Canada Immigration International

Permanent Residence Card

Persons who have obtained permanent residence in Canada will be issued Permanent Resident Cards "PR Cards" valid for 5 years. These cards can be renewed continuously provided the permanent resident has met the residency requirement.

Residency requirement:

Your permanent resident status allows you to live in Canada, but there is also a time limit on how long you can live outside the country. To keep your status as a permanent resident, you must live in Canada for at least two years (730 days) within a five-year period.

There are some exceptions to the 2 years in 5 rule. If you are permanent resident outside Canada accompanying a Canadian citizen who is your spouse, common-law partner, or parent OR if you are employed outside Canada by a Canadian business or the Canadian federal or a provincial government, then this time counts as being spent in Canada.

The Permanent Resident Card is the official proof of your status as a permanent resident in Canada. It is required for all permanent residents of Canada seeking to re-enter Canada on a commercial carrier (airplane, boat, train or bus).

Applying to renew your PR Card

Permanent residents who apply to renew their PR Cards but have not met the residency requirement of being in Canada for at least 2 years out of 5 may be considered to have lost their permanent residence, in which case they will be required to leave Canada.

If you are a permanent resident and need to renew your PR Card but do not met the residency requirement, your application to renew the card can be made on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds, by explaining the compelling reasons that prevented you from meeting the residence requirement. If the immigration officer is satisfied that there are sufficient Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds to justify renewing the PR Card, she or he can renew it even though the permanent resident has not met the residency requirement

PR Cards for Permanent Residents abroad

If you are a permanent residence of Canada but you left Canada before receiving your PR Card or you remained outside Canada and you PR Card has expired, you must apply for a travel document to allow you to re-enter Canada. You will be required to describe your travel history. If you are not able to demonstrate that you meet the residence requirement, you may be refused entry to Canada and be considered inadmissible.

Again here, you can apply to keep your permanent residence and return to Canada on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds. Once inside Canada you can apply to renew your PR Card.

If you are a permanent resident of Canada and your application to extend PR Card is refused or if you are outside Canada and you are refused re-entry on the basis that you have not met the residency requirement, you may appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board. For more information please go to the "Hearings and Appeals" Section of the website.

Canadian citizenship

Eligibility to become a Canadian citizen

To be eligible to become a Canadian citizen, you must meet the requirements in all of the following areas:

Age
Permanent resident status
Time lived in Canada
Language abilities
Criminal history (prohibitions)
Knowledge of Canada

Age

You must be at least 18 years old to apply for Canadian citizenship.

To apply for citizenship for a child under 18, the following conditions should be met:

the person applying is the child's parent, adoptive parent or legal guardian
the child is a permanent resident, but does not need to have lived in Canada for three years and
one parent is already a Canadian citizen or is applying to become a citizen at the same time. This also applies to adoptive parents.

Permanent resident status

To become a Canadian citizen, you must have permanent resident status in Canada. You must not be the subject of an immigration investigation, an immigration inquiry or a removal order (an order from Canadian officials to leave Canada).

Time lived in Canada

To become Canadian citizens, adults must have lived in Canada for at least three years (1,095 days) in the past four years before applying. Children do not need to meet this requirement.

You may be able to count time you spent in Canada before you became a permanent resident if that time falls within the four-year period.

Language abilities

Canada has two official languages-English and French. You need to be able to speak one of these two languages well enough to communicate with people. In other words, you must know enough English or French to understand other people and for them to understand you.

Criminal history

You cannot become a citizen if you:

have been convicted of an indictable (criminal) offence or an offence under the Citizenship Act in the three years before you apply
are currently charged with an indictable offence or an offence under the Citizenship Act
are in prison, on parole or on probation
are under a removal order (have been ordered by Canadian officials to leave Canada)
are under investigation for, are charged with, or have been convicted of a war crime or a crime against humanity or
have had your Canadian citizenship taken away in the past five years.

If you are on probation or are charged with an offence and are awaiting trial, you should wait until after the probation has ended or the trial is over to apply for citizenship.

If you have spent time on probation, on parole or in prison in the last four years, you may not meet the residence requirement for citizenship.

Time in prison or on parole does not count as residence in Canada. Time on probation also does not count as residence in Canada if you were convicted of an offence. If you have spent time on probation from a conditional discharge, it may be counted toward residence.

Knowledge of Canada

To become a citizen, you must know the rights and responsibilities of citizens, such as the right and responsibility to vote. You must also know some things about Canada's history and geography, and about its political system.

Exeption:

In case where a person has not met the 3 in 4 years residence requirement, this person may still apply as "De Facto resident" if they believe they maintained strong ties to Canada (Family, property, business, recurrent visits). The judge will decide on each case based on its own merits.

In case where an application for citizenship is refused, the person concerned may file an appeal within 60 days before the Federal court of Canada if they believe the Judge made an error in Facts or Law when making his decision.