Residency Obligations Appeals

Residency obligations appeals (Loss of Permanent Resident Status Appeals)

Permanent residence status may be lost if a permanent resident failed to comply with the residency. To maintain his/her permanent residence status, a person must physically reside in Canada for 730 days out of every five years.

The residency obligation must be met for each five-year period at examination at a port-of-entry (POE):

(1) if a person has been a permanent resident for less than five years, he/she must meet the residency obligation immediately after becoming a permanent resident; and

(2) if a person has been a permanent resident for five years or more, he/she must meet the residency obligation immediately before the examination.

Note, there are several exceptions to the residency obligation where a permanent resident resides as follows:

(1) outside Canada while accompanying a Canadian citizen who is his spouse or common law partner or, in the case of a child, his parent;

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

(3) outside Canada while accompanying a permanent resident who is his spouse or common law partner or, in the case of a child, his parent and who is employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business or in the federal public administration or the public service of a province.

Inside Canada

If the permanent resident is inside Canada, and the officer concludes the 730-day physical residence obligation has not been met, the office will issue a departure order. The departure order will require the permanent resident to leave Canada. However, the decision to issue a departure order may be appealed to the IAD.

Outside Canada

A permanent resident outside Canada may appeal an officer’s decision that he has lost his permanent resident status. To do so, the appellant must provide the IAD with a notice of appeal along with the officer’s written decision, which must be de-livered to the registry closest to where the appellant last resided in Canada within 60 days after receiving the written decision.

A permanent resident shall be issued a travel document if an officer is satisfied that:

(1) they were physically present in Canada at least once in the last 365 days;

(2) they have made an appeal; or

(3) the period for making an appeal has not expired.

When a permanent resident is not eligible for a travel document, he/she may apply to the IAD requesting to return to Canada for their hearing. Applications must be filed no later than 60 days after the notice of appeal is filed. If the IAD is satisfied that the presence of the permanent resident at the hearing is necessary, they will order that the permanent resident physically appear at the hearing and will issue a facilitation visa.