What is permanent residence?

• Someone who is given permanent resident status by immigrating to Canada, but is not a Canadian citizen.

• Permanent residents are citizens of other countries.

• Refugees who are resettled from overseas become Permanent Residents through the Government-Assisted Refugee Program or the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program.

• If you make a refugee claim in Canada, it will take some time before the claim is approved by the Immigration and Refugee Board. Then, you must apply for and get Permanent Residence Status.

What rights do Permanent Residents have?

With a permanent residence card, you can:

• ​receive healthcare coverage

• ​live, work, or study anywhere in Canada

• ​Apply for Canadian citizenship

• ​Protection under Canadian law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

However: you must pay taxes and respect all Canadian laws at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels.

WHERE DREAMS HAPPEN

What Permanent Residents cannot do:

• Vote or run for political office

• Hold some jobs that need a high security clearance

• When you are a permanent resident, you can live outside of Canada, but must live in Canada for at least two years in a five-year period. If you live outside of Canada for longer, you may lose your permanent resident status.

What happens if you lose your Permanent Resident status?

Losing your permanent resident status does not happen automatically. You cannot lose your permanent resident status simply by living outside of Canada long enough that you don’t meet the residency requirement. Unless you have gone through an official process, you have not lost or given up your permanent resident status, even though you may not be eligible to return to Canada as a permanent resident.

You may lose your permanent resident status if:

• ​An adjudicator determines that you are no longer a permanent resident following an inquiry; or:
  

• A visa officer determines you do not meet the required residency when you apply for a permanent resident travel document or temporary resident travel document.

You may lose your permanent resident status in one of the ways described above if:

• You do not live in Canada for two out of five years;
  

• You are convicted of a serious crime and told to leave Canada; or

• You become a Canadian citizen.

​You do not lose your permanent resident status if your PR card expires.

​What if I want to voluntarily give up my Permanent Residence Status? ​​

​There may come a time when you no longer want to be a permanent resident of Canada. If so, you can apply to voluntarily give up your status.

If you know you have not met your residency obligations by being outside of Canada for a long period of time, and would like to visit Canada, and do not want to wait for a visa officer to do a formal assessment of your permanent resident status, you may apply to voluntarily give up your residence status. ​

KNOW

YOUR RIGHTS