Myth Buster: Every Permanent Resident must have a PR Card?

The Permanent Resident Card is an ingenious little piece of plastic. It serves as primary identification for many permanent residents of Canada, it facilitates travel into Canada and it expires, typically every five years.

The benefits of having identification and easy travel into Canada speak for themselves, but the complications stemming from the expiration of PR Cards is usually only appreciated after one suffers through an anything but routine renewal application. Incidentally, primary identification is a practical but not a legal benefit of the PR card (in many applications), but that is a topic for another day.

Before I get into renewal issues, the first myth that I would like to debunk is that every permanent resident of Canada must hold a valid permanent resident card. This is simply not the case. Much like when one’s passport expires their citizenship does not expire, when a permanent resident card expires, a person does not lose permanent resident status. The card is a symbol of status only; it is not status in and of itself.

The second myth that I would like to debunk is that every permanent resident of Canada must always present a PR card to Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) Officers upon entry in to Canada. Again, this is simply not the case. The PR Card is only required when using a commercial carrier to travel to Canada, for example, airlines and buses. If, for example, a permanent resident travels to Canada by private car, there is no obligation whatsoever on the permanent resident to have a valid PR Card. That said, a person without a valid PR Card must produce other evidence of their permanent resident status so as to satisfy CBSA that they are in fact a permanent resident and an original confirmation of permanent residence (or landing document), will and should do the trick. Once a CBSA officer can confirm that a person is a permanent resident, the officer must allow that person to enter Canada. Permanent residents have a right to enter Canada and CBSA officers know it.

Understanding entry into Canada without a valid PR card is particularly helpful for permanent residents outside of Canada who believe that they are stuck outside or inside of Canada because they do not have a valid PR card. So, for example, a person in this situation can travel to the USA (assuming they have valid passport and entry visa for the USA) and then take a private car and return to Canada using their landing document as confirmation of their status as a permanent resident. There is no need to apply for a travel document from a Canadian Embassy or Consulate in this situation.

It is of course infinitely more practical to carry and maintain a PR card, but if one’s renewal process is dragging out (as they often do), one does need to feel stuck in Canada. PR card renewal applications can and are often delayed if a person is relying on anything but physical presence in Canada to satisfy the residency obligation. For example, if one is relying on employment outside of Canada so as to satisfy the residency obligation, application processing may take longer than other more routine applications. According to CIC, as of the date this article was written, applications for PR card renewals are taking approximately 88 days to process.

Compared to Canadian passports (processed in 2-4 weeks), which are designed to serve a similar purpose to that of a PR card, i.e. travel, permanent residents are disproportionately under-resourced as compared to Canadian citizens when it comes to international mobility, but again, that is a topic for yet another day.

Ryan Rosenberg is am immigration lawyer and partner at Larlee Rosenberg, Barristers & Solicitors, in Vancouver. Contact Ryan at 604-681-9887 or Ryan.Rosenberg@larlee.com or visit his website at http://www.larlee.com/.


FORMS:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/menu-prcard.asp

POLICY:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/enf/enf04-eng.pdf
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/enf/enf15-eng.pdf
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/enf/enf23-eng.pdf
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/enf/enf27-eng.pdf