Operational Bulletin 243 - October 1, 2010

Assessing Compliance with the Residency Obligation for Employment Outside Canada

Issue

The purpose of this operational bulletin is to provide guidance on assessing compliance with the residency obligation when processing applications for permanent resident travel documents (PRTDs) at missions abroad or applications for Permanent Resident (PR) Cards in Canada.

Background

When applicants claim to have been employed overseas by a Canadian business when applying for a PRTD or a PR Card, officers should be guided by subparagraph 28(2)(a)(iii) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

For the purpose of satisfying the residency obligation, IRPA 28(2)(a)(iii) states:

1. A permanent resident complies with the residency obligation with respect to a five-year period if, on each of a total of at least 730 days in that five-year period, they are:
   
   (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

Subsection 61(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) states that, for the purposes of subparagraphs 28(2)(a)(iii) of the IRPA, a Canadian business is:

1. A corporation that is incorporated under the laws of Canada or of a province and that has an ongoing operation in Canada

Processing Guidelines

Officers are reminded that processing all applications for a PRTD or PR Card must be conducted on a case by case basis.

1. This is to clarify that a corporation under subsection 61(1) of the IRPR includes non-profit organizations.
    
2. Subsection 61(2) clarifies that an entity that serves primarily to allow a PR to comply with their residency obligation while residing outside Canada is NOT a Canadian business for the purpose of 61(1).
    
3. An officer may request sufficient information/documentary evidence from the applicant in order to make an assessment of whether the residence obligation has been met. Such documentation would typically be related to the Canadian business in order to assess R61(1) and R61(2); or to the applicant in order to assess the link to the business. Some examples of supporting documentation include:
    
   • Canadian business (Articles of Incorporation);
   • Canadian business (Corporate annual reports);
   • Canadian business (Corporation Notice of Assessment or financial statements);
   • Applicant’s contract as an Employee Assigned Abroad;
   • Applicant’s job description;
   • Applicant’s record of salary received.