Table of Contents

• Overview
• Before you apply
• Step 1: Gather documents
• Step 2: Fill out the application
• Step 3: Pay the fees
• Step 4: Mail the application
• What happens next?
• Need help?
• Appendix A – Residency obligation
• Appendix B – Changing sex designation on a PR Card
• Appendix C – “X” in the sex field on a PR Card

Before you apply

Permanent Resident Card

The permanent resident card (PR Card) is the official proof of your status as a permanent resident in Canada.

You need a PR Card if:

• you are a permanent resident (including a child);
• you plan on travelling outside of Canada; and
• you plan on returning to Canada by any commercial transporter, such as a plane, train, boat or bus.

Who may use this application

Use this application if you are a permanent resident in Canada who wants to apply for:

• your first PR Card;
• a renewal of your PR Card that has or will soon expire;
• a replacement of your PR Card that has been lost, stolen or damaged; or
• to change the sex designation on your PR Card.

Important information: If your PR Card is still valid for more than nine (9) months (270 days), do not apply for a renewal, unless your legal name has changed. Otherwise, your application will be returned.

I am a new permanent resident. Do I need to apply for a PR Card?

If you are a new permanent resident, you will automatically receive your new card by mail when you first arrive in Canada. This is part of the immigration process and you do not need to apply for a PR Card.

Are you eligible?

To be eligible for a PR Card, you must:

• be a permanent resident of Canada;
• be physically present in Canada;
• meet the residency requirement (see Appendix A – Residency obligation);
• not be under an effective removal order;
• not be a Canadian citizen; and
• not be convicted of an offense related to the misuse of a PR Card

Permanent Residents outside of Canada

If you are outside Canada and do not have a valid PR Card to return, you must get a Permanent Resident Travel Document from a Visa Application Centre or a Canadian visa office.

Important information: When you return to Canada, you should apply for a PR Card right away.

You may be eligible for Canadian citizenship

You may be eligible for Canadian citizenship if:

• you are a permanent resident of Canada; and
• regardless of your age, you have been physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days during the five years right before the date you sign your application and meet all other conditions.

You may be able to use some of your time spent in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person towards your physical presence calculation. Each day spent physically in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person before becoming a permanent resident within the last five years will count as one half day, with a maximum of 365 days, towards your physical presence.

You may be eligible to apply even if you don’t meet the minimum time lived in Canada if you’re a:

• Crown servant (certain categories of public officials); or
• family member of a Crown servant

Find out if you have lived in Canada long enough to apply to become a citizen.

We will not issue PR cards to Canadian citizens. Confirm your status in Canada before you apply.

If we cannot process your PR card application because you are a Canadian citizen, your application fee will be refunded.

Mistake in your name

If your Record of Landing (IMM 1000), Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688) or other permanent residence document has a mistake in your name:

• Fill out and submit a Request to Amend the Immigration Record of Landing, Confirmation of Permanent Residence or Valid Temporary Resident Documents (IMM 5218) to correct it before you apply for a PR Card.

We will only correct administrative mistakes made by the department in recording your personal information.

Legal Change of Name

Read the information below to see which supporting documents you need:

If your present name is different from the name printed on your Record of Landing (IMM 1000) or Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688), you must submit:

• supporting legal documents as proof of your name change, and
• supporting identity documents as requested in section 2 of Step 1.

Submit any of these documents issued by a civil authority in a province or territory of Canada:

• a copy of a legal change of name document, court order, adoption order, or
• one of the following documents (unless you were married in Quebec on or after April 2, 1981 and are now a resident of this province). The document must show your new name:
  • a marriage certificate;
  • divorce decree;
  • registration;
  • declaration of union;
  • revocation of declaration or annulment of union.

If you are a permanent resident and changed your name outside of Canada, submit:

• a foreign passport or other national authoritative document that shows your new name; and
• an official document linking the old and new names.

If your name change was already approved in a past PR Card application, include a photocopy of your last PR Card.

Important information: If you have had a legal name change, you must include a copy of your Record of Landing (IMM 1000) or Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688) with this application.

Step 1: Gather documents

What documents do I need?

The instructions below outline the documents that you must include with your application. Use the Document Checklist (IMM 5644) (PDF, 2.19MB) to gather the necessary documents. Send the completed checklist with your application.

Important information: If any of the required documents are missing, or photocopies are not clear, your application will be returned to you.

If you are under the age of 18

A clear and legible photocopy of one (1) of these:

• your birth certificate (showing your name, date of birth, place of birth and the names of your parents or adoptive parents);
• if you have a legal guardian, submit legal documentation issued by a Canadian court which proves guardianship; or
• a photocopy of your school records (report cards, transcripts, attendance records).

