How to Renew Your PR Card in Canada: Steps and Timing

You can renew your PR card once it has less than nine months left on it, or after it has expired. You apply online from inside Canada, pay a $50 fee and show that you have met the residency rule. An expired card does not end your permanent resident status, but you need a valid one to fly back to Canada.

When to renew, and why the card matters

A PR card is usually valid for five years. Some are issued for only one year, so check the date on yours now.

The card is proof of your status. It is not the status itself. IRCC is clear that you will not lose permanent resident status when the card expires. You stay a permanent resident until an official decision says otherwise.

The trouble starts when you travel. To come back to Canada on a plane, boat, train or bus, you must show a valid PR card along with your passport. If you are driving across the border in a private vehicle, other documents may be accepted.

So if you have a trip coming up and your card is close to expiring, start the renewal early. Applying while you are still in Canada is much simpler than sorting it out from abroad.

What you need before you apply

Gather these before you open the online application:

• A photo taken within the last 12 months that meets IRCC’s photo specifications. Online applications need one. Paper applications need two identical photos.
• A copy of your passport or other travel document.
• A copy of your current PR card.
• Two pieces of residency evidence, such as pay stubs, bank statements or Notices of Assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency.
• The fee receipt for $50. You pay this again each time you renew or replace a card.

How to renew your PR card online

1. Sign in to the Permanent Residence Portal and start the application for a PR card (form IMM 5444). IRCC’s instruction guide for this form is IMM 5445.
2. Upload the document checklist (IMM 5644) and your supporting documents. If someone is representing you, add the Use of a Representative form (IMM 5476).
3. Pay the fee on IRCC’s online payment page. Fees are not paid inside the portal, so upload your receipt once you have it.
4. Review your answers, sign electronically and submit.
5. Track your application online.

If you cannot apply online and need an accommodation, a paper application is available.

If you need your card quickly for travel, urgent processing is available in some situations. The minimum is three weeks, and IRCC says it cannot promise you will get the card in time, so do not book around it.

The 730-day residency rule

To keep permanent resident status, you must have been in Canada for at least 730 days during the last five years. That is about two years in total. The days do not have to be in a row.

If you became a permanent resident less than five years ago, you only need to show that you can still reach 730 days by your fifth anniversary.

Time abroad that can count

Some days outside Canada count as days in Canada. According to IRCC, this applies when:

• You work full time outside Canada for a Canadian business, organization or government.
• You travel with your spouse or common-law partner who is a Canadian citizen, or who is a permanent resident working full time abroad for a Canadian employer or government.
• You are a dependent child travelling with a parent who meets one of those same conditions.

Keep records for these periods, such as an employment letter or proof of your partner’s citizenship.

If you have not met the 730 days

Falling short does not mean you lose status automatically. On the application, you can ask to keep your status on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. You do this by answering question 5.7, explaining why you could not meet the requirement and describing the hardship that losing status would cause.

Write this part with care. Be specific about what kept you away, and include documents that support what you say.

If IRCC refuses your application, you will get a letter with the reasons. When an IRCC officer outside Canada decides you did not meet the residency obligation, you can appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board. Your notice of appeal must reach the Division within 60 days of getting the decision. For people whose last residence was in Ontario outside Ottawa, it goes to the Board’s Central Region office.

After you apply

If your application is approved, IRCC will usually mail the card. Cards only go to Canadian addresses. If you are moving within three weeks, or have already moved, update your address with IRCC.

Sometimes you are asked to pick the card up at an IRCC office instead. Bring your passport and the originals of any documents you sent copies of. Cards that are not collected within 180 days are destroyed, and you would have to apply and pay again.

A card can arrive up to six weeks after the normal processing time. When your new card comes, cut the old one in half before you throw it away to protect your information.