That's not true. IRCC does not "hold" eCOPRs. It won't matter if you're inside or outside Canada, you will get your eCOPR. However, the difference is in terms of "Returning to Canada." If you're outside Canada, you'll have to apply for a PRTD and enter Canada before your eCOPR expires (Note that eCOPR cannot be extended - so you'll have to apply and get the PRTD, and travel to Canada before that). The PoE immigration officer will mainly look for 3 things: Valid passport, COPR, and PRTD. Post this, based on your mailing address the PR card process will follow.This is the big misconception. For Inland applicants, You won’t get ECOPR while staying outside canada by law. You will be IN & OUT Canada with your current temporary status. IRCC will hold your ECOPR until you come back to Canada.
Now this PRTD is the catch here, the processing times are hugely random and there's no assurance that you'll get it in time. That's the reason why most of the eCOPR recipients tend to NOT travel outside Canada to avoid all this hassle (we all can agree on how bad we want to avoid going back to IRCC). All the aforementioned info can be found here: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigratio...anada/express-entry/application-approved.html