Q. My wife and I received Canadian permanent residence in June 2010 and now we are planning to go to Toronto in July 2010.

My wife is a student here in Australia and she can not stay for more than 15 days in Canada as her study will be affected. Is there any process by which she will be able to get her PR card in 15 days?

Secondly can our relatives receive our PR cards on our behalf if we come back in 15 days and can they mail us our PR cards in Australia?
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A. When you arrive in Canada, you should be able to pick up your PR Card at a local CIC office. In advance of your trip. Only applicants can pick up their PR cards in person. Agents or relatives are not permitted to pick up PR Cards for applicants. You should fax the CIC office issuing your PR Card in advance and explain your wife’s situation so that they may be able to accommodate her travel plans to Canada. Note that as a Canadian Permanent Resident, your wife has residency obligations which are to reside in Canada for at least 2 years within the 5 year period of her PR Card’s validity subject to some exceptions.

For more information on PR Cards visit our PR Card FAQ page here.

Q. My PR Card expires in July 2010 and I have only lived in Canada for about one year within the last 5 years. However, my wife and kids all live in Canada. I work overseas and support my family. I have property in Canada and come when I can. How can I have my PR Card renewed in such circumstances?

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A. As you have not met the residency requirements for your PR card renewal, you can still apply for a renewal on Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds. Since your family has been living in Canada, you may have a good case. Humanitarian applications are more challenging than regular PR Card renewals to be sure. A well documented case showing that you have maintained your ties to Canada despite your absence goes a long way towards a successful renewal application. See our FAQ on PR Cards for more detail on PR Card renewals.

Hi,

I have a valid Canadian PR card and lived in Canada for quite a while. But unfortunately I have to go outside of Canada for more than 6 months to help my sick grandfather. I heard somewhere that I won’t be allowed back into the country if I am not physically in Canada for more than 6 months. Is there anything I can do before leaving in order to make things easier when I am coming back?

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The information you received is incorrect. Canadian PR Cards are valid for a 5 year period. You are free to travel outside of Canada during that 5 year period. However, upon renewal of your PR Card, you should have accumulated at least 2 years of residency in Canada within that 5 year period, unless there are humanitarian and compassionate grounds to explain your absence or you were outside of Canada accompanied by your Canadian spouse. The” 6 month rule” used to be in place a number of years ago but now, you have just to be in Canada for a total of 2 years within the 5 year period to maintain your PR Card upon renewal.

Q. I was accepted in Canada as a “Convention Refugee” in early 199 and later received my Canadian Permanent Residence. I have four Canadian kids. I moved with my husband to US in 1997 because my husband got a job in America. By 2003 we became US Citizens. A number of times Immigration Canada contacted me to pick up my PR Card (Permanent Residence Card) but I was unable to go Canada.

My husband left for another country. 12 years have passed and I visited Canada a couple of times as an American. Now my Canadian kids want to go back to Canada and I wish to move back with them. But I’m not sure about my status in Canada. I want to get back my status.  Is that possible? Can I get back my Canadian PR from US before I move back to Canada? What should I do?

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A.  Assuming that you landed in Canada in the early 90s, your settlement in the US since has resulted in you abandoning your status in Canada as a Canadian permanent residence. As you have not picked up your PR Card, and have remained outside Canada, you have lost your status. You therefore have to re-apply for Canadian permanent residence. Your children who are born in Canada are Canadian citizens. However, you will have to apply for Permanent Residence again to get your status back.

Generally, when issued a PR Card, you have to remain in Canada for at least 2 years within a 5 year period in order to renew it.

Dear Niren,
My family have applied for citizenship and also PR Card renewal and meet the requirements.I do not have the residency requirements for renewal.Please advise me whether I qualify for the renewal on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds as I own property and my family resides in Canada.
Regards
Hillary

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Applying for a PR Card renewal where you have not met the residency requirements (2 years in Canada within the last 5 years of applying) can be challenging. In order to maximize your chances of success, it is important that you provide Citizenship and Immigration Canada with a credible explanation for your absence from Canada along with supporting documentation to back it up. Further, it is important to show that you intend to and are able to maintain your residency going forward should your PR Card be renewed. Such applications based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds require careful preparation.  We  have written extensively on this subject here and here.

Our family got Canadian Permanent Residence and a Record of Landing in 1995.  I traveled back to Hong Kong and returned to Canada on a regular basis to meet the legal requirements. In 2000, I stayed in a Hospital (I have medical records) for some months and I did not to return to Canada for few years. My spouse and children are Canadian Citizens now. I only hold a Landing Record.

How I can get Canadian citizenship or my Permanent Resident Card?  My spouse is a worker, two children are studying in University and will graduate in 2010 in the summer.

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