Canada Permanent Resident Card

Canada permanent residents are lucky fellows and not much different from the citizens of the country, in terms of the rights and facilities given by Ottawa.

Canada Permanent Resident Card

They need to carry their Canada Permanent Resident Card while they move outside the nation. The card is basically the evidence that they are a permanent resident of the Maple Leaf Country. While leaving the nation, the residents require the Canada Permanent Resident Card to gain re-admission into the nation on a profit-making vehicle, such as an aircraft, boat, bus or train.

Canada Permanent Resident Card

Keeping the card is mandatory for the Canadian permanent residents to show their permanent resident standing. The permanent residents–who do not possess a PR Card, or who are not carrying their PR card while moving outside the nation–will require getting a Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD), prior to coming back to the nation. This is required to fulfill the eTA conditions.

In case you do not carry your PR Card or the PRTD, you may not be prevented from boarding your flight, train, bus or boat to the Maple Leaf Country. It is your duty to validate that your PR Card still has the validity when you come back from travel outside the nation, and to submit an application for a fresh PR Card, prior to your present card loses its validity. However, in case your PR Card loses its validity, the same does not automatically denote you have lost the permanent resident position in the country.

Canada Permanent Resident Card–Are You Qualified?

It is possible to submit an application for a PR Card in case you are physically present in the nation; do not have the citizenship of the country; have permanent resident standing; have not been asked by the Administration of the Maple Leaf Country to depart from the nation; and are not found guilty of any wrongdoing related to the misappropriation of a PR Card.

In case you are a citizen, you cannot have (and don’t require) a PR card even as in case you are a permanent resident and acquire citizenship, it is mandatory that you return your PR Card at the citizenship observance.

How long does it take to get a PR card?

Usually, it takes roughly 45 days to process the PR Cards for the fresh permanent residents after the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) obtains a complete application package from those who have catered to their residency conditions. Petitions for renewed PR Cards normally take 49 days. But, it may take many months to process the PR Card petitions. So, be prepared for this and permit a great deal of time for your PR petition to be processed.

Check the latest application processing times on the official website of the IRCC!

How will I obtain my PR Card?

In case you happen to be a fresh permanent resident, the IRCC will mail you the PR Card after you land in the country. There is no requirement whatsoever to submit an application for a PR Card in case you happen to be a fresh permanent resident.

In case you have failed to offer a mailing address when you received the permanent resident status, send the IRCC your address, via the IRCC’s online tool, inside 180 days of the day on which you received the PR status. In case you fail to do it, your PR may be revoked even as the requirement of re-applying could crop-up.

In case you fail to get your PR Card inside six weeks of sharing with the IRCC your Canadian address, inform the IRCC. In case you are an existing permanent resident–who obtained their PR Card earlier–you will, most probably, also get your renewed PR Card, via mail. Still, the likelihood of being asked to pick up your PR card at an IRCC office cannot be ruled out.

In case you are indiscriminately picked up to pick up your PR Card, the IRCC will get in touch with you, to plan an appointment. Though you could postpone your appointment in case required, it is essential that you pick up your Canada Permanent Resident Card inside 180 days, or else there could be a need of re-applying on your part.