they arrive in Canada for landing as a Permanent Resident, Section 28 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act SC 2002 Chapter 27 (IRPA) applies. The Permanent Resident (PR) is required to maintain his or her Residency Obligation as prescribed under Section 28, as follows.

28. (1) A permanent resident must comply with a residency obligation with respect to every 5-year period.

(2)The following provisions govern the residency obligation under subsection (1):

(a) a permanent resident complies with the residency obligation with respect to a 5-year period if, on each of a total of at least 730 days in that 5-year period, he or she is

(i) physically present in Canada,

(ii) outside Canada accompanying a Canadian citizen who is his or her spouse or common-law partner or, in the case of a child, his or her parent,

(iii) outside Canada employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business or in the federal public administration or the public service of a province.

The Five-Year period is a moving window ...

The "Five-Year Period" is a moving window; that is to say, at any date of examination by an officer (inland immigration officer, border service officer at a Port of Entry, or overseas visa officer), the PR must satisfy the examining officer that he or she has remained in Canada physically for at least 730 days (two years) cumulatively during the immediate five years.

In the event the PR has been landed in Canada for less than five years, the days in Canada from the time of his or her landing to the date of examination--plus the remaining days in the "Five-Year Period"--must total at least 730. Otherwise, the PR is in breach of his Residency Obligation and runs the risk of losing PR status.

There are exceptions to the 730 days in Canada requirement as set out in IRPA Section 28 (2)(ii) and (iii). The days spent outside of Canada are counted as In-Canada days if:

* the PR is out of Canada accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse;

* out of Canada while employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business; or

* employed by the federal or province governments posted outside of Canada.

Affluent Asian families longing for the good living conditions of Canada...