Moving Back - No PR card - How to do that?

Hi,

I'm hoping someone can offer some experience or expertise on this. My mother is an American citizen, who was granted landed immigrant status, as it was then called, in 1969 when our family came here to Canada. About 15 years ago my mother moved back to the US and now she would like to move back to Canada with her American husband. She does not have a permanent resident card as she was not living here at the time that the cards were introduced. Her proof of landed status is the document from 1969. She hasn't ever lost her status as a permanent resident, however she has not been meeting the residency requirement - so hasn't applied to get a pr card while still living in the US. She does have all her id that she had while living in Ontario. If she tries to come here with all her personal effects, is she going to have difficulty at the border due to the fact that she doesn't have the pr card and has not been living here? What is the best way to make this move?

Any thoughts are appreciated!

My understanding is that you have to live in Canada for 2 out of every 5 years to maintain permanent resident status in Canada. If she hasn't been living in Canada for some time I believe they would consider her to have abandoned her permanent resident (landed immigrant) status.

Yes it's two years out of the last five, so she hasn't got LPR status in Canada anymore. Can't apply for citizenship either, has to be physically present in Canada for at least three out of the last four years to do that.

You'd have to sponsor her for a family reunification visa, they're not quick to get, takes a couple of years last I heard. Possibly there's some sort of way to get it faster given her former status, you'd have to talk to CIC:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/informatio ... family.asp

Thanks for the comments! Yes, the problem is that she hasn't met that residency requirement. I got some advice today that while she hasn't yet had her status revoked, she could expect to have the status revoked if she were to apply for a card or anything else. They can effectively override the failure to meet the residency requirement on compassionate grounds but I'm told that is only in extenuating circumstances. I'm still trying to figure out if there are any other options as she'd like to come here sooner than the few years it would take to start over and be sponsored...