Home Visas and Immigration IMPORTANT INFORMATION Permanent Resident Status and New Permanent Resident Card

Permanent Resident Status and New Permanent Resident Card

Followed by the implementation of Immigrationi and Refugee Protection Act on 28 June 2002, the new Permanent Resident Card will be used to establish Permanent Residence Status which gives a non-Canadian/permanent resident the right to live in Canada. Permanent residents of Canada may apply for a Permanent Resident Card as of 15 October, 2002 through the Central Processing Centre in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

IMPORTANT: The Permanent Resident Card can ONLY be applied within Canada and the application CAN NOT be made outside Canada. Application kits will be available mid-September 2002 by calling the Permanent Resident Card Call Center (1-800-255-4541) or by visiting the CIC Web site. The Permanent Resident Card serves ONLY as a Status Document and is NOT valid for travel. Permanent Residents of Canada still need to travel with a valid passport issued by their countries of origin.

PERMANENT RESIDENTS ABROAD:

IMM1000 HOLDERS: If you became a Permanent Resident of Canada before 28 June 2002, are currently residing outside Canada, and plan to travel back to Canada after 28 June 2002, you may present the Landing Immigrant Record (Form IMM1000) for travel to Canada until 31 December 2003. However, you must prove that you meet the residency obligations in order to maintain your permanent resident status. Generally, in order to meet the residency requirements, permanent residents must accumulate two years of physical presence in Canada in a five-year period. Please check here for Residency Obligations for Permanent Residents.

RETURNING RESIDENT PERMIT HOLDERS: Please note that as of 28 June 2002, the Returning Resident Permit has ceased to exist under the new Canadian immigration law. However, if you obtained a Returning Resident Permit before 28 June 2002, any period you spent outside Canada under a returning resident permit from 28 June 1997 to 28 June 2002 will count if that time is within the five-year period from the date of the examination by an immigration officer. For holder of an expired Returning Resident Permit, the time period during which the permit was valid is counted as time spent in Canada during the applicable five-year period under examination.

PERMANENT RESIDENTS OF CANADA WHO DO NOT HAVE AN IMM1000, VALID RETURNING RESIDENT PERMIT OR A PERMANENT RESIDENT CARD: If you are outside Canada and do not have any Canadian immigration document to demonstrate your permanent residence status, you may contact a visa office outside Canada and apply for a Travel Document (Permanent Resident Abroad). The visa office will then start the process for evaluation of your status and determination of whether you have conformed with the residency obligations. If it is established that you were at any time a permanent resident of Canada and you meet the requirements of the residency obligation, you will be issued a Travel Document counterfoil in your passport to enable your travel back to Canada. If you do not meet the requirements of the residency obligation, your application may be refused after consideration of all connected factors.