Permanent Resident Cards

As a permanent resident, you have the right to:

• get most social benefits that Canadian citizens receive, including health care coverage,
• live, work or study anywhere in Canada,
• apply for Canadian citizenship,
• protection under Canadian law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

You must pay taxes and respect all Canadian laws at the federal, provincial and municipal levels.

You are not allowed to:

• vote or run for political office,
• hold some jobs that need a high-level security clearance.

When you are a permanent resident, you can live outside of Canada, but must live in Canada for at least two years in a five-year period. If you live outside of Canada for longer, you may lose your permanent resident status. For more information on how long you have to live in Canada, see Appendix A: Residency obligation of the PR card application package.

Losing your permanent resident status does not happen automatically. You cannot lose your permanent resident status simply by living outside of Canada long enough that you don’t meet the residency requirement. Unless you have gone through an official process, you have not lost or given up your permanent resident status, even though you may not be eligible to return to Canada as a permanent resident. You may lose your permanent resident status if:

• an adjudicator determines that you are no longer a permanent resident following an inquiry; or
• a visa officer determines you do not meet the required residency when you apply for a permanent resident travel document or temporary resident travel document.

You may lose your permanent resident status in one of the ways described above if:

• you do not live in Canada for two out of five years;
• you are convicted of a serious crime and told to leave Canada; or
• you become a Canadian citizen.

You do not lose your permanent resident status if your PR card expires.

Losing your permanent resident status does not happen automatically. There may come a time when you no longer want to be a permanent resident of Canada.  If so, you can apply tovoluntarily give up (renounce) your permanent resident status.

For example, if you:

• know you have not met your residency obligations by being outside of Canada for a long period of time, and
• would like to visit Canada, and
• do not want to wait for a visa officer to do a formal assessment of your permanent resident status

OR

• would like to avoid processing delays at the Port of Entry

You may not be able to enter Canada until your permanent resident status is resolved either by receiving a permanent resident travel document or by voluntarily giving up your permanent resident status.