Going through landing process but you cant actually move yet

[Bailies]

I have just went through my medicals and expect my final permanent resident documents any day now after over 3 years waiting. We need to sell our home in order to clear debts in UK and have enough proof of funds for the family and give us a decent start in canada. Due to the current economic situation in the UK I am worried that we will not be able to do this any time soon and have recently realised that we have less than a year to do this before our permits expire.

Our immigration consultants mentioned that we should be able to go to Canada for a holiday but go through customs as if we are moving there and got through the landing process and should be ok so long as we live in Canada for 2 of the subsequent 5 years but this all sounds a bit unusual. I would love to hear from someone in a similar situation or anyone that has gone through this route.

[Richter]

Your consultant is quite correct. Land before the visa expires then return to the UK. You must then spend two out of the following five years living in Canada.

[sam-in-okotoks]

When you get the PR visa, it is normally valid until a year after you did your medicals. That can give you several months before you have to use the visa and "land" in Canada. When you land, you activate your PR status and normally apply for your PR card at the same time. The PR card will be mailed to your Canadian address in about a month to 6 weeks. If you don't have time to hang around for it, you can give the address of a friend or relative in Canada who will mail you the card when it arrives so you have it when you want to go to Canada again. If you don't have a friend or relative in Canada, you can tell them to hold off on the PR card because you have to leave again to take care of things in old country and when you want to return to Canada, you need to apply for a PR travel document to enter. From the time you activate your PR status, you are allowed to be outside Canada for up to 1095 days over a 5 year period before lose your PR status for lack of interest.