Dos and Don’ts for Canada permanent residents

There are various benefits that Canada’s PR holders are entitled to. Here are a few:

• You can live, work, and settle in Canada.
• You get free coverage in healthcare services.
• Businessmen or entrepreneurs can set up their businesses in Canada and run them in a full-fledged manner.
• You can apply for Canadian citizenship after living there legally for a specific number of years.
• You can open your bank account in Canada and also get a driver’s license.
• You have the chance of obtaining valuable scholarships in Canada.
• In Canada, those families who have children aged less than 18 years can avail of monthly tax-free (child tax) payments that will help them in meeting daily expenses.
• Elderly people are provided financial aid under the Canada Pension Plan. They can avail of them after they attain retirement age. In Canada, the existing retirement age is 65 years.
• Canada’s public school system grants free education to kids aged less than 18 years.
• In Canada, women get 12 months of maternity leave. During this time, they earn 50% to 75% of their salary.

Canada Permanent Residency

A permanent resident in Canada is a person who attains this status upon his/her immigration to Canada. This status will however not be tantamount to achieving Canadian citizenship. Canada Permanent Residency awards rights and legal status that are below that of a citizen but more than those arriving in Canada temporarily as students or workers. Those people will have termed visas, upon expiry of which they have to either extend it (if possible) or leave Canada. If you are a permanent resident in Canada, you will get a Canada PR card, indicating your status. When you travel outside Canada, you have to carry a PR card as well as your passport. If you are a permanent resident in Canada, without a valid PR card in hand, you need to apply for a PR travel document before returning to the country after traveling by a commercial vehicle.

Canada PRs Can Do Vs. Canada PRs Can't Do

Dos	Don’ts
Canada PRs get most of the social benefits that Canadian citizens are entitled to including healthcare coverage.	Canada PRs cannot vote or run for any political office.
Canada PRs can live, work, or reside in any of the country’s locations.	Canada PRs cannot hold jobs that need a high-level security clearance.
Canada PRs can apply for Canadian citizenship.
Canada PRs are protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Canadian law.

*Find out your eligibility to immigrate to Canada using Y-Axis Canada Immigration Points Calculator.

Validity of Canada PR visa

Canada PR visa allows you to live permanently in Canada. However, in order to maintain your Canada PR status, you need not be present in Canada for a minimum duration of 730 days during the last five years.

How can I renew my Canada PR visa?

If your PR card gets expired, it doesn’t imply that your Canada PR status expires as well. Normally, a Canada PR card is valid for five years. If your PR card elapses or is due to expire in less than nine months, apply for a new card. To be eligible for a Canada PR card, you must

• Hold Canada’s permanent residency status
• Submit in Canada your application

If you are outside Canada, you can apply for a PRTD (Permanent Resident Travel Document) to return to the country. If you want to leave Canada, you can renew the Canada PR card before your departure.

• In case you don’t get your PR card on time, you can lodge from outside Canada an application for a PRTD.

A Canada PR card costs CAD50. The time taken to process the application for renewing or replacing a PR card is 93 days. A new PR card will be granted within 65 days. In case, you want a PR card to be issued faster, you can opt to apply for urgent processing. For urgent processing, you need to travel outside Canada within the next three months owing to:

• Your serious ailment
• A job opening
• Work-related to your existing job
• The death of your family member
• The serious illness of your family member

Assurance of urgent processing is not granted.

Canada PR to Canada Citizenship

To become a Canadian citizen, you must meet the following requirements:

• You have to be a permanent resident of Canada.
• You must have resided in Canada for three years continuously out of the last five years.
• You must have filed for your outstanding taxes in Canada if there are any pending.
• You need to pass a test on your rights, duties, and knowledge of Canada.
• You must demonstrate proof of your language proficiency.

Any additional documents may also need to be shown depending on the situation that may arise. If have one of the following statuses, you need to have more requirements to fulfill:

• You are applying for a person aged fewer than 18, who are, hence, deemed a minor.
• You are a Canadian PR filing for your adopted child’s application born outside Canada.
• You are a former/existing member of the CAF (Canadian Armed Forces) filing for an application that needs to be fast-tracked.
• You were a Canadian citizen in the past and want to revive it (this includes former/existing members of the CAF)

Marrying a Canadian citizen won’t make you that country’s citizen automatically. However, if you have a parent/grandparent who is a Canadian citizen, you automatically become a Canadian citizen yourself. If you want to migrate to Canada, contact Y-Axis, the leading immigration and career consultant in Australia. If you liked this blog, you can also check... Canada immigration levels plan 2023-2025; 1.5 million immigrants by 2025