Permanent Resident Card Renewal and Replacement

Section 31 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) says a permanent resident is given a document showing their status, and the regulations make that document the permanent resident card. Under section 54 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), a card is valid for 5 years from the date it is issued, or for only 1 year in some cases, for example while an inadmissibility report or a residency decision is pending.

You need a valid card, with your passport, to come back to Canada on a commercial carrier such as a plane, boat, train or bus. You do not need a card to live, work or study in Canada, and IRCC states that you do not lose your status when the card expires.

Usual validity of a PR card

5 years

Apply when less than this remains

9 months

In Canada in every 5-year period

730 days

Minimum time, even for urgent cases

3 weeks

IRCC's instruction guide for the card (IMM 5445) lists these conditions. They follow sections 56 to 59 of IRPR.

• You hold permanent resident statusYou have not lost it through citizenship, a removal order in force, a final residency decision or renunciation.
• You are physically present in CanadaApplications must be made in Canada, and IRCC delivers cards only in Canada.
• You meet the residency obligation730 days in the last 5 years, or, if you have been a permanent resident for less than 5 years, you can still reach 730 days within 5 years of becoming one.
• No removal order in forceAn effective removal order makes you ineligible.
• Not a Canadian citizenIRCC does not issue PR cards to citizens and refunds the fee if it cannot process your application for this reason.
• No conviction for misusing a PR cardSection 59 of IRPR excludes people convicted under section 123 or 126 of IRPA for card misuse, unless pardoned.
• TimingYour card expires in less than 9 months (270 days) or has expired, unless you are changing your legal name or gender identifier.

You must sign your own application. For a child aged 14 to 17, the child and one parent sign. For a child under 14, a parent signs. If a Canadian court made another person responsible for the child, that person signs instead.

Section 28 of IRPA sets the rule: you comply if, on at least 730 days in the 5-year period, you were in one of the situations below. The days do not need to be continuous. At examination, a permanent resident of 5 years or more must show 730 days in the 5 years immediately before. Someone with less than 5 years must show they can still reach 730 days in the first 5 years.

• Physically present in CanadaEvery day in Canada counts, whatever the reason.
• Accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse, common-law partner or parentEach day abroad counts if you ordinarily live with that person. For a parent, you must be a child under 22, as defined in section 61 of IRPR.
• Working full time abroad for a Canadian business or a Canadian public serviceYou must be an employee or contractor assigned full time, as a term of the job, to a position, an affiliated enterprise or a client outside Canada.
• Accompanying a permanent resident spouse, partner or parent who works full time abroad for a Canadian business or public serviceYour days count only as long as that person meets their own residency obligation.

A Canadian business means a corporation incorporated in Canada or a province with an ongoing operation in Canada, certain other enterprises with an ongoing operation in Canada that are majority owned by Canadian citizens, permanent residents or Canadian businesses, or an organization created under Canadian or provincial law. A business that mainly serves to let someone keep status while living abroad does not count. IRCC's guide also asks for a letter from the employer confirming the assignment and that you will keep working for it in Canada afterwards. Simply choosing to work remotely from abroad is not the same thing.

How IRCC counts: on the application form, a trip where you leave and return on the same day is not an absence, and the officer excludes the day you left and the day you returned when counting your absence. If your absences total less than 1,095 days, IRCC says you appear to meet the obligation. If absences other than the qualifying situations above reach 1,095 days or more, you may not meet it.

Child age rule: on October 24, 2017, the age limit for a child accompanying a parent changed from under 19 to under 22. IRCC assesses time abroad before that date under the old limit and time after it under the new one.

1. 1

   Check your card and your days

   Confirm that your card expires in less than 9 months or has expired, and count your days for the 5 years before the date you will sign. Keep a record of every trip; IRCC asks for all absences in the last 5 years.

2. 2

   Gather your documents

   Use the document checklist (IMM 5644). You need a copy of your passport or travel document, a copy of your current card, a photo that meets IRCC's specifications, and copies of 2 pieces of evidence of your residency, such as Canada Revenue Agency notices of assessment, pay stubs, bank statements or rental agreements.

