Applying for a travel document (permanent resident abroad) (IMM 5529)

Residency obligation

Calculating days present in Canada

To meet the residency obligation, you must have been physically present in Canada for a minimum of 730 days within the past five years. If this is not the case, you may also count the days you spent outside of Canada in the following circumstances:

A. Accompanying a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident outside Canada

Accompanying a Canadian citizen

Each day that you are accompanying a Canadian citizen outside Canada is considered a day for which you satisfy the residency obligation provided that the person you are accompanying is your spouse, common-law partner or parent (if you are a child under 22 years of age).

The total number of days that you spend accompanying a Canadian citizen may be added to the total number of days for which you otherwise satisfy the residency obligation.

Accompanying a permanent resident

Each day that you are accompanying a permanent resident outside Canada is considered a day for which you satisfy the residency obligations provided that:

• the person you are accompanying is your spouse, common-law partner or parent (if you are a child under 22 years of age); and
• the person you are accompanying is in compliance with their own residency obligation.

The total number of days that you spend accompanying a permanent resident may be added to the total number of days for which you otherwise satisfy the residency obligations.

Evidence that you are accompanying a Canadian citizen or permanent resident

You must provide supporting documents to prove that:

• the person you are accompanying is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;
• you are the spouse, common-law partner or child of that person; and
• if applicable, the permanent resident you are accompanying meets his or her own residency obligation.

Refer to the Document Checklist for a list of suggested supporting documents.

B. Employment outside Canada

Acceptable employment

Each day that you are working outside Canada is considered a day for which you satisfy the residency obligation provided that your employment meets the following criteria. You are an employee of, or under contract to, a Canadian business or the public service of Canada or of a province, and are assigned on a full-time basis to:

• a position outside Canada;
• an affiliated enterprise outside Canada; or
• a client of the Canadian business or the public service outside Canada.

Canadian business

For the purposes of this application, a Canadian business is defined as:

• a corporation that is incorporated under the laws of Canada or of a province and that has an ongoing operation in Canada; or
• an enterprise that has an ongoing operation in Canada and is capable of generating revenue and is carried out in anticipation of profit, and in which a majority of voting or ownership interests is held by Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or Canadian businesses as defined above; or
• an organization or enterprise created by the laws of Canada or a province.

Evidence of acceptable employment

You must provide supporting documents indicating that your employment outside of Canada meets the requirements of the residency obligation. Refer to the Document Checklist for a list of supporting documents.

C. Humanitarian and compassionate grounds

If you or a family member is unable to meet the residency obligation, it may still be possible to retain your status as a permanent resident of Canada. You will need to present evidence that, due to circumstances beyond your control or due to factors that have kept you living outside Canada, you wish to have humanitarian and compassionate grounds considered in the assessment of your application for a travel document.

Factors that might justify such a consideration would be those resulting hardships you would face if you lost your permanent resident status, and that would be unusual and undeserved, or disproportionate. You must provide proof:

• that there are compelling humanitarian and compassionate factors in your individual circumstances that merit the retention of your permanent resident status;
• describing why you were not able to comply with the residency obligation; and
• that the extent of any hardship that the loss of residency status may cause to one or more family members who would be directly affected by this decision, taking into account the best interests of a child directly affected by the determination.

To have your application considered on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, you must complete question 18 of the application form. There are no guidelines on what supporting documents you should submit for consideration on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. You are free to make submissions on any aspect of your personal circumstances that you feel would warrant retention of your permanent residence.

An officer will weigh the factors of your unique case against the extent to which you did not comply with your residency obligation and make a decision based on the evidence in your file.

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