A Canadian Permanent Resident is an immigrant who has been granted permanent resident status after immigrating to Canada. You should note that a Canadian Permanent Resident is not a citizen of Canada but a citizen of some other country in the world. There are some requirements that a Canadian Permanent Resident has to maintain in order to retain their status as a Permanent Resident.
There are many immigration pathways through which a candidate can attain the status of a Permanent Resident. These pathways include Business Immigration, Economic Immigration, Sponsorship, and Refugee/Humanitarian Programs.
Once a person is approved for Canadian permanent residence, they are eligible to apply for a Canadian permanent resident card (PR card). This card indicates a person’s PR status in Canada and can be used to travel in and out of the country. Applications for permanent resident cards are submitted to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Most permanent resident cards are valid for five years, though occasionally PR cards are only valid for one year. Permanent residents are encouraged to keep track of their expiration date and apply to renew their Canadian permanent resident card within six months of their card expiring.
If a permanent resident is outside of Canada and wishing to enter Canada they may apply for a permanent resident travel document (PRTD) if they do not have a valid PR card. The PRTD is usually valid for a single entry to Canada, allowing the permanent resident to enter the country before applying for a PR card, or PR card renewal.
In order to maintain permanent resident status in Canada, a person must meet a residency obligation. The residency obligation refers to a person’s physical presence inside of Canada for a set amount of time. Canada’s residency obligation for permanent residents requires a person to be physically present inside of Canada for at least 730 days within a five-year period, or to fall under one of several exceptions.
Foreign nationals wishing to become Canadian citizens must meet several requirements, including having valid permanent resident status in Canada. In addition, permanent residents wishing to become citizens have different residency obligations than those required for permanent resident status renewal. Consult Canadim’s web resource to learn more about becoming a Canadian citizen.
Permanent resident status is not automatically lost when a PR card expires. PR status can only be lost through an official process. If a person wants to renounce their permanent resident status, they may submit an application to voluntarily give up their permanent resident status. This may save time during travels if a person knows they have not met their residency obligation and they intend to travel to Canada.