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 (sorry what actually counts here is that, as you are within your first five years and are just borderline, that you accumulate enough days to actually meet RO - that there's no longer any risk of you falling short) - 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/

 

[canuck78]

@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.

That is a risky proposition. Though to say how IRCC will treat your PRTD request if your plan is to return on the last day you will remain compliant with your RO. What if your flight is cancelled? Having no buffer time is not a good idea. Even if you return with a PRTD you will still be assessed to make sure you are compliant with your RO when you enter Canada. If you are unable to secure a PRTD in time and you’re no longer compliant with your RO your best option would be to fly to the US if you have a visa. As a PR you would be able to enter Canada by land but you could still get reported for not meeting your RO. This plan is incredibly risky in general. Hopefully this trip is for an extremely important reason because if you have no buffer time left you should not leave Canada again until you are compliant. Many do not account to emergencies, business travel, etc. and then when they need to travel they don’t have great options.

 

[Seym]

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.

Not necessarily. People can also only post when they have a problem they need others to help with, and move on with their life, and from this forum, the moment the problem is solved.

On the topic itself : someone who only has minimum wiggle room, shouldn't see the buffer as "the number of days they can still spend outside of Canada". It obviously is, but it's a safer approach to consider that the buffer is minimal because the applicant still has significant ties with another country, and these ties don't disappear the moment, oups, the buffer disappears, so any day "saved" by shortening a trip should be saved. Taking the full buffer in a current trip and just assuming that, well, next trip won't happen till the residence requirements are met, is potentially a very bold assumption, especially since, after the first 5 years, it becomes a rolling period where adding to the buffer only happens if someone is in Canada but wasn't there 5 years earlier, and that doesn't necessarily add up when 40% of the days (the 2 years spent in Canada to keep PR!) are just spent compensating for a day of presence lost to the rolling period.
That being said, people are free to do whatever they want, and that includes putting themselves in a precarious situation with IRCC.

TLDR : great FAFO potential here...

 

[Kalmeshp]

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.

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.)

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 (sorry what actually counts here is that, as you are within your first five years and are just borderline, that you accumulate enough days to actually meet RO - that there's no longer any risk of you falling short) - 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/

@abff08f4813c i still have to stay 420 days out of the remaining 431 days to fulfill the RO.
I called IRCC and they said it is under process and since my application is not a routine one(dont know what they meant) it is taking more time to process and that i can call back later to check on the status since the application tracker tool is not currently working. I need to make a trip outside but its high risk applying for PRTD. Instead i am ready to wait but cannot wait too long as it is a personal family visit and with time it will become increasingly urgent. What are your thoughts on this how one should go about? Anything in your experience or that you have seen? Thanks.

 

[abff08f4813c]

@abff08f4813c i still have to stay 420 days out of the remaining 431 days to fulfill the RO.
I called IRCC and they said it is under process and since my application is not a routine one(dont know what they meant)

If you were past your five year window and needed 420 days in Canada to meet RO again after being out of compliance, then this would have made more sense. But that's not the case - you are within 435 days of your initial five year window and just need to be in Canada for 420 of those.

I'd weakly guess that my earlier guess is right - they're waiting for you to spend more days - up to 420, though someone else pointed out that a delay of 6-12 months seems to be more common* - in Canada before approving.

* https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-i...newal-obligations.873603/page-3#post-11159869

it is taking more time to process and that i can call back later to check on the status since the application tracker tool is not currently working.

Yes. I would not expect to see any sort of movement until you've past 420 more days.

Instead i am ready to wait but cannot wait too long as it is a personal family visit and with time it will become increasingly urgent. What are your thoughts on this how one should go about? Anything in your experience or that you have seen? Thanks.

So - you'll have to wait more days before the new card is approved. In fact if you spend enough time outside of Canada that you can no longer hit 420 days (i.e. can no longer comply with RO), expect the ID card to require a pickup in Canada and a PRTD to simply be denied.

Your best bets are to try and get a US visa somehow and try the land border, and/or see if you can timely get a PRTD while applying from inside of Canada itself (without leaving Canada). The other international surfaces with Canada are all through water (e.g. St Pierre & Miquelon), and I don't know how in theory one would attempt to transverse this using a personal vehicle. (Using a commercial one like the Ferry at St Pierre & Miquelon will require you to present your India passport and valid PR card/PRTD or valid visa.)

If you had another national passport that only required an ETA to enter Canada, it's possible (but untested) that you may be able to get through and in via a cruise ship, but this isn't an option for a passport from India IIRC.

Otherwise, your choice is stark - attend the family visit in person and accept the lost of PR that is likely, or sacrifice the family visit for the sake of PR.

 

[Kalmeshp]

If you were past your five year window and needed 420 days in Canada to meet RO again after being out of compliance, then this would have made more sense. But that's not the case - you are within 435 days of your initial five year window and just need to be in Canada for 420 of those.

I'd weakly guess that my earlier guess is right - they're waiting for you to spend more days - up to 420, though someone else pointed out that a delay of 6-12 months seems to be more common* - in Canada before approving.

* https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-i...newal-obligations.873603/page-3#post-11159869

Yes. I would not expect to see any sort of movement until you've past 420 more days.

So - you'll have to wait more days before the new card is approved. In fact if you spend enough time outside of Canada that you can no longer hit 420 days (i.e. can no longer comply with RO), expect the ID card to require a pickup in Canada and a PRTD to simply be denied.

Your best bets are to try and get a US visa somehow and try the land border, and/or see if you can timely get a PRTD while applying from inside of Canada itself (without leaving Canada). The other international surfaces with Canada are all through water (e.g. St Pierre & Miquelon), and I don't know how in theory one would attempt to transverse this using a personal vehicle. (Using a commercial one like the Ferry at St Pierre & Miquelon will require you to present your India passport and valid PR card/PRTD or valid visa.)

