Travel plans and In limbo between PR renewal and citizenship applications

[Orgcom]

... as long as you can prove you have a valid PR status.

I read somewhere that one of the ways to find out whether you're in compliance with your RO is to ask the border officer. So I guess, you don't have to prove anything to them unless you have less than 730 days of being in Canada in the last 5 years. Am I wrong?

 

[Orgcom]

Call them, most of the people here renew the PR card within a maximum of 4 months.

The reply on the phone will be like that: " Your card was printed and sent to the local IRCC office. You have to wait until they schedule an appointment for you to come and pick it up".

 

[bluesami]

The reply on the phone will be like that: " Your card was printed and sent to the local IRCC office. You have to wait until they schedule an appointment for you to come and pick it up".

It should be sent in the mail, why they sent it to the local IRCC office ?

 

[Orgcom]

It should be sent in the mail, why they sent it to the local IRCC office ?

"Once produced, the PR card is generally mailed to you directly. It is also possible that you are asked to pick it up in person."

A long wait after applying almost always means that your card was sent to a local office...

 

[bellaluna]

Thanks for your response. I would seriously doubt if there is something in my profile as I dont believe there are any flags in my application and it is completely routine. Can I find out in anyway if there is something wrong? Plus I have not received any request for additional supporting documents from what I originally submitted with each application.

I have ageing parents that I havent met in 3 years but I guess that does not fall under emergency. Its just so unfair that delays on IRCC side are now resulting me in being completely stuck here.

Just trying to rule that out. Might be more of bad luck then.

The Permanent Residency forum has a few horror stories of PR cards being stuck at local offices that are simply not distributing them after many months.

I have a very similar situation. My citizenship application is stuck, nothing is being processed. My PR card is expired and I applied for renewal.
However, you can still travel under certain circumstances. I asked CBSA via phone.

Common carriers, like airlines, won't let you enter Canada on an expired PR card. But as long as you can somehow travel on your passport to Canada, you should be fine. CBSA says as long as you have a valid PR status, they'll let you in, even if your PR card is expired. But that only works when you're there with CBSA, not with the airline agents. One scenario is crossing the border to the US via a private car, you can return to Canada via a private car as long as you can prove you have a valid PR status.

Thanks, this is helpful info, in case OP’s passport is visa exempt for Canada or can be admitted into the US.

 

[canuck78]

I read somewhere that one of the ways to find out whether you're in compliance with your RO is to ask the border officer. So I guess, you don't have to prove anything to them unless you have less than 730 days of being in Canada in the last 5 years. Am I wrong?

You must apply for a PRTD to travel back to Canada unless you are travelling by land from the US.

 

[canuck78]

Dear Friends,

I submitted my citizenship application back in Oct 2019 and I recently passed the test over the weekend. When I check my status online, it shows "complete" for Background verification and Citizenship test. However, what is still "in progress" is Language skills, Physical presence and Prohibitions (no clue why as that should have already been validated).

My PR card expired in Feb 2021 and I applied for a renewal. My PR application status says "in process" since April 2, 2021. Now do I need to pursue my PR card renewal or not? Up until what date am I allowed to use my PR card?

I want to make some international travel plans for October 2021 and I am not sure how to go about this (I am currently in Canada). Would I travel with my PR card or Canadian passport so that I can return back to Canada (assuming I get either of them by then?).

I would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks!

You aren’t stuck in Canada. You can apply for a PRTD while in your home country as long as you meet your RO.

 

[funloving]

You can take flight back home and if it a short trip (since PRTD are taking long times to process as well as per my understanding but it depends on you local Canadian embassy) you can land in the US (assuming that you have a valid US visa) and drive back in a private vehicle, you can show your other IDs like COPR, DL, expired PR cards to get in to Canada.