# OAS/GIS for sponsored immigrants



## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

My mother is sponsored immigrant. On the official website I found
"If you are a sponsored immigrant, you are not eligible to receive the GIS during your sponsorship period unless you have 10 years of residence in Canada after the age of 18".
Could anyone please help me to understand what "10 years of residence in Canada " means? It's 10 years from date she obtained legal status or 10 years she lived physically in Canada. For example if my mother every year (during those 10 years) travelled abroad, she will be eligible for OAS/GIS after 10 years or 10 years + 20 months that she stayed abroad?


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

I think any year that she was not resident does not count after she was a legal resident. I would think a year of residency would be being present for most of that year. Maybe a trip abroad but certainly not a return to her former home for more than a month.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

kcowan said:


> I think any year that she was not resident does not count after she was a legal resident. I would think a year of residency would be being present for most of that year. Maybe a trip abroad but certainly not a return to her former home for more than a month.


My mom doesn't go abroad for full year, so far on average , 2 months every year she goes to visit her other son in other country. But in 10 years , she will be combined out of Canada about 20 months.... Cannot find answer anyone on official websites and there are no Contact Us email at servicecanada


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## Dogger1953 (Dec 14, 2012)

gibor said:


> My mom doesn't go abroad for full year, so far on average , 2 months every year she goes to visit her other son in other country. But in 10 years , she will be combined out of Canada about 20 months.... Cannot find answer anyone on official websites and there are no Contact Us email at servicecanada


Residing in Canada is defined in the OAS act as "makes his home in Canada and normally lives in Canada." As long as your mother meets that definition, temporary absences for 2 months every year would not interrupt her residence, so she should be eligible for GIS the month following her 10-year anniversary of arrival in Canada (which is likely when she will also become eligible for OAS, unless she qualified earlier under an international agreement?).


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## buaya (Jan 7, 2011)

She should bring her passport and any other expired ones that she has to show that while she had been traveling out of the country frequently during the 10 years, it had never been for long extended periods. I applied for my OAS and when to a Service Canada office. It was very simple and that was the explanation I got.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

I know that Service Canada relies on what you report. DW had been away for most of the 80s, but had the residence needed by adding years before her absence. Hopefully your mom travelled home using her Canadian passport?


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

kcowan said:


> I know that Service Canada relies on what you report. DW had been away for most of the 80s, but had the residence needed by adding years before her absence. Hopefully your mom travelled home using her Canadian passport?


She still doesn't have Canadian passport, she has only Canadian Permanent resident card and travels with this card and Israeli passport.... "it had never been for long extended periods" - it's a very flexible statement.... She was about 3-4 months one year, 2 months another year, 1.5 last year.... She will be 10 years in canada only in 7 years, but she wants to split her savings thus that it will be enough until she start getting OAS/GIS. the point is that she even doesn't remember exact dates....probably we need to have exact track of dates when she abroad? It's kinda confusing.... Does Service Canada really checks all dates when she was out of Canada? She just can give wrong info without meaning and get in trouble?
I've read that to get Canadian citizenship, person should present Physically in Canada for 3 years excluding time when person was abroad. With Service Canada it's really not clear


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## Dogger1953 (Dec 14, 2012)

gibor said:


> She still doesn't have Canadian passport, she has only Canadian Permanent resident card and travels with this card and Israeli passport.... "it had never been for long extended periods" - it's a very flexible statement.... She was about 3-4 months one year, 2 months another year, 1.5 last year.... She will be 10 years in canada only in 7 years, but she wants to split her savings thus that it will be enough until she start getting OAS/GIS. the point is that she even doesn't remember exact dates....probably we need to have exact track of dates when she abroad? It's kinda confusing.... Does Service Canada really checks all dates when she was out of Canada? She just can give wrong info without meaning and get in trouble?
> I've read that to get Canadian citizenship, person should present Physically in Canada for 3 years excluding time when person was abroad. With Service Canada it's really not clear


gilbor - For better or for worse, the definition of residence for OAS purposes is grey, as I detailed above. If she is indeed "making her home in Canada" and she lives here more than she lives anywhere else, Service Canada is likely to consider her to be a resident of Canada. If so, the temporary absences that you describe will be deemed not to interrupt that residence, and she will meet the 10-year requirement on the 10th anniversary of her arrival in Canada.
I wish that I could give you a more definite answer than that, but I can't. Nevertheless, as others have said, the better records that she keeps on her presence/absence from Canada during this period, and the more that she does to establish her permanent ties to Canada versus Israel (e.g., home ownership etc), the more likely it is that she won't have any difficulties convincing Service Canada that she meets the OAS definition of being resident in Canada.


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## namelessone (Sep 28, 2012)

As long as she doesn't travel more than 6 months, it's still counted as residence in Canada.


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