JoinHands Immigration Services Ltd.

Canadian Permanent Residents not in possession of a Permanent Resident Card, will have to apply for a Temporary Travel Document from the nearest Canadian Immigration Visa Office in order to travel to Canada on a commercial carrier.

Canadian permanent residents may now receive renewed cards through the mail.

 

Processing Times

To review the latest processing times for Permanent Residence Cards, use the Canada Immigration Processing Times tool.

Urgent Processing

In order to qualify for urgent processing of a Permanent Resident Card, applicants must demonstrate that they require their card urgently (within the next three months) for one of the following reasons:

• for travel due to their own serious illness or the serious illness or death of a family member; or

• to obtain employment or to travel due to employment requirements or opportunity.

Applicants must submit all of the following documents to support their request for urgent processing:

• a copy of proof of travel, such as tickets or an itinerary showing the destination and dates they will be travelling;

• a copy of proof of payment for travel showing the date, the full amount and the method of payment;

• a letter of explanation indicating the reason for the urgency; and

• proof of the urgency (e.g., doctor’s note, death certificate, or letter from employer).

Applicants may request urgent processing when they submit their application for a permanent residence card to the Case Processing Centre in Sydney (CPC-S) or after it is already in process by contacting the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Call Centre through the IRCC Webform.

 

Scenarios

Scenario 1: The applicant is in Canada and has not yet applied for a Permanent Resident Card.

To request urgent processing, the applicant is required to write “Urgent” on the envelope when he or she submits a complete application for a permanent residence card and include all of the documents listed in the above section.

Scenario 2: The client is in Canada and has already applied for a Permanent Resident Card.

To request urgent processing, the applicant must follow the steps in scenario 2a or scenario 2b below, depending on the circumstances of his or her case:

1. If the application is not yet in process or does not appear in e-Client Application Status (e-CAS), the applicant must submit another application and request urgent processing by writing “Urgent” on the envelope. The applicant must also include all of the documents listed above, in addition to a copy of a receipt of payment form or electronic receipt for the application previously submitted. The applicant is not required to make a new payment.

2. If the application is already in process, the applicants must contact IRCC through the IRCC Webform by choosing “Request urgent processing of renewal or replacement card and have already applied” under the Enquiry field drop down menu. He or she must upload all required documents listed above when submitting the IRCC Webform. The instructions for applicants at the top of the IRCC Webform outline the list of documents required as well as the technical requirements to submit the request for urgent processing.

Scenario 3: The client is outside Canada and not in possession of a valid PR card.

As per the existing procedures, the applicant can apply for a permanent resident travel document (PRTD) to return to Canada. Upon their return to Canada, the applicant may apply for a new card.

Processing

Applications for permanent residence cards where urgent processing is requested (scenarios 1 and 2a) are first reviewed by IRCC personnel to establish that urgent processing requirements are met. If so, the application is then reviewed for completeness. Applications that do not contain all the documents in the checklist will be returned to the applican with a note advising them of which documents are missing.

Requests for urgent processing that are received after the application is already in process (scenario 2b) are reviewed to determine if the request meets the criteria to qualify for urgent processing.

Applications that are found to meet the criteria for urgent processing and include all required documents are placed into the urgent processing stream as per existing procedures.

Those that do not meet the criteria are placed into the regular processing stream.

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A Travel Document, issued by a Canadian Immigration Visa Office, may, in certain circumstances, serve the same purpose as a Canadian Permanent Resident Card.

As a general rule for travel to Canada, all commercial carriers require Canadian Permanent Residents to show their Permanent Resident Card before boarding.

Canadian Permanent Residents, who are outside of Canada, and not in possession of a Canadian Permanent Resident Card, may apply at a Canadian Immigration Visa Office for a Travel Document that will enable them to be transported back to Canada by a commercial carrier.

Before issuing a Travel Document, the Canadian Immigration Visa Officer must be able to confirm, from the documents submitted, the identity of the applicant and that the applicant was once a Canadian Permanent Resident. In addition, the Canadian Immigration Visa Officer must be satisfied that the applicant has complied with the residency obligations of Canadian Permanent Residents.

Individuals, who can get to a Canadian Port of Entry, other than by commercial carrier, do not require a Travel Document or Canadian Permanent Resident Card.

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Residency Obligations

Canadian permanent residents have the right to enter and live in Canada.

Canadian permanent residents must meet certain residency obligations or they may lose their permanent resident status. Two years of "residency days" must be accumulated in every five-year period. Residency days need not be consecutive and may be accumulated inside or even outside Canada in the following ways:

Inside Canada:

• By physical presence

Outside Canada:

• By accompanying a spouse/common-law partner who is a Canadian citizen, or

• As a child accompanying a parent, or

• By employment on a full-time basis with a Canadian enterprise or the Public Service of Canada, or

• By accompanying a Canadian permanent resident who is outside Canada and who is employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian enterprise or the Public Service of Canada as the employee's spouse/common-law partner or child.

The calculation of residency days for a person who has been a Canadian permanent resident for more than five years will be limited to the five years immediately preceding the examination. Persons who have been Canadian permanent residents for less than five years must demonstrate that they will be able to meet the residency requirement during the five-year period immediately following their becoming a Canadian permanent resident.

Canadian permanent residents who plan to re-enter Canada by common carrier (plane, train, bus, boat) will have to show their Canadian Permanent Resident Card or Temporary Travel Document before boarding.

Canadian citizenship is voluntary and may be applied for after three (soon to be four) years of residence in Canada.

Canada recognizes multiple citizenship.