A permanent resident of Canada will satisfy the residency obligation if they are physically present in Canada, residing outside of Canada with a Canadian spouse or if they have a qualifying employment relationship with a valid Canadian employer outside of Canada for 730 days in a five-year period.

But if a permanent resident cannot meet these requirements, that person will have a final opportunity to maintain status by also making Humanitarian and Compassionate arguments. If an applicant falls short of the 730-day requirement, an immigration officer must consider Humanitarian and Compassionate considerations relating to the permanent resident, taking into account the best interests of a child directly affected by the officer’s decision. These considerations must justify the permanent resident keeping their status even though they have failed to meet the residency obligation.

There is no exact list of what types of factors an officer will consider. Each case is judged on its own merits, making it very difficult to predict when an applicant will be successful in an application based on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds and when they will be unsuccessful. Some of the factors which may be important include family medical situations overseas which have kept a permanent resident out of Canada, custody battles or family breakdown outside of Canada, schooling or even mandatory military service. The options are endless, but the documentation is usually quite finite.

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For further information with respect to your Canadian immigration, we invite you to contact our experienced immigration representatives.