Our family got Canadian Permanent Residence and a Record of Landing in 1995. I traveled back to Hong Kong and returned to Canada on a regular basis to meet the legal requirements. In 2000, I stayed in a Hospital (I have medical records) for some months and I did not to return to Canada for few years. My spouse and children are Canadian Citizens now. I only hold a Landing Record.
How I can get Canadian citizenship or my Permanent Resident Card? My spouse is a worker, two children are studying in University and will graduate in 2010 in the summer.
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You can apply for your Permanent Resident Card every 5 years provided you meet the residency requirements which are generally living in Canada for at least 2 years in a 5 year period. For Canadian citizenship, the general rule is 3 years of Canadian residency within the last 4 years of applying. There are of course exceptions to both rules pertaining to Canadian permanent residency and Canadian citizenship.
In the case of your hospital stay, if you do not meet the regular requirements, you may still qualify for Canadian citizenship or a PR Card renewal based on humanitarian grounds depending on the circumstances.
President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
