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Leaving Canada day after submitting PR card application?

Whiskieblue

Newbie
Sep 15, 2020
9
0
So I have a bit of a mess. I am a Canadian PR, and got my CoPR signed in November 2022. I did a soft landing and have been in the USA (where I am a citizen) since then. I finally have things sorted out, and am ready to move to Canada. However, I didn't know I needed to apply for a SIN within my first year of having my CoPR signed, so I have no SIN. I also have no PR card, because I haven't had a permanent residence in Canada yet. I would like to secure a Canadian job before moving, so that I can move to a location that makes sense for my job. However, I now have this dilemma where I don't have a SIN so I can't get a job, but to get a SIN I need to have a PR card which requires a permanent address. So, essentially, I have to move somewhere in Canada before I can apply for a SIN and before I know where my job will be located.

The one option I've come up with is going to Canada for a day (since I am required to apply for it from within Canada), applying for my PR card using a friend's address as my residence, then heading back to the USA and waiting for my PR card to arrive at my friend's. I can cross the border by car, so I don't have to worry about having a PRTD. I can also have my friend deliver my PR card to me in the USA once it arrives. I know you're not supposed to do this, and that you're supposed to have the PR card mailed to your personal residence, but I really don't have the financial freedom to move to Canada, apply for a PR card, be jobless for several months while I wait, and then get my SIN and hope I can get a job in the area I am living.

My question is, will IRCC still issue the PR card if I am out of the country? Or will they look at my entry/exit records and know that I am out of the country and refuse to issue me a PR card since they see I only went to Canada for a day?

Also, I'm curious if anyone has any other recommendations of how to get out of this mess. Any assistance would be really appreciated!
 

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
17,285
8,889
My question is, will IRCC still issue the PR card if I am out of the country? Or will they look at my entry/exit records and know that I am out of the country and refuse to issue me a PR card since they see I only went to Canada for a day?
They PROBABLY will either issue it and mail it to you, or issue it and tell you to pick it up at an IRCC office (in Canada). If so, you go up there, and you get it.

Since you became a PR in Nov 2022, you are still in compliance, so either way should basically work.
 

Whiskieblue

Newbie
Sep 15, 2020
9
0
They PROBABLY will either issue it and mail it to you, or issue it and tell you to pick it up at an IRCC office (in Canada). If so, you go up there, and you get it.

Since you became a PR in Nov 2022, you are still in compliance, so either way should basically work.
Thank you! That's very helpful.
 

steaky

VIP Member
Nov 11, 2008
14,781
1,752
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
So I have a bit of a mess. I am a Canadian PR, and got my CoPR signed in November 2022. I did a soft landing and have been in the USA (where I am a citizen) since then. I finally have things sorted out, and am ready to move to Canada. However, I didn't know I needed to apply for a SIN within my first year of having my CoPR signed, so I have no SIN. I also have no PR card, because I haven't had a permanent residence in Canada yet. I would like to secure a Canadian job before moving, so that I can move to a location that makes sense for my job. However, I now have this dilemma where I don't have a SIN so I can't get a job, but to get a SIN I need to have a PR card which requires a permanent address. So, essentially, I have to move somewhere in Canada before I can apply for a SIN and before I know where my job will be located.
How about get a job in the US (such as Detroit, MI) and commute from Canada (such as Sarnia, ON)?
 

PabloSektman

Full Member
Jan 8, 2023
28
12
Are you 100% sure about not being able to get a SIN?

My cousin applied for a SIN (while overseas) over 2 years after his soft landing. The letter was sent directly to his overseas address.