+1(514) 937-9445 or Toll-free (Canada & US) +1 (888) 947-9445

Need to renew PR Card from USA - Canadian Spouse living with me

pred8er

Star Member
Apr 6, 2009
76
0
Hi All,

I have some questions on how to renew my card.

I got my card in 2011 and my spouse and I moved to the USA a few month after getting it for work reasons. So the renewal period is coming up in 6-7 months.

1. I know since she has been living with me I can renew (we can proof of her Citizenship and my US Tax return that show she has lived with me all this time

2. Which forms do I use for this renewal?

3. Do I apply from Outside or Inside Canada? I do have a Canadian Address (my grandparents) that I can use.

Thank you
 

pred8er

Star Member
Apr 6, 2009
76
0
thank you for the response.

Just for my own understanding: Why would I apply from Canada?

(Also I live in Seattle so I am a couple of hours from the border).

Thank you !!
 

ttrajan

Champion Member
Oct 14, 2013
2,237
49
Category........
AINP
Job Offer........
Yes
LANDED..........
15-08-2012
Also you need to provide canada address for card delivery.
 

pred8er

Star Member
Apr 6, 2009
76
0
so its legal for me to apply from inside Canada even though i live in USA?

That was my main overall concern. thank you!
 

zardoz

VIP Member
Feb 2, 2013
13,304
2,166
Canada
Category........
FAM
Visa Office......
London
App. Filed.......
16-02-2013
VISA ISSUED...
31-07-2013
LANDED..........
09-11-2013
pred8er said:
so its legal for me to apply from inside Canada even though i live in USA?

That was my main overall concern. thank you!
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/pr-card/
Note: Permanent residents outside Canada
You can only apply for a new PR card if you are in Canada. If you are a permanent resident of Canada outside of the country and do not have a valid PR card, you can only apply for a new one after returning to Canada.
To return to Canada without a valid PR card, you need to apply for a permanent resident travel document.
And in http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5445ETOC.asp
Assessing your eligibility

To be eligible for a PR Card, you must:

be a permanent resident of Canada
be physically present in Canada
not be under an effective removal order
not be a Canadian citizen and
not be convicted of an offense related to the misuse of a PR card
And
Question 12
Write your residential address in Canada with postal code.

Note: All correspondence will go to this address unless you indicate your e-mail address in question 14.

Question 13
Write your mailing address, with postal code, if different from the residential address in question A-12.

Note: If you provide us with a mailing address, all correspondence will be sent to this address. However, PR Cards will not be mailed to third party addresses. If you provide a third party address in Question 13, your PR Card will be sent to your residential address. PR cards will only be mailed to post office (PO) boxes if the PO box is your residential mailing address. If no residential address is provided, processing will be delayed until your residential address is provided.
The problem arises that CIC will not send the card to anywhere other than YOUR residential address, so you effectively have to misrepresent that your grandparent's address is yours. This *might* lead to problems. Caveat Emptor
 

dpenabill

VIP Member
Apr 2, 2010
6,294
3,058
pred8er said:
Hi All,

I have some questions on how to renew my card.

I got my card in 2011 and my spouse and I moved to the USA a few month after getting it for work reasons. So the renewal period is coming up in 6-7 months.

1. I know since she has been living with me I can renew (we can proof of her Citizenship and my US Tax return that show she has lived with me all this time

2. Which forms do I use for this renewal?

3. Do I apply from Outside or Inside Canada? I do have a Canadian Address (my grandparents) that I can use.

Thank you
To be clear, it is not necessary to renew the PR card.

PR status does NOT depend on having a valid PR card.

A PR continues to be a PR no matter how long the PR card has been expired.

As long as the PR remains in compliance with the PR Residency Obligation, by living with a Canadian citizen spouse abroad, PR status remains intact, valid.

If you have a visa exempt passport, not having a currently valid PR card should be of minimal inconvenience (you should be able to travel back and forth between the U.S. and Canada without having to obtain a PR Travel Document for each trip).

In other words, for a PR living abroad with a Canadian citizen spouse, CIC does not expect the PR to renew the PR card . . . unless and not until the PR has returned to live in Canada.
 

pred8er

Star Member
Apr 6, 2009
76
0
dpenabill said:
To be clear, it is not necessary to renew the PR card.

PR status does NOT depend on having a valid PR card.

A PR continues to be a PR no matter how long the PR card has been expired.

As long as the PR remains in compliance with the PR Residency Obligation, by living with a Canadian citizen spouse abroad, PR status remains intact, valid.

If you have a visa exempt passport, not having a currently valid PR card should be of minimal inconvenience (you should be able to travel back and forth between the U.S. and Canada without having to obtain a PR Travel Document for each trip).

In other words, for a PR living abroad with a Canadian citizen spouse, CIC does not expect the PR to renew the PR card . . . unless and not until the PR has returned to live in Canada.
This makes sense. Thanks for that I guess I will renew when the time comes that I do come back to Canada.

Thanks for the information!
 

CanadaGirl35

Member
Mar 26, 2015
13
0
Just don't wait until the last minute to renew it. I would say send in the application 6 months before planning on moving back to Canada just to be on the safe side.