Upon being approved for a Canadian Permanent Residence, a person becomes eligible to receive a Permanent Resident Card (PR Card). This card is valid for a period of five years. However, there are some rare cases in which the PR Card is valid only for one year. The PR Card also serves as a travel document that can be used to enter into the country. The Permanent Resident Card are proof of status and the permanent residents of Canada are advised to obtain and retain the card when they are travelling outside of Canada’s borders.
Permanent residents without valid PR cards who are outside of Canada and wish to travel to Canada may apply for a permanent resident travel document (PRTD). The PRTD will facilitate travel to Canada, where the person may apply for a PR card renewal or replacement.
Permanent Residents do not need to apply for the Permanent Resident Card. Upon their immigration to Canada and after they have determined their mailing address, they will automatically be mailed the PR Card. A Permanent Resident must apply for the PR Card only if they meet one of the following criteria:
PR card applications must be submitted in hard copy to one of IRCC’s specified Case Processing Centres for PR cards.
In certain situations, it may be possible for the Canadian government to expedite the processing of a permanent resident card. In order to qualify for urgent permanent resident card processing, you must be travelling within the next three months due to:
It should be noted that even if a person is eligible for urgent processing, the Canadian government cannot guarantee they will process applications urgently or that PR cards will be received on time. It’s therefore advisable to always maintain a valid PR card in case of emergency.
If your PR card is approaching the end of its validity period, and you have not yet applied for Canadian citizenship, you may be interested in applying for a permanent residence card renewal.