Canadian permanent residents can get PR cards (often called maple leaf cards) that can return to Canada. The validity period of this card is not exceeding 5 years from the date of issuance. After the PR card expires, you can apply for renewal while fulfilling your residence obligations. As part of their residence obligations, permanent residents must stay in Canada for 730 days.

If the spouse and children of Canadian citizens reside abroad with Canadian citizens, they are deemed to be living in Canada and fulfil their residency obligations. If you have fulfilled your residence obligation, you can apply for renewal of your PR card. There is no limit on the number of renewals and can be a lifelong permanent resident without applying for Canadian citizenship.

Each new Canadian permanent resident will receive a permanent resident card or PR card that can be used to prove his identity in Canada. A single Canadian PR card is an important document. Canadian permanent residents must show their PR card when boarding a flight to Canada or they will not be allowed to board the plane.

Even if permanent residents come from countries that do not think they have visas, they must present a PR card to fly to Canada. While you can travel to Canada by applying for permanent resident travel documents without a PR card, avoid this process as much as possible as this requires more documents, forms, fees and deadlines.

If you enter from the US, Canadian permanent residents will also need to display their PR cards on the land border. But even if permanent residents do not have valid PR cards, they can enter Canada through the port of entry into the United States (i.e. border transit), but it is always easier to carry PR cards with them.

1. Stay in PR status in Canada

To maintain their PR status, permanent residents must prove that they have actually lived in Canada for at least 730 days (i.e. two years) during the five years before applying for a new Canadian PR card. These 730 days are not necessarily continuous, and some people may be counted as 730 days abroad. Currently, the processing time of PR card applications is about 4-6 weeks. Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship (IRCC) in Canada accepts emergency processing requests in limited circumstances, such as:

Vacation trips, no matter how much payment they receive or any other non-essential trip, are not considered emergency treatment. A PR card application with an emergency processing request must include a formal emergency request and a situation-related document.

2. Stay outside Canada

Can time outside Canada be counted as an update on PR status? If Canadian permanent residents stay outside Canada for more than allowed time, they may remain one of the legal exemptions that allow permanent residents to maintain their status in Canada, such as:

Although permanent residents in any of the above circumstances may legally use one of the exemptions to apply for a new PR card, the application must contain more other evidence and supporting documents than the general application.

iii. Humanitarian and sympathetic reasons

Even if the applicant is not part of one of these exemptions, the PR card may be updated for humanitarian and sympathetic reasons. If the applicants who find the PR card are found to have sufficient humanitarian and compassion, this will overcome any breach of residence obligations - even if they stay outside Canada for a full five years before applying. Factors that Canadian Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship (IRCC) consider when deciding whether to provide relief based on humanitarian and compassion include:

Public relations card applications submitted on the grounds of humanitarianism and sympathy must include substantive documents of the applicant meeting the review requirements and evidence of his/her situation. Considering that PR card applications do not have guaranteed processing time or service standards - how long they will take, the processing time may even be close to two years.

4. Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to maintain my permanent resident status in Canada?

In order to maintain permanent resident status, it has been necessary to stay in Canada for at least 730 days over the past five years. These 730 days are not necessarily continuous and may be calculated as 730 days at some time abroad.

If you also want to learn more about Canadian Maple Leaf Cards, we recommend you contact your immigration online consultant in your free time for more latest news!