Cumulative Stay Requirement in Canada upon receiving PR

[mbastudies]

Can someone guide how is the requirement for landing upon being given a PR? I know that I have to go to Canada before the expiration date mentione don the PR visa, but I want to know how long do I have to stay in Canada? I am asking this because I am doing my PhD and it might take some time, so I want to know if it is compulsory to stay in Canada upon landing there for the first time (after getting PR), or is it possible to leave there shortly after entering Canada for the first time?
Is there a cumulative stay requirement in Canada? For instance for Australia, I think it's 2 years of stay in the first 5 years of being given PR. What is this rule like in Canada? Any idea?

[mbastudies]

I appreciate your guide on this. Does anyone know about this?

[Leon]

2 years out of any 5 year period, not just the first 5 years.

If you leave shortly after landing, you may have a problem because you haven't received your PR card yet.  It will not be mailed to you to an address outside Canada so if you don't have a couple of months to wait for it, you can either give an address of somebody you know in Canada to have it sent there and that person can mail it to you or you can ask them to hold the PR card until later.

To get back to Canada without having received your PR card, you can apply at a Canadian embassy to get a PR travel document.

They will check if you meet the residency requirements at the time you apply for a travel document or apply for a new PR card or they can also do it as you enter Canada, that is if they believe you have lost your PR due to residency requirements, they can ask you to prove they are wrong.  Therefore you should keep records of the dates you enter and exit Canada because you will need to know later.

[mbastudies]

Thanks Leon. :-)