Lost PR card and beiing asked humanitarian and compassionate considerations for residency requirement

[abff08f4813c]

Dear All,

I lost my PR card on June 2, 2026, and applied for a replacement on June 4, 2026. I am still waiting for an update.

In the meantime, I am considering travelling outside Canada and applying for a PRTD to return if my replacement card is not issued in time.

What citizenship/nationality are you? As unfair as it is, I believe the expected timeline for an PRTD (which normally can only be applied for once you are already outside of Canada) can vary based on this, along with the location you are traveling to.

I became a PR less than five years ago. I currently have only an 11-day margin over the residency obligation. I have approximately 436 days remaining in my first five-year period and need to spend about 425 of those days in Canada to meet the 730-day requirement.

Given this situation, can I travel outside Canada and return using a PRTD while still being able to meet my residency obligation by the end of my first five years?

Any advice or personal experience would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

This is a really tight timeline. And on this forum we've seen before where someone left Canada without the PR card, was told to return to Canada to pick it up in person by so-and-so deadline, and then either the PRTD was not ready in time or it was denied outright. Granted, as you're not yet outside of RO compliance, the latter is unlikely in your case. But depending on your situation, it's possible that the delay from waiting for the PRTD itself may put you outside of compliance - which is a situation that you do not want.

Is flying or traveling to the US and then crossing the land border an option? If so I'd just plan on doing that than rely on the PRTD option (unless the forum confirms you can expect a quicker one week service here).

If that's not an option, then I'd say you better not leave Canada at all - not until you have a valid, unexpired PR card in hand. If you leave without it, your PR may be at risk. I've seen too many stories about folks who left, put faith in the PRTD, and ended up losing PR.

 

[Kalmeshp]

How long will you be abroad? You already have minimal buffer time what happens if you have a family emergency or need to travel for business?

@canuck78 Since i have only 11 Days of Buffer. I would stay just those days and plan to return.
Risk is if i dont get the PRTD in those 11 Days. What are my options? Thanks.

 

[Kalmeshp]

What citizenship/nationality are you? As unfair as it is, I believe the expected timeline for an PRTD (which normally can only be applied for once you are already outside of Canada) can vary based on this, along with the location you are traveling to.

This is a really tight timeline. And on this forum we've seen before where someone left Canada without the PR card, was told to return to Canada to pick it up in person by so-and-so deadline, and then either the PRTD was not ready in time or it was denied outright. Granted, as you're not yet outside of RO compliance, the latter is unlikely in your case. But depending on your situation, it's possible that the delay from waiting for the PRTD itself may put you outside of compliance - which is a situation that you do not want.

Is flying or traveling to the US and then crossing the land border an option? If so I'd just plan on doing that than rely on the PRTD option (unless the forum confirms you can expect a quicker one week service here).

If that's not an option, then I'd say you better not leave Canada at all - not until you have a valid, unexpired PR card in hand. If you leave without it, your PR may be at risk. I've seen too many stories about folks who left, put faith in the PRTD, and ended up losing PR.

My Nationality : India, Indian Citizen.
I dont have US visa so that option is ruled out.
I agree with you on staying back until new PR card is issued, is the safe option. Thank you for the detailed response.
I had to attend an important family function so was looking for ways to visit them.
The PR Card application was submitted on 04 Jun 2026. Its been more than 3 months and no updates. I have called IRCC several times since the last month and been told it is under review. Wondering why my application alone is taking so long?

 

[abff08f4813c]

My Nationality : India, Indian Citizen.
I dont have US visa so that option is ruled out.

Ah, there's a similar case here: https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-i...r-prtd-during-pr-renewal.853599/post-11043443

No updates, but usually people post back when things are resolved in their favour, so I'm assuming that this fellow person from India ultimately lost PR and gave up.

I agree with you on staying back until new PR card is issued, is the safe option. Thank you for the detailed response.
I had to attend an important family function so was looking for ways to visit them.

Ah I see. Wish I could help more - but in truth, having to miss that is likely the safest way to be assured that PR will be kept, unfortunately.

(Also, disregard what I wrote two years ago in the other thread - the ferry's website has since clarified that for someone doing France -> St-P-et-M -> Canada, the ferry will require valid international documentation same as the airlines (thus a valid unexpired PR card or a valid visa) - the use of a Canadian DL or photo ID only applies to round trips that start from Canada.)

The PR Card application was submitted on 04 Jun 2026. Its been more than 3 months and no updates. I have called IRCC several times since the last month and been told it is under review. Wondering why my application alone is taking so long?

I'm speculating here, but there's a suspicion that's been suggested in other parts of the forum: that in cases where a person is just barely short of RO or is close to missing RO, that they sometimes delay the PR card application to see if the applicant ultimately falls short or not.

Once you stay long enough that those 11 days are no longer at risk of being a gap - which I hope will be soon - then they'll likely just approve it and mail it out shortly afterwards.

That said, there's also some indication that stuff like this in general is just taking longer. See this note from the Canadian Bar Association: https://cba.org/our-impact/cba-infl...ts-should-not-wait-months-for-their-pr-cards/