Can you start the PRTD application process before you leave Canada? Just to expedite the process?
You can, sort-of.
They cannot issue a PR card outside of Canada. They cannot issue a PRTD to someone in Canada. If you apply, but they don’t get around to processing it until you are out of the country, that’s not a problem (and I’ve done it).
Due to COVID and PR card delays, I ended up applying for a PRTD, then driving to Canada instead (this was at the beginning of the shutdowns). I was one of the last PRTDs processed in Los Angeles before they were closed. I got a call from the official there who was asking me questions to prove I was legitimate.
It was clear he was on Google maps, and he asked me a question about the color of my house. I told him what color it was, he asked me if it was more reddish than brown, and my response was “no, I’m standing here looking at it right now. It’s definitely more brown than red.”
His response was that because of COVID, he was going to pretend he didn’t hear me say that, and he issued the PRTD. He informed me that technically, as I was in Canada, he was required to reject the application and tell me to seek a PR Card instead.
