What is the Maple Leaf Card, also known as the PR Card, which is called the "Permanent Resident Card"? It is the document used by Canadian permanent residents to prove their identity.

What is the use of having a Maple Leaf Card?

After obtaining a Maple Leaf Card, you are equivalent to becoming a permanent resident of Canada. Then you will be able to:

Can obtain most of Canada's social welfare, including medical insurance, can work or study in any province or region of Canada, is qualified to apply for Canadian citizenship, and is protected by Canadian law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

But this will mean that you must pay taxes and abide by all Canadian federal laws, Canadian provincial laws, and Canadian municipal laws.

However, compared with having Canadian citizenship, there are some restrictions as long as you have a Maple Leaf Card. For example, you cannot:

Vote in politics, run for political office, or work in jobs that require high-level security clearance.

How to maintain permanent resident status

For you, you must have actually lived in Canada for more than 730 days within the past five years, and these 730 days do not need to be continuous and uninterrupted.

However, if there is a situation where some friends cannot actually live, even then, there are alternatives. The following include several situations where even if you have not actually lived in Canada, you can still be counted within the 730 days:

Ø Living outside Canada, but living with a Canadian citizen holding a Canadian passport, can be regarded as living in Canada and can be counted towards the 730 days of immigration detention.

There is a situation where even if you live outside Canada, you are employed in a specific unit, and you are employed full-time by an entity called a "Canadian enterprise", or you work for the Canadian federal or provincial public administration departments, then this situation can be regarded as living in Canada, and can be counted towards the 730 days of immigration detention.

Living outside Canada, living with a permanent resident, this Canadian permanent resident must be your spouse, common-law partner or parent, and this Canadian permanent resident is employed full-time by a "Canadian enterprise", or works for the Canadian federal or provincial public administration department.

How to know if your residence time is qualified:

When entering Canada, you can ask the country's border guards. When you apply for or renew your PR card, the Immigration Bureau will inform you whether you meet the conditions.

How to Lose Your Permanent Resident Status:

So, friends, don’t panic when your PR card expires, because you will not lose your permanent resident status immediately. Only in these circumstances is there the possibility of losing the Maple Leaf Card:

After completing the inquiry, the arbitrator determines that you are no longer a permanent resident. You voluntarily gave up your permanent resident status. The removal order issued by the Immigration Service against you has taken effect, and you finally became a Canadian citizen.

How to apply for a Maple Leaf Card:

Generally speaking, as long as the applicant meets the application requirements, he or she can start trying to apply!

First, prepare the materials required for the Canadian Maple Leaf Card:

1. FORM

2. IMM 5444 on Canadian size paper original, page 3 of 4 ( ).

3. Maple Leaf Card Application Form

4. List of other required documents

After all the information is ready, you can mail it to the center responsible for the Maple Leaf Card review of the Canadian Immigration Department and wait for review. Generally speaking, under normal circumstances, you need to wait for two to four months. If the Maple Leaf Card is successfully settled, it can be collected. The applicant must go to the designated location in person with the notification letter to collect it, and cannot have others collect it on his or her behalf. What you need to pay attention to is! The Immigration Department will keep the card for the applicant for 180 days after it is produced. If the applicant fails to collect it within the specified period, the card will be destroyed. Applicants must resubmit their application at that time.

How to update your Maple Leaf Card:

Under normal circumstances, it must be replaced every 5 years, and the expiration date will be displayed on the PR card. If your Maple Leaf Card has expired or is about to expire within 9 months, you must apply again!

You can search [for a Card] by yourself to find the list of materials given by the Canadian Immigration Bureau official website, and then prepare the corresponding related materials required.

Ø Fill out the "Permanent Resident Card Application Form" for a Card

The size of the two ID photos taken within 6 months must comply with the requirements stipulated on the official website of the Immigration Bureau. One of the photos is on the back and needs to be marked with the applicant's name and date of birth.

If you do not apply for the application yourself, but use other intermediaries to help with the application, you will have to fill out the agency authorization form.

"Personal Information Disclosure Authorization Form" is used for authorization. The authorized object is Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The authorized matter is the disclosure of the applicant's personal information.

Ø "Identity Proof Supplementary Form FORM"

Pay the application fee, of which the fee for renewing the Maple Leaf Card is CAD 50. This fee can be paid online on the official website of the Immigration Bureau.

Ø Existing Maple Leaf Card

The information prepared above is only for reference, and all specific materials must still be based on the official website or the guidance of professionals.