If you were outside Canada for 1095 days or more in the past five (5) years

Provide these documents as they apply to you:

If you were accompanying a family member who is a Canadian citizen:

• proof of citizenship for the Canadian citizen you accompanied abroad; and
• proof of your relationship to this person; and
• proof that your Canadian citizen spouse, common-law partner or parent was outside Canada with you.

If outside Canada working for a Canadian business or public service, provide:

• proof that the company has a Canadian head office;
• proof of your full-time job and
• if you will be working for that company when you return to Canada.

If you were accompanying a permanent resident of Canada working for a Canadian business abroad, provide:

• proof of your relationship to this person; and
• proof of their full-time job; and
• proof of their permanent resident status

For more information, see Appendix A – Residency Obligation.

Step 2: Complete the application

Filling out the application

Follow the step-by-step instructions below to fill out the application forms.

You must complete and submit these forms:

• Application for a Permanent Resident Card (IMM 5444) (PDF, 1.52MB)
• Document Checklist (IMM 5644) (PDF, 2.19MB)

Optional:

• Request form for a Change of Sex Designation (CIT 0404) (PDF, 1.52MB), if it applies to you
• Request for Permanent Resident Card indicating sex designation other than sex shown on foreign travel document (IMM 5543) (PDF, 701.48KB), if it applies to you
• Use of a Representative (IMM 5476) (PDF, 648.31KB), or Authority to Release Personal Information to a Designated Individual (IMM 5475) (PDF, 593.57KB), if it applies to you

Note: It is a serious offence to give false or misleading information on these forms. The information you provide on your application may be verified.

Be complete and accurate

Fill out all sections. If a section does not apply to you, write “Not Applicable” or “NA”. If your application is incomplete, it will be returned to you and this will delay the processing.

If you need more space for any section, print out an additional page with the appropriate section. Fill out this page and submit it with your application.

Application for a Permanent Resident Card (IMM 5444)

Write your Unique Client Identifier (UCI) in the box at the top right hand corner. Your UCI is an 8 or 10 digit reference number that appears on all correspondence you receive from IRCC. You can also find your UCI on your old PR Card (if you have one). For more information, see Where can I find my UCI?

Section A – Personal Details

Section B – Your   History

Question 16

Write the city and province in Canada, where you became a permanent resident. If your Record of Landing (IMM 1000) or Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688) form shows the name of a port of entry (the airport or a border crossing where you became a permanent resident), provide the name of the port of entry as shown on your Record of Landing or Confirmation of Permanent Residence form.

Question 17

Check the box to tell us if you have ever been issued a removal order in Canada. You must choose either Yes or No.

Question 18

Check the correct box to tell us if an Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officer or a Canadian Border Service Agency officer has ever issued you a Report Under Subsection 44(1) or has made the decision that you have not met the residency obligations for Canadian permanent residents. You must choose either Yes or No.

Section C – Personal History

Question 19

Your Address History: You must list all the addresses you have lived at, inside and outside Canada for the past five (5) years, or since becoming a permanent resident if less than five (5) years ago. You must account for each month during this time.

Use another page if you need more space to list this information.

Question 20

Your Work and Education History: You must list all your work and education history inside and outside Canada for the past five (5) years or since becoming a permanent resident if less than five (5) years ago.

You must account for each month during this time:

• If you were retired, unemployed, or a homemaker for any part of this time, provide that information, including the location.
• If you were self-employed, you must provide details of your self-employment.

Use another page if you need more space to list this information.

Stating “not applicable” (or “N/A”), or leaving a question blank may result in your application being returned as incomplete.

Question 21

Your Travel History: You must list all your absences from Canada in the last five (5) years, or since becoming a permanent resident if less than five (5) years ago. Fill in the dates of the time that should be assessed.

Absences include vacations, absences due to employment, trips to the USA and any other time you left Canada.

If you have been outside Canada for 1095 days or more, fill out Section D. See Appendix A for more information on meeting the residency obligation.

If your absences add up to less than 1095 days, go to Section E: Consent to Disclose Information.

Use another page if you need more space to list this information.

Section D – Residency Obligation (See Appendix A)

Question 22

If you have been outside of Canada for 1095 days or more, list your absences from Canada in the past five (5) years in the marked situations. If you became a permanent resident less than five (5) years ago, list the absences from the time you became a permanent resident to present. See Appendix A at the end of this guide.

Use another page if you need more space to list this information.

Section E – Consent to Disclose Information

Question 23

History of Entries to Canada: If you authorize us to collect the history of your entries into Canada from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), check ‘Yes’. If you check ‘No’, you may need to ask for your history of entries directly from the CBSA and send it to us, which could result in processing delays.

