The materials required to apply for a Maple Leaf Card. The Canadian Maple Leaf Card and Permanent Residence Card have different names in different countries. The American Permanent Residence Card is called "Green Card", which is named after its green appearance. For permanent residents who successfully immigrate to Canada, they will obtain a document to prove their identity, which is the Permanent Residence Card. Because it has the maple leaf logo symbolizing Canada on its surface, it is also called the "Maple Leaf Card". So, how valuable is this Maple Leaf card? So what we want to introduce to you today is the Canadian Maple Leaf Card. 1. Appearance introduction: Maple Leaf Card is a magnetic card, similar in size to a Chinese ID card. The card stores more than 40 pieces of personal information of the cardholder. On June 28, XX, the new immigration law came into effect. After that, all new immigrants who completed the immigration application process and obtained a permanent residence visa must apply for this card after landing. Canadian permanent residents who have landed before June 28, 2020 still need to apply for a replacement Maple Leaf Card in the country, using it as proof of permanent residency. 2. New immigrants apply for a Maple Leaf Card. When the new immigrants go through the landing procedures at the customs, they fill out a simple registration and then send a trustworthy mailing address in Canada to the immigration officer. Under normal circumstances, the Immigration Bureau will mail the Maple Leaf Card to the established address in about 4 weeks. If you do not have a fixed mailing address when you log in, you can also wait until you find your residential address and then log on to the Immigration Bureau website to apply for an address declaration. If you fail to provide a mailing address to the Immigration Bureau within 180 days after entering the country, you will have to pay a certain fee when applying. If you do not receive your Maple Leaf Card after 4 weeks of application, you need to call the local immigration bureau to check. 3. The Maple Leaf Card needs to be renewed. The Maple Leaf Card is valid for 5 years and needs to be replaced when the expiration date is reached. Applications for card replacement can be submitted 2 months before the expiration date, and the old card must be sent back to the Immigration Bureau. Applications for Maple Leaf Card renewal can only be made within Canada. If you need to leave Canada during the waiting period, you must apply for a Canadian permanent resident travel document at the Canadian embassy or consulate in your country before returning to Canada. According to data from the Canadian Immigration Department, the waiting time for applying to renew the Maple Leaf Card is about 57 days, and the expedited processing is about 35 days. 4. Obligations of Maple Leaf Card holders. Generally speaking, applicants are required to live in Canada for at least 730 days in the 5 years before applying for a new card. However, it is the obligation of a permanent resident to reside in Canada for a cumulative 730 days within any 5-year period. If this obligation is not fulfilled, the permanent resident status may be lost. There are four exceptions that allow the number of days spent abroad to be considered as residence within the country for the purpose of maintaining permanent resident status. First, living abroad with your Canadian citizen spouse. Second, you are employed by a qualified Canadian government agency or company and work abroad only when necessary for overseas business. 3. Live abroad with your spouse who meets exception 2, or with your parents who meet exception 2. 4. Have humanitarian reasons recognized by the immigration officer. In the above exceptions, you also need to provide evidence that you have a close connection with Canada, evidence that you have long-term plans, and you need to show your intention to live in Canada for a long time, and even show your intention to retire in Canada. 5. Canada’s new Maple Leaf Card policy. First, from XX, Canadian permanent residents must swipe their Maple Leaf Card when crossing the border. Secondly, from June 30, XX, Canadian permanent residents must present their Maple Leaf Card when leaving and entering the Canadian border and submit it to customs officers to record the card. In this way, the Immigration Department can grasp the actual length of stay of permanent residents in Canada, thereby combating fraudulent and illegal immigration, and restricting some Canadians from staying in the United States for more than 6 months a year. For permanent residents who are abroad and have expired Maple Leaf Cards, if they want to return to Canada, the way is to apply for a "Permanent Resident Travel Permit" from the local foreign embassy. There are some permanent residents who are in the country but do not have a Maple Leaf Card. Some of them arrived before the Maple Leaf Card was implemented but have not applied. Some are new immigrants who have just reported. The Maple Leaf Card has not yet been sent, or the application for renewal has not been approved. If you need to go abroad in an emergency, can you apply for a "Permanent Resident Travel Permit" in China? , a workaround is to go to the nearest American foreign embassy, such as New York or Seattle, to handle it in person. Officials emphasized that people do not need to worry about being unable to return to their country if their application is rejected. If the application is rejected, CBSA officials will generally provide accommodation so that they can return to Canada. Renewal of the Maple Leaf Card must be accompanied by the tax returns of the past five years. In June, the Immigration Department revised the relevant regulations for the renewal of the Maple Leaf Card, requiring two years of tax returns to be attached. This caused panic among many non-tax residents. Unexpectedly, in July this year, the Immigration Department introduced more stringent regulations, requiring applicants to attach personal income tax returns for two of the past five years, or attach five-year transcripts from a recognized post-secondary institution to prove that they are indeed living in the country. In addition, all children of school age must submit proof of attendance at school for the past five years. 4. Maple Leaf Card replacement requires two years of residence within five years. According to the relevant regulations for Maple Leaf Card renewal, permanent residents must have lived in the country for two years within five years to be eligible for renewal. Living for two years within five years is not calculated from the time of immigration landing, nor is it calculated from the time of obtaining the Maple Leaf Card. There are two forms of calculation: one is to work backwards from the day when the Maple Leaf Card extension application is submitted, and the two years of residence are completed within five years; the second is to count back five years from the time of each entry into Canada. That is to say, as long as it can be proven, any backward deduction method, using one of the three living methods mentioned above, to meet the requirement of living for 2 years, will meet the conditions of living for 2 years within 5 years. If you live overseas with your citizen spouse, you are not subject to this restriction. Therefore, in many "astronaut" families, the spouse returns to the place of original residence after obtaining citizenship and lives with the other half who holds a Maple Leaf Card to ensure that their immigration status will not be lost. Many of them also apply to become non-tax residents. 5. The Immigration Bureau has the authority to go to Canadian Customs to obtain your entry and exit records. A new item has been added to the new Maple Leaf Card application form, which is item 23. The Immigration Bureau requires you to provide entry and exit records from Canadian Customs. This record is about your entry and exit into Canada in the past five years. 6. The Immigration Department has certain requirements for exchanging Maple Leaf Cards. The applicant must have a Canadian residential address and requires the applicant to have a fixed residence in Canada. Since October XX, the Immigration Bureau has stipulated that applicants must have a fixed residence in Canada. Once it appears that the applicant does not have a fixed residence in Canada, but borrows the address of a friend or relative to apply for a new one.