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Leaving Canada without PR card

aizacastillo

Full Member
May 25, 2018
29
5
I am a new permanent resident of Canada. I landed on March 31 2018 and will be leaving on May 30 2018 because of a job commitment outside. Can I leave Canada without my PR Card and can my sister just mail the card to me? And do I have to come to Canada every 6 months or 183 days so that my PR status will not be forfeited?
 

Bs65

VIP Member
Mar 22, 2016
13,190
2,419
You can leave Canada without a PR card and your sister can mail or courier it to you as despite a few posts on here although discouraged by IRCC it is not illegal.If there is any risk at all it could be with a receiving country no way to predict but again nobody seems to have indicated this being an issue on here at least, mainly rumours.

There is no such rule that you need to be in Canada 6 months every year, all you need to do is to ensure that you accumulate 2 years in the first 5 years post landing. After that the 5 years becomes a rolling 5 years on each entry so you need to have 2 years banked in the 5 years prior to each reentry into Canada.

In effect you could stay away for near 3 years post initial landing but that would mean then staying put for 2 years without leaving at all to meet the residency obligation..

Also note that date of landing is the date for the initial 5 years and not the PR card issue/validity date.

Generally new immigrant PR cards seem to have been issued in 6-8 weeks so you are borderline to get yours before you leave the country.
 
Last edited:

aizacastillo

Full Member
May 25, 2018
29
5
You can leave Canada without a PR card and your sister can mail or courier it to you as despite a few posts on here although discouraged by IRCC it is not illegal.If there is any risk at all it could be with a receiving country no way to predict but again nobody seems to have indicated this being an issue on here at least, mainly rumours.

There is no such rule that you need to be in Canada 6 months every year, all you need to do is to ensure that you accumulate 2 years in the first 5 years post landing. After that the 5 years becomes a rolling 5 years on each entry so you need to have 2 years banked in the 5 years prior to each reentry into Canada.

In effect you could stay away for near 3 years post initial landing but that would mean then staying put for 2 years without leaving at all to meet the residency obligation..

Also note that date of landing is the date for the initial 5 years and not the PR card issue/validity date.

Generally new immigrant PR cards seem to have been issued in 6-8 weeks so you are borderline to get yours before you leave the country.
Thank you for the reply. Then do you think my card will be here by first week of June? Can I have a layover in Calgary from Edmonton for my flight even if I don't have a PR card? Will they ask for it.?