Immigration Forum / Canada / October 2006

I am a US Citizen and my wife was a Canadian PR (not a citizen) when we
married.  She had been a PR for a little over a year when I sponsored
her to come to the US, and she has been here for a little less than two
years.

Recently, we've entertained thoughts of moving back to Canada.
According to what I've read, the new 2002 immigration law eliminated the
concept of "intent to abandon Canada" and she is free to move back,
re-establish residency, and sponsor me and our infant as long as she
hasn't been absent for more than 3 years.

The questions I have are:

1. Does she need to officially "declare" to the Canadian government in
some way that she has returned to Canada permanently, or can she just
quietly come back, get a job, and initiate the sponsorship process?

2. Granted the law (and CIC's web site) says she's still a PR if she's
been gone for less than 3 of the last 5 years, is there any likelihood
the customs people at the border will give her a hard time?  (She told
me of a friend that "almost didn't get back in" because she had been
gone for a few years, but I suspect this may have been before 2002.)

3. If she were to sponsor our child from within Canada, can she show up
at the border and state that the child will be sponsored, or does she
need to work that out with the Canadian embassy in advance with some
sort of special visa (child is born in the US)?

4. Do I understand correctly that it would take far longer for her to
sponsor me from within Canada than if I was sponsored from outside?

Thanks very much for your help.