3. 3

   Fill out the form in the Permanent Residence Portal

   Complete the application (IMM 5444) online. List every absence, and use question 5.7 to explain any humanitarian and compassionate factors if you may be short of 730 days. You can also authorize IRCC to get your tax and residency information from the Canada Revenue Agency using your social insurance number.

4. 4

   Pay the fee and upload the receipt

   The fee is not paid in the portal. Pay online with IRCC, then upload the receipt to the Fee Payment section. IRCC does not refund the fee while the application is in progress.

5. 5

   Give biometrics if asked

   Most applicants do not. You do if you were under 14 when IRCC received your permanent residence application, applied for permanent residence on or after July 31, 2018 or December 31, 2018 (depending on your country), and are now over 14. IRCC starts processing after it gets your biometrics.

6. 6

   Receive your card

   IRCC mails the card to a Canadian address, or asks you to pick it up and bring the original documents. If you do not pick it up within 180 days of the first notice, it is destroyed and you must reapply.

Paper applications are only for people who cannot apply online and need an accommodation. IRCC's card pages currently warn that a Canada Post labour disruption is delaying mail, and encourage online applications or a courier for paper ones.

IRCC can process a card urgently, but its minimum processing time is 3 weeks, and it says even an eligible urgent application may not arrive before your trip. In the portal, check "Yes, my request is urgent".

• An eligible reasonA job opportunity or work for your current job, your own serious illness, the serious illness or death of a family member, or a crisis, emergency or vulnerable situation. The guide says you must need the card to travel within the next 3 months.
• Proof of travelYour itinerary or ticket, and the receipt showing the date, amount and method of payment
• A letter explaining the urgencyPlus proof, such as a doctor's note, a death certificate or a letter from your employer, translated into English or French if needed

If you leave in less than 3 weeks, IRCC says it cannot process a card in time. Once you are outside Canada and your return flight is within 5 days, you can apply urgently for a permanent resident travel document instead. If you already applied and your situation becomes urgent, send the proof through IRCC's web form.

Applying for a card while short of 730 days does not end your status by itself. IRCC states that you stay a permanent resident until an official decision is made. But the application is where the shortfall is examined.

1. Application

   IRCC reviews your days and any humanitarian and compassionate factors

   An officer can find that humanitarian and compassionate considerations, including the best interests of an affected child, justify keeping your status (IRPA s. 28(2)(c)).

2. Report

   An officer may write an inadmissibility report

   Failing the residency obligation is a ground of inadmissibility (IRPA s. 41(b) and s. 44(1)). Days after the report do not count toward the 730 unless you are later found to comply (IRPR s. 62).

3. Removal order

   The Minister's delegate may make a removal order

   For a report based only on the residency obligation, the Minister's delegate decides without a hearing (IRPA s. 44(2)). While this is unresolved, IRCC can issue a card valid for only 1 year (IRPR s. 54(2)).

4. 30 days

   Appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division

   The Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board must receive your notice of appeal within 30 days after you receive the removal order. It can allow the appeal for an error of law or fact, unfairness, or humanitarian and compassionate grounds (IRPA s. 63(3) and s. 67).

Strong humanitarian and compassionate evidence usually explains why you were away, what ties you have to Canada, what you did to return as soon as you could, and the hardship that losing status would cause you, your family and any child involved. Put it in the application from the start rather than waiting for a refusal.

The fees for the card are set in section 308 of IRPR. IRCC says refunds are not possible while the application is in progress. Live processing times for PR card renewals, from IRCC's processing times tool, appear below. IRCC adds that it can take up to 6 more weeks for the card to reach you.

Check the new card for mistakes as soon as you get it. If IRCC made an error, ask for a free reissue within 60 days of receiving the card. Destroy your old card by cutting it in half. Keep a travel journal from now on, because your next renewal and a citizenship application both ask for every trip in the last 5 years. If you now have 1,095 days in Canada in the last 5 years, you may be eligible for citizenship instead of another renewal.