# Hello & Intro



## AndynLeona (Apr 7, 2015)

Hello everyone, we are Andy & Leona Cavanagh and our two children Chloe (15) & Adam (12). We currently live and work in Saudi Arabia and have been 'expat' status for over two decades. I (Andy) work in aviation and Leona, my wife, is a Registered Nurse & Midwife and a Certified Phlebotomist who also has a small Aesthetics business here in Saudi Arabia. We have already achieved PR status as of February 2013 (landed immigrant status in July 2013) and hope to take up full residency in July of 2016. We're waiting until then so our eldest can finish her GCSE's at boarding school in the UK. We are aiming to live in Okotoks, AB and have already established a friendship there, we also have friends in High River and Brooks. 
I served in HM Royal Air Force and continued my work in a military aircraft environment working for the Royal Saudi Air Force on a G2G contract. Recently I have expanded my skill sets into Product Safety Management and now carry out Risk Analysis and Hazard Management. Leona continues to grow her Aesthetics Business and administers Botox, Dermal Fillers, Mesotherapy through Dermal Roller techniques and Chemical Peels. We are both very excited at the prospect of taking up our residency in Okotoks but at the same time are more than a little nervous of the changes we will encounter leaving Saudi Arabia, we are told the culture shock of leaving can often be more dramatic than coming here in the first place. We will be grateful for any advice and guidance any of you can offer that will ease our transition into our new home in Canada. We are looking forward to establishing new friendships and hopefully long term contacts with new people.


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

I am a little bit concerned... You became landed immigrant in July 2013, and only intend to return to live here in July 2016?
I am afraid that your status to live and work in Canada became invalid, as the new rules are:

To renew your PR card, you are not allowed to spend >1,095 days outside Canada between July 2013 and July 2018 (the 5 years your original PR card is valid).

You can't solve that problem by becoming a citizen, as you are not allowed to spend > 1,095 days outside the country between July 2013 and July 2017 (4 years).

Or did I miss something?


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## AndynLeona (Apr 7, 2015)

*Oh Boy*

Oh boy, you got me worried now, I was of the opinion that we have to spend a minimum of 2 years from our first PR card 5 year period inside Canada, I.E. when we move to Canada (or hope to) in July 2016 we will still have at least two years to run on our initial PR card. I'm going to do some more checking online, but I had checked only last year and interpreted as above........


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## AndynLeona (Apr 7, 2015)

HI again EHVB, I've just had a look on the CIC Website and the following is what I found and interpret as per my post above, or am I missing something? 

Minimum residency obligations

You must meet the residency obligation to obtain a Permanent Resident Card.

If you have been a permanent resident for five (5) years or more

you must have been physically present in Canada for a minimum of 730 days within the past five (5) years.
If you have been a permanent resident for less than five (5) years

you must show that you will be able to meet the minimum of 730 days of physical presence in Canada within five (5) years of the date you became a permanent resident.


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

I am filling out our renewal of PR cards this week, and this is what I found:
I started here:Applying for a Permanent Resident Card (PR Card) - Initial application, replacement or renewal (IMM 5445)
Don't look at Appendix A, but in the Instruction guide
Applying for a Permanent Resident Card (PR Card) - Initial application, replacement or renewal (IMM 5445) and scroll down to the point where you read 'If you were outside Canada for 1095 days or more in the past five (5) years':


> If you were outside Canada for 1095 days or more in the past five (5) years
> 
> Provide if applicable:
> 
> ...


You would think that there is a 'problem' when you were >1,095 out of the country?

Scroll further down to 
Application for a Permanent Resident Card (IMM 5444)
-> question 21:


> Your Travel History: You must list all your absences from Canada in the last five (5) years, or since becoming a permanent resident if less than five (5) years ago. Fill in the dates of the period that should be assessed.
> 
> Absences include vacations, absences due to employment, trips to the USA and any other time you left Canada.
> 
> If you have been outside Canada for 1095 days or more, complete Section D. See Appendix A for more information on meeting the residency obligation.


Again they are talking about being absent for over 1,095 days.
And they refer to Appendix A, where all the sudden they start talking about 730 days... and mentions what proof you have to send in if you spend >730 days outside the country. 

Another page: Understanding Permanent Resident Status:
Understand permanent resident status


> Time spent living in Canada
> When you are a permanent resident, you can live outside of Canada, but must live in Canada for at least two years in a five-year period. If you live outside of Canada for longer, you may lose your permanent resident status.


I hope someone else her can give us some feedback, based on recent regulations. A lot of things changed over the last year or so...


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## AndynLeona (Apr 7, 2015)

*PR Validity Queries.......*

HI again, I really appreciate your concern but I still understand it that as we will not have exceeded the 1095 outside Canada during our first PR period, by the time we actually move to Okotoks and that we will be able to live inside Canada for in excess of 730 days we will still qualify to renew our PR card at the first five year milestone. As you say, I do hope that someone else will read this thread and perhaps have an understanding of what we are discussing and shed some more light on it for us. I have a contact in Toronto who is an immigration lawyer. I might drop her a line and get a definitive answer from her. In the meantime, I am grateful to you for demonstrating your concerns, THANK YOU!


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