In Country Services

PR Card Renewals

The Permanent Resident card (also known as a PR Card) is issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada to be used as a valid identity document for persons travelling abroad and returning to Canada by car, bus, airline or any other means of transportation. Therefore, it is important to have a valid PR card in order to be allowed to enter Canada. When you are granted Canadian permanent residence, you are issued a Canadian PR Card. Other permanent residents who hold Record of Landing documents but who have not yet applied for a PR card will need to make an application to CIC.

The PR Card is valid for 5 years and should be used for travel when you return to Canada from abroad. Upon expiry of your PR Card, you should consider renewing it if you wish to continue traveling outside Canada. You do not want to travel with an expired PR Card or you could get turned away.

How Do I Renew My PR Card?

If you know your card will be expiring soon, you must make an application for a PR card renewal which is submitted to CIC. The application requires that you disclose your travel outside of Canada, your address and employment history for the past five years. This information helps the immigration officer reviewing your application to determine whether or not you meet the residency obligations. If the immigration officer is satisfied that you, in fact, meet the requirement, you will be asked to attend the local immigration office to pick up your card. You will have 180 days from the notice of the letter to pick up your new card.

It is no longer required that you submit your old PR card with the application. Instead, CIC now requires that you bring your old card to the local immigration office at the time you are ready to pick up your new card. This is a welcomed change as it allows permanent residents to travel abroad and to return to Canada as long as they have a valid PR card, while their application for renewal is in process in Canada.

Restoration of Status

If your temporary status is about to expire, you should allow yourself at least 30 days to renew your status before it is expired. Once your temporary status is expired, you will no longer be eligible to do so. Under the following circumstances:

  • If your status has expired
  • If you did not respect the conditions of your permit
  • If you have worked or studied without a required permit

You may have committed an offence under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. and may well be subject to an admissibility hearing that could lead you to removal from Canada. However, if you wish to stay in Canada after your status has expired, you may apply for restoration of status within 90 days of your offense (loss of status) or otherwise you must leave Canada. Yet, there is no guarantee that your application will be accepted.

Bridging Work Permit

As of December 15, 2012, Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced that they would be allowing permanent resident applicants to obtain work permits while they are awaiting the finalization of their application. This will allow permanent resident applicants to now work while they are awaiting the answer on their application!

Who is eligible for the Bridging Work Permit?

  • Federal Skilled Worker Applicants
  • Canadian Experience Class Applicants
  • Federal Skilled Trades Program Applicants
  • Provincial Nominees

What are the requirements?<.b>

In order to be eligible, you must fall into one of the above categories, and you must also meet the following criteria:

  • You are currently in Canada
  • You have a valid temporary Work Permit, and it is set to expire within four months.
  • You have received a positive decision on your permanent resident application under an economic class, Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class, or the Federal Skilled Trades Program.
  • You have made an application for an Open Work Permit.

This new Open Work Permit is a significant program in Canadian immigration and allows applicants to work during the processing of their PR applications.

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