Expired PR Card - Impact on Employment

[bealegend]

Hi

I have a situation where my PR Card is expiring in the month of April 2018. My employer routinely asks for the work authorization status/visa details as a part of their audit/compliance.

I am very worried what might happen to me, as I will have to inform them that my PR Card is expiring soon. Although theoretically I know that the expiry of the PR Card and the Permanent Resident Status are two different things and that the expiry of my PR Card wouldn't have any impact of my PR Status but its hard to convince the employers(specially the HR) about the immigration and labor laws.

I have applied for the renewal of my PR Card today i.e 24 March 2018 but I know it would take a couple of weeks for me get the acknowledgement from CIC regarding the receipt of the application.

I have three questions:

1) How I could track my application status and how soon does that get updated on the website? I already have an old account on the CIC Website(from the time I immigrated to Canada). Does the same account get updated automatically with the new application status as soon as CIC receives my application? OR I will have to create a new account OR will they provide me the new account details?

2) If I had applied for the PR Card renewal earlier, I would have gotten the acknowledgement from CIC by now and I could have shown them the status of the PR Renewal Application online? But in my situation, how am I supposed to convince my employer about my Permanent Resident status until the time the application status gets updated on the CIC Website?

3) If I am terminated on the assumption that I am no more a Permanent Resident, what could I do to defend my rights?

Regards

 

[evdm]

Can you use a record of landing or CoPR from your original landing to show that you are a PR to your employer, instead of the card?

If you are terminated on the grounds that you don't have a valid PR card, you would probably have to file a lawsuit against the company for wrongful dismissal. I am not a lawyer but I don't believe that there's any law that states that a PR must have a valid PR card. As you correctly point out, your status and card are two different things. As a PR you have the right to live and work in Canada. Your Employer/HR would also have to give you a resonable amount of time to prove this if it is questioned. To me, it seems you are taking all the right steps.

 

[Buletruck]

Agreed with above. A PR card is a travel document only and not proof of status. A SIN is all that’s required to present an employer. If he hired you as a PR and you have proved your status already, what would make him think that status has changed. He would be ill advised to terminate someone who doesn’t provide a PR card as proof.

 

[bealegend]

Thank you evdm and buletruck for your pieces of advice. I am being just a little proactive. They have already questioned me about my PR Card expiry as they believe that a work visa and PR are one and the same, which have expiry associated with them. I do have a COPR and I also could prove to them that my PR Card renewal is in the process(The application has been received at CIC), should they insist on me having a valid PR Card.

Should I be suspended/terminated on these grounds, I will have no option but to resort to some serious legal advice.