People with permanent resident status in Canada can apply to obtain their first Permanent Resident Card, Renewal, and Replace a lost/stolen/destroyed/or never received PR Card.
To be eligible to apply and obtain a PR Card, you must:
- Be a permanent resident of Canada;
- Be physically present in Canada (730 days in the preceding 5 years);
- Not be under an effective removal order;
- Not be a Canadian citizen or a registered Indian under the Indian Act; and
- Not be convicted of an offense related to the misuse of a PR card for those applicants under the age of 18.
A clear and legible photocopy of one of the following is needed:
- Applicant’s birth certificate (showing the applicant’s name, date of birth, place of birth and the names of the parents or adoptive parents) or
- Legal documentation proving guardianship, if the applicant has a legal guardian.
Permanent Residents seeking to re-enter Canada after time spent out of the country, must present their valid PR Card as evidence of their status while entering Canada via any commercial transport carrier at the port of entry . To enter Canada from an outside country and not having a valid PR card to return, you will need to obtain a travel document from a Canadian visa office. It is important to know that nothing else will suffice; in particular, the old landing papers (IMM 1000) previously issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. The PR Card is usually valid for a five year period, therefore it is important to know the expiry date on your PR Card and apply in advance of the expiry date. You must be in Canada in order to apply for your PR. In order to travel from outside to Canada, you can’t use your PR card because it’s not your travel document/passport. You must still use your old passport (and any visas that you must have) to enter any foreign country including the United States. The Permanent Residency Card is not a travel document, but an identification document to state your status in Canada. You may use it to get back into the country along with your valid passport.
Be sure you meet all of the obligations of a Permanent Resident, as described in section 28 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).
This means that permanent residents must:
- Be physically present in Canada for at least 730 days out of the five year period; or
- Have been travelling with a Canadian citizen who is their spouse, common-law partner or, in the case of a child, their parent; or
- Outside Canada, be employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business or in the federal public administration or the public service of a province; or
- Outside Canada, be accompanying a permanent resident who is their spouse, common-law partner, or in the case of a child, their parent and who is employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business or in the federal public administration or the public service of a province.
- Keep evidence of your entries and exits to and from Canada, such as airline tickets and travel itinerary. Even keeping a list of your dates of travel will be helpful when applying for your PR Card renewal as you will need to demonstrate that you comply with requirements of section 28 of the IRPA.
- Ensure that your PR Card renewal application is completed in full and all of the necessary supporting documentation has been submitted. If your application is incomplete, it will be returned to you. If you do not submit the appropriate supporting documentation to demonstrate that you have met your permanent residency obligations, there could be serious repercussions.
- Apply any time before your PR Card expires. Often permanent residents think that they need to wait a month or two before the expiry date of their PR Card before they can submit their renewal application, not true. A permanent resident of Canada can submit their renewal application at any time, so think ahead if you’re planning on travelling in the future.
Exceptions When Renewing Your Canadian Permanent Resident Card
There are certain exceptions to the residency requirement mentioned above for those travelling with a Canadian family or business in certain cases.
A Canadian permanent resident (landed immigrant) needs to satisfy the residency obligations by being physically present in Canada for at least 730 days out of the preceding five-year period or:
- The time the Canadian permanent resident spends abroad with a Canadian citizen spouse, common-law partner, or parent will count toward their Canadian residency.
- The time the Canadian permanent resident spends abroad who was employed by a Canadian business, or in the public service of Canada, or of a Canadian province, and then this will also count toward their residency.
- The time the Canadian permanent resident spends abroad with a Canadian citizen spouse, common-law partner, or parent employed by a Canadian business or in public service of Canada or a Canadian province, than the permanent resident can also calculate this period as part of their residence.
You can renew your Canadian Permanent Resident Card considering on how many days you have resided in Canada and whether you qualify under one of the exemptions mentioned above. In case none of the above applies, there is a possibility of making a case for renewal of your Canadian Permanent Resident Card on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds.
Renewing P.R. Cards On Humanitarian Grounds
When a permanent resident needs to renew his or her Permanent Resident Card but has not met the residency requirement of being in Canada for at least 2 years out of the preceding 5 years, the application can then be made on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds, by explaining the extenuating circumstances as to why the permanent resident was not able to meet the residency requirements. If the immigration authorities are satisfied that there are sufficient Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds to justify the renewing of the P. R. card, they can renew it, even though the permanent resident has not met the residency requirement.
Verification Of Status
We provide application services for verification of status documents.
Questionnaires: Determination Of Permanent Resident Status
Upon making an application for a PR Card, if an officer doubts that the applicant may not have complied with section 28 of IRPA, can issue a questionnaire to be completed in order to determine his or her permanent resident status in Canada. Usually 30 days are given to respond to this questionnaire. For a list of required documents to prove your physical residence in Canada, usually 30 days are given to respond to this questionnaire. For a list of required documents to prove your physical residence in Canada, contact us.
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