My PR card expired outside of Canada
Are you a permanent resident of Canada? You likely have a permanent resident card, or PR card. This card is proof that you are a Canadian permanent resident and are entitled to all of the rights that permanent residents of Canada have, including being able to leave and re-enter Canada as often as you wish. 
However, your permanent resident card does have an expiry date and Citizenship and Immigration Canada recommends that you take the steps to renew your PR card about six months before it expires. While this is not always possible, it can become a difficult situation if you are actually outside of Canada when your card expires. This is because you must be inside Canada to renew your card, but you cannot return to Canada without a valid card. So what do you do?
Apply for a travel document to re-enter Canada with an expired PR card
If your permanent resident card is expired while you are outside of Canada, you can apply for a travel document at your local Canadian consulate. This document will allow you to fly back to Canada, re-enter the country and ensure that you are able to renew your card.
But just like when you renew your permanent resident card, you need to show Canadian officials that you have met the residency requirement for permanent resident status before you can get a travel document. This means that you need to have been in Canada for at least two of the past five years.
If you cannot do so, you may run into issues and need to make humanitarian and compassionate arguments as to why you could not meet this requirement.
Are you facing difficulties in renewing your permanent resident card or obtaining a travel document? Give our immigration law firm a call.
Vote for Our Blog! Our blog has been nominated for Best Legal Blog of 2017 by The Expert Institute.
One thought on “My PR card expired outside of Canada”
Leave a Comment:
The content and comments of this blog are not legal advise and and may not be accurate or complete. If you require legal advice, contact a licensed legal practitioner directly. If you post on this blog, you assume full responsibility for disclosing your identity to the public and VisaPlace nor its affiliates are not responsible for protecting your privacy nor your identity concerning your participation in our blog and you assume any risks in participating.
Associations
Thanks for sharing this nice post. Most PR cards are valid for five years. You should renew your card within six months of when it will expire.