worried visa will expire while waiting for renewal....

[gidness]

Hi all,

My 5 year PR visa for canada expires start of June, and have been living here with spouse since 2008. over a month ago i sent off my visa renewal application to Nova Scotia, but havent received a letter back yet with the info to track online how the progress is (client ID etc etc). i am worried that my visa wont get renewed by June so i was wondering if i can stay here till the visa gets approved? and if so for how long? i tried searching online but couldn't find any clear answers to this. any help would calm some nerves!! i am from scotland and the thought of going back to the rain, and missing the great canadian summers is horrible lol.

 

[Sweden]

Hey,

I'm not sure what you mean by "5years PR visa". Do you mean that you became a PR 5 years ago, and now you have asked for the renewal of your PR card?
If that's the case, no worries. you are a PR, and as long as you have been in Canada at least 2 years out of the last 5 years, then you have maintained your "residency obligation", and your PR is still valid. So nothing to do for you, except to wait for the PR card to come back.

It's currently 75 days to receive the new PR card, see here http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm-card.asp

So a month is more than normal. you can stay here, you're a PR and you are legally allowed to be here, no worries.

I don't know if you're aware, but you also could apply for citizenship ( you need to prove that you have been living in Canada 3 years out of the last 4 years, so if that's your case, you qualify). Like this, you can become a Canadian Citizen and not worry about renewing your PR card every 5 years. see here http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/become.asp

Good luck,
Sweden

 

[Sweden]

Just to clarify further - the card expires after 5 years, not the PR - it's called "Permanent Residence" for a reason! as long as you keep on living in Canada and fulfill the residency requirements (2 years out of 5 rolling years), then you're still a Permanent Resident. You only need the new card to prove it, but you don't have to go anywhere. If you need to prove it in June, show the card and the proof that you have applied for a new one, and it should be all good. But since it's 75 days to get the new one, you should have it before beginning of June anyway.

Sweden

 

[gidness]

hi sweden,

thanks for the reply helps alot. yeah my PR card expires in June so i just assumed you had to get it renewed by then. completely wasnt aware you could still wait in Canada for the new PR card to come through, say after June so thanks for that. thought for a while i should have applied to renew my pr card earlier. i did see the 75 days but just started worrying as i know they get back to you when they start processing your application with a client ID etc so you can check your status online.

thanks
gidness