Your PR card is not the same as your PR status

A lot of people have the confusion about their PR card and PR status; they think that if their PR card expires, they might lose their residency. They tend to forget that PR card is not same as their PR status.

Hence, if you do not renew your Permanent Resident card, it will not affect your permanent resident status. If you were permanent resident on the day before your PR card expires, you will still be a permanent resident holder. Permanent Resident card is conditional with certain obligations which must be met to attain your permanent residency otherwise your status will be no longer valid.

Before swimming further, we would first like to discuss about PR card,

What is Exactly PR Card?

A Canadian passport is a proof of Canadian citizenship and in the same way a PR card is a proof of Canadian Permanent Residence. Simple, isn’t it? Well, if a Canadian citizen loses or damages its passport, it doesn’t mean that they will lose their citizenship as well. It just means that to travel to and fro to most of the foreign places in the world and back to Canada, they need to replace their lost, stolen or damaged passport. In the same way, if you lose or fail to renew your PR card, your status as a permanent resident of Canada is unaffected.  However, to travel to and from Canada, you need to apply for a new PR card as a proof of your Canada Permanent Residency status.

Residency Requirement and PR Card

Traveling abroad is associated with the status of expired PR card; this is because of the residency requirements in order to maintain your permanent residence status.

What are The Residency Obligations?

  • You must have lived in Canada for at least 2 years out of 5 years, if you have been a permanent resident for 5 years or more.
  • Or, you must ensure the government that you will meet the requirement of staying for at least 730 days (2 years) in Canada during the 5 years from the date you become permanent resident or if you have been a permanent resident for less than 5 years.

What are The Expectations to The Residency Requirements?

There are special cases when days spent abroad can continue to count towards your residency requirements:

  • If you are accompanying a Canadian citizen who is your spouse, common-law partner or parent. If you are under 19 years old, you will need supporting documents to show that they are Canadian citizen and the relationship they share with you.
  • If you are employed in Canada or are under contract of a Canadian business or the Public Service of the federal government, or a province or territory. You must have a full-time job employment. To support proofs, you must provide extensive documentation to claim your position.
  • Accompanying a permanent resident abroad who must be your spouse, common-law partner, or parent if you are under 19 years of age and must have been employed by a Canadian business, or Public Service of Canada or territory abroad.
  • IRCC will consider persuasive humanitarian and compassionate grounds for your not fulfilling residency requirements.

This applies that if you extensively come and go from Canada and spend decent amount of time abroad as a permanent resident, you may be at the risk of not fulfilling your residency requirements.

If I Stay in Canada and My PR Card Expires, Will I Lose My PR Status?

No, you will not lose your PR status if your card expires. However, you must keep in mind that you have been granted permanent resident status through immigrating to Canada which is a conditional status and renewable after every 5 years as long as the requirements are being fulfilled.

How is PR Status Taken Away?

The PR status can be taken in following circumstances:

  • When you do not meet your residency requirements of being physically present in Canada 2 out of every 5 years
  • You are condemned with the serious crime
  • You become a Canadian citizen

Here, you can also see that there is no point mentioned about non-renewability of PR card will lead to the loss in Permanent Residency.

Thus, your Permanent Residency will remain intact till the time you are meeting the requirements.

If you wish to know about Canada PR, its process, eligibility requirements, you can fill the online assessment form, our team of experts who can guide you in detail about Canada Permanent Residency Status. Call at 7503832132 or mail your query at info@aptechvisa.com