Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 No 21 | Page 10

IMMIGRATION & Mortgage 10 The Notary Corner By Editha Corrales Nelson PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY November 1 - 15, 2018 UNDERSTAND PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS Immigration Consultant, Notary Public, Mediation / Arbitrator Canada’s entry requirements are changing Permanent residents (PR) of Canada must carry and present their valid PR card or permanent resident travel document (PRTD) when board- ing a flight to Canada, or travelling to Canada on any other commercial carrier. If you do not carry your PR card or PRTD, you may not be able to board your flight, train, bus or boat to Canada. It is your responsibility to ensure that your PR card is still valid when you return from travel outside Cana- da, and to apply for a new PR card when your current card expires. A permanent resident is some- one who has been given permanent resident status by immigrating to Canada, but is not a Canadian citizen. Permanent residents are citizens of other countries. A person in Canada temporarily, like a student or foreign worker, is not a permanent resident. Refugees who are resettled from overseas become permanent resi- dents through the Government-As- sisted Refugee Program or the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program. Someone who makes a refugee claim in Canada does not become a permanent resident at that time. To become one, the Immigration and Refugee Board must first approve their claim. Then, they must apply for and get permanent resident status. THE PERMANENT RESIDENT CARD (PR CARD) If you travel outside Canada, the permanent resident card is your proof that you are a permanent resident of Canada. If you leave Canada, you will need this card to re-enter the country on a commercial vehicle, like an air- plane, boat, train or bus. Canadian permanent residents need to show their permanent resi- dent card when travelling to Canada in order to prove their permanent resi- dent status. Permanent residents who do not have a PR card, or who are not carrying their PR card when travelling outside the country, will need to obtain a Permanent Resident Travel Docu- ment before returning to Canada by air mode in order to comply with eTA requirements. If your permanent resident card expires, it does not mean you have lost permanent resident status. WHAT PERMANENT RESI- DENTS CAN DO As a permanent resident, you have the right to: • get most social benefits that Canadian citizens receive, including health care coverage, • live, work or study anywhere in Canada, • apply for Canadian citizen- ship, • protection under Canadian law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. You must pay taxes and respect all Canadian laws at the federal, pro- vincial and municipal levels. WHAT PERMANENT RESI- DENTS CANNOT DO You are not allowed to: • vote or run for political office, • hold some jobs that need a high-level security clearance. TIME SPENT LIVING IN CANA- DA When you are a permanent resi- dent, 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. For more information on how long you have to live in Canada, see Appendix A: Residency obligation of the PR card application package. LOSING YOUR PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS Losing your permanent resident status does not happen automatically. You cannot lose your permanent resi- dent status simply by living outside of Canada long enough that you don’t meet the residency requirement. Un- less you have gone through an official process, you have not lost or given up your permanent resident status, even though you may not be eligible to return to Canada as a permanent resident. You may lose your permanent resident status if: • An adjudicator determines that you are no longer a permanent resident following an inquiry • A visa officer determines you do not meet the required residency when you apply for a permanent resi- dent travel document or temporary resident travel document. You may lose your permanent resident status in one of the ways de- scribed above if: • you do not live in Canada for two out of five years; • you are convicted of a serious crime and told to leave Canada; or • you become a Canadian citi- zen. You do not lose your perma- nent resident status if your PR card expires. VOLUNTARILY GIVING UP (RE- NOUNCING) PERMANENT RESI- DENT STATUS Losing your permanent resident status does not happen automati- cally. There may come a time when you no longer want to be a permanent resident of Canada. If so, you can ap- ply to voluntarily give up (renounce) your permanent resident status. For example you: • know you have not met your residency obligations by being out- side of Canada for a long period of time, and • would like to visit Canada, and • do not want to wait for a visa officer to do a formal assessment of your permanent resident status OR • would like to avoid processing delays at the Port of Entry You may not be able to enter Canada until your permanent resident status is resolved either by receiving a Permanent Resident Travel Document or by voluntarily giving up your per- manent resident status. If you know you no longer want to be a permanent resident of Cana- da, you can apply to voluntarily give up your permanent residence status. ** Strictly taken from cic web- site A Canadian Certified Immi- gration Consultant, Certified Senior Advisor and a Notary Public in the City of Burnaby, Editha Corrales Nelson’s preferred areas of practice are Pow- ers of Attorney, Wills Preparation, In- ternational Legal Documents, Name Changes, Affidavits, Letters of Invita- tion, Statutory Declarations, Drafting of Business Contracts and other no- tarial services. For an appointment, please call: 604-777-2757. The following should not be construed as providing legal advice and information in this column is in- tended only as a general guide and should not be applied to specific cir- cumstances without further consul- tation. For more information on the subject, contact Editha Corrales Nel- son at 604-777-2757 or email: cor- [email protected]. ‘We are living in fear and limbo, we need Landed Status Now!’ Migrant Care Workers Release Report CANADA - Migrant Care Workers in Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Montreal are jointly releasing a report on Sunday, November 18, 2018 calling for immediate action to stop fears of mass deportation and ensure permanent resident status on arrival and family unity for migrant Care Workers. Care Workers are calling for a fundamental overhaul of the program as a matter of fairness and human rights. A care strategy also ensures a healthy population in Canada and upholds the integrity of the Canadian immigration system. This historic report is developed by Care Workers themselves from the experiences of working and living under the Caregiver Program. The Caregiver Program is set to expire in November 2019. Tens of thousands of racialized women who came to Canada with the promise of living in Canada permanently with their families are in limbo, in fear of deportation, yet still full of hope for fairness. WHAT: Report Launch: “Care Workers Voices for Fairness and Landed Status” WHERE, WHEN, MEDIA CONTACTS: Toronto: Nov 18, 11am, Suite 203, 720 Spadina Avenue, 647-782- 6633 (Caregivers Action Centre & Caregiver Connections) Edmonton: Nov 18, 1pm, CUPE 474 Hall - 10989 124 Street, 780-937-5908 (Alberta Careworkers Association & Migrante Alberta) Vancouver: Nov 18, 10am, BCGEU, 130-2920 Virtual Way, 604- 618-3649 (Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregivers Rights) Montreal: Nov 18, 10am, 4755 Van Horne, Bureau 110, 514-238- 0089 (PINAY Quebec) WHO: Landed Status Now Campaign, Migrant Care Workers, Legal experts and Women leaders BACKGROUND For over a hundred years, women workers like us have come to Canada to provide care for families, people with disabilities and the elderly. In the last 60 years, that work has been through temporary work programs. The current Caregiver Program was a WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM pilot program created in 2014 by the previous Conservative government without consultation with Caregivers, and is incredibly flawed. Only 1,955 Care Workers and dependents were granted permanent residency in the first 36 months under the current Caregiver program. This is in stark contrast to the average 10,740 Care Workers and their dependants received permanent resident status every year under the previous Live-In Caregiver program. If this immensely exclusionary program is allowed to lapse, all Care Workers entering Canada today will not have access to permanent residency and may have to make the difficult decision to become undocumented. Caregiving CONT NEXT PAGE