If you had another national passport that only required an ETA to enter Canada, it's possible (but untested) that you may be able to get through and in via a cruise ship, but this isn't an option for a passport from India IIRC.

Otherwise, your choice is stark - attend the family visit in person and accept the lost of PR that is likely, or sacrifice the family visit for the sake of PR.

@abff08f4813c Another option that i am thinking of is - instead of me visiting them, having my family visit me here.
I became PR in 2022, got married in 2023. Never had any plans to come to canada so never applied for spousal sponsorship then. However, i had applied for their Visitor visa and it is multiple entry valid for 10 years.
I came to canada after close to 3 years in 2025 and now i have applied for outland spousal sponsorship including my kid in that application.
Spousal sponsorship have about 15 months processing time. Now them visiting me is an option.
If yes, is there any chance that scrutiny will be done for them as well since i am on the borderline for RO? Please advise . Thanks,

 

[armoured]

I came to canada after close to 3 years in 2025 and now i have applied for outland spousal sponsorship including my kid in that application.
Spousal sponsorship have about 15 months processing time. Now them visiting me is an option.
If yes, is there any chance that scrutiny will be done for them as well since i am on the borderline for RO? Please advise . Thanks,

It is fairly common now for spouses + kids to be able to get visitor visas (TRV), and spouse can apply for a work permit once arrived in Canada. You can look up and research in the family sponsorship forum here about 'family reunification' and experiences. With that TRV it is basically understood that the spouse/children intend to stay and are waiting for the PR status to be approved (although the usual ritual 'will not overstay. / will leave if required to' stuff applies). There is rarely an issue at airport upon arrival with a visa - with an important 'as long as' qualification - that the intent of the visitor corresponds to the visa issued.
-Should apply for this visa only after you receive AOR for the sponsorship application.
-Processing times for the work permits varies, so best not to count upon income from work.
-Health insurance is an issue - assume will not get domestic health insurance until PR status, and have private insurance for emergencies at minimum.
-Schooling: depends on province. Research first if child is of school age.
-I do not know specifically about whether approval of the spousal sponsorship will be delayed because you are close to being out of compliance - probably not is my guess, but at minimum we can say much lower chance of complications if you remain in compliance.

But at any rate, if your main reason to leave Canada described above is to visit spouse, it would indeed be better to work to get the TRV for spouse and kid - either for visit or to remain - rather than risk status.

 

[canuck78]

@abff08f4813c Another option that i am thinking of is - instead of me visiting them, having my family visit me here.
I became PR in 2022, got married in 2023. Never had any plans to come to canada so never applied for spousal sponsorship then. However, i had applied for their Visitor visa and it is multiple entry valid for 10 years.
I came to canada after close to 3 years in 2025 and now i have applied for outland spousal sponsorship including my kid in that application.
Spousal sponsorship have about 15 months processing time. Now them visiting me is an option.
If yes, is there any chance that scrutiny will be done for them as well since i am on the borderline for RO? Please advise . Thanks,

If you are purely visiting your family and you are attempting to sponsor them as PR it is important you remain in Canada and not get stuck abroad. Also that you remain compliant with your RO. There have been cases where sponsorship processing is paused if the spouse or parent’s PR status is in doubt. If I remember correctly in one case even after the parent’s PR status has been retained the child’s sponsorship remained paused until they became compliant with their RO. If the goal is to sponsor your family then visiting you in Canada is a much better way for you to reunite.

 

[Kalmeshp]

It is fairly common now for spouses + kids to be able to get visitor visas (TRV), and spouse can apply for a work permit once arrived in Canada. You can look up and research in the family sponsorship forum here about 'family reunification' and experiences. With that TRV it is basically understood that the spouse/children intend to stay and are waiting for the PR status to be approved (although the usual ritual 'will not overstay. / will leave if required to' stuff applies). There is rarely an issue at airport upon arrival with a visa - with an important 'as long as' qualification - that the intent of the visitor corresponds to the visa issued.
-Should apply for this visa only after you receive AOR for the sponsorship application.
-Processing times for the work permits varies, so best not to count upon income from work.
-Health insurance is an issue - assume will not get domestic health insurance until PR status, and have private insurance for emergencies at minimum.
-Schooling: depends on province. Research first if child is of school age.
-I do not know specifically about whether approval of the spousal sponsorship will be delayed because you are close to being out of compliance - probably not is my guess, but at minimum we can say much lower chance of complications if you remain in compliance.

But at any rate, if your main reason to leave Canada described above is to visit spouse, it would indeed be better to work to get the TRV for spouse and kid - either for visit or to remain - rather than risk status.

Thank you @armoured
I have the Spousal Sponsorship AOR. It is under process.
Thanks again for the elaborate details.

 

[Kalmeshp]

If you are purely visiting your family and you are attempting to sponsor them as PR it is important you remain in Canada and not get stuck abroad. Also that you remain compliant with your RO. There have been cases where sponsorship processing is paused if the spouse or parent’s PR status is in doubt. If I remember correctly in one case even after the parent’s PR status has been retained the child’s sponsorship remained paused until they became compliant with their RO. If the goal is to sponsor your family then visiting you in Canada is a much better way for you to reunite.

@canuck78 Yes. recently i was asked to submit my proof of residency on the Spousal Sponsorship application. I am wondering whether they will pause on the processing until my RO is fulfilled. Do you have the link to that thread of the instance you mentioned? If my family visits on TRV , will there be any challenges at the border for them since my RO is yet to happen?