PR Card Renewal - Outside Canada
- Thread starter Can-On
- Start date
Actually I lived in Canada for more than 2 years since I became a PR, and this is my second PR Card, Do you think I still need to be there to pick it up?
I cannot speak to why @canuck78 says that in "your situation you are likely to be asked to pick up your card in person," particularly since you reveal rather little about "your situation."
There is nonetheless definitely a significant risk of that. Whether or not an in-person PR card pick-up is required will vary from person to person, with the individual PR's "situation" playing a substantial role in who this affects.
Based on other posts, part of your situation appears to be a citizenship application now pending for more than two years. (Made in May 2020?)
An unstated situation of significance is whether you were physically located IN Canada at the time you made the PR card application. IRCC information states that a PR must be IN Canada to be eligible for a new PR card. How this actually affects a PR card application can be a little complicated, but it is at least very common (cannot say "likely" as there is no where near enough statistical information to support such an inference, but it might be) for IRCC to either refer a PR card application to Secondary Review if it is known or perceived the PR is outside Canada (at time of making the application or while the application is pending), or to require in-person PR card pick-up.
Part of the reason for the in-person pick-up is to affirm the PR's identity and that the PR is in Canada, but it is also in large part about requiring the PR to return to Canada, and thus either go through the process of applying for a PR TD (which will screen the PR's RO compliance at the time of the PR TD application) or applying for entry into Canada at a Port-of-Entry where the PR may be likewise be subject to examination as to RO compliance (it is not certain, but my sense is that there is an alert added to the PR's GCMS increasing the probability of RO compliance screening when the PR arrives at a PoE while returning to Canada).
Also note that generally IRCC will NOT mail PR cards to any other address than the PR's actual residential address. Address information is fudged by PRs a lot, typically without a problem. Thus, there is no shortage of anecdotal confirmation that a friend or family member who receives the PR card in the mail at the address the PR gives as where they reside is able to forward the PR card to the PR abroad. As common as this is, there is at least the risk that IRCC knows or perceives the address provided is not where the PR is actually residing and that would, at best, trigger an in-person pick-up.
@dpenabill May I ask what would happen if your asked to pick up your renewed PR card from a local office (H&C renewal case) and you have an expired PR card outside country? Can you reschedule and meanwhile get a PRTD as you had an approved case?