Section F – Statement of Consent

Question 24

Check “Yes” and provide your Social Insurance Number (SIN) if you authorize IRCC to ask for your income tax and residency information for any taxation years needed to help the department determine if you meet the residency obligation as set out in Section 28 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

If you check ‘No’:

• you may need to ask for your income tax and residency information directly from the CRA, or
• your application may be sent to a local office for further review.

Either outcome may result in processing delays.

Section G – Declaration of Applicant

Section H – Solemn Declaration Concerning a Lost, Stolen, Destroyed or Never Received Permanent Resident Card

Question 26

Fill out this section only if you are applying to replace a lost, stolen, destroyed or never received Permanent Resident Card.

Step 3: Pay the fees

Your fees

Use the table below to calculate the total amount of fees to be paid. You must include your proof of payment with this application.

Important information: You must pay your fees online. We will return your application if you send any other type of payment.

You can submit an IMM 5401 payment receipt with your application only if it was date stamped by a Canadian financial institution before April 1^st, 2016.

Step 4: Mail the application

Where to mail the application

Mail your application in a stamped envelope to the address below:

Regular mail:

Or by courier:

Is your application urgent?

To qualify for urgent processing, you must demonstrate that you need your PR Card within the next three months for one of these reasons:

• For travel because of your own serious illness;
• For travel because of the serious illness or death of a family member;
• For travel because of work requirements.

You must include all of the following documents to show that you need urgent processing:

• A copy of proof of travel such as tickets or an itinerary showing the destination and dates you will be travelling;
• A copy of proof of payment for travel showing the date, full amount and method of payment;
• A letter explaining the reason for the urgency; and
• Proof of urgency (ie. a doctor’s note, death certificate, letter from employer, etc.)

You must provide the English or French translation for any documents that are not English or French. See the section translation of documents.

If you do not send all of this information, we may not process your application urgently.

Write “Urgent” on your envelope.

What happens next

Hearing from IRCC

After you submit your application, you can expect to hear from us:

• If your application is properly completed and you meet the requirements for a PR Card
  • If you gave us a valid email address, we will send you an Acknowledgement of Receipt (AoR) of your application;
  • you will get your card in the mail or a letter from us telling you when and where to pick up your card.
• If your application is incomplete
  • your application will be returned to you.

If we ask you to pick up your PR Card in person

You must bring your old card and the original documents of the photocopies you included with your application.

If your address or telephone number changes during the application process, you must let us know. You can do this by going to Change of Address or by visiting the Help Centre.

Current processing times are updated regularly on our website. We will only process urgent cases under specific circumstances.

Appendix A: Residency obligation

Minimum residency obligations

If you have been a permanent resident for less than five (5) years

• you must show that you will be able to meet the minimum of 730 days of physical presence in Canada within five (5) years of the date you became a permanent resident.

Time spent outside of Canada

You may also count days outside of Canada as days that you meet the residency obligation in these situations:

Situation 1. Accompanying a Canadian citizen outside Canada

You may count each day you accompanied a Canadian citizen outside Canada as long as this person is your spouse, common-law partner or parent (if you are a child under 19 years of age).

Proof needed

You must provide supporting documents to prove that:

• The person you are accompanying is a Canadian citizen; and
• You are the spouse, common-law partner or child of that person.

Supporting documents may include:

• Mandatory:
  • all passports or other travel documents that the person you are accompanying used in the five (5) years before the application;
  • documents showing the citizenship of the person you are accompanying, including the date the person became a Canadian citizen;
  • proof of the residential addresses of the person you are accompanying for the five (5) years before the application;
  • marriage licence or proof of common-law partnership (if you are accompanying a spouse or common-law partner);
  • child’s birth certificate, baptismal document, or adoption or legal guardianship document (if you are accompanying a parent);
• You may also include:
  • Canadian Income Tax Notice of Assessment (NOA) for the past two (2) years
  • school or employment records;
  • association or club memberships;
  • any other documents you want us to consider.

Situation 2. Employment outside Canada

You may count each day you worked outside Canada if:

• you are an employee of, or under contract to, a Canadian business or the public service of Canada or of a province or territory and
• as a term of your job or contract, you are assigned on a full-time basis to:
  • a position outside Canada
  • an affiliated enterprise outside Canada or
  • a client of the Canadian business or the public service outside Canada; and
• you will continue working for the employer in Canada after the assignment.

For this application, a Canadian business is defined as:

• a corporation that is incorporated under the laws of Canada or of a province and that has an ongoing operation in Canada
• an enterprise that has:
  • an ongoing operation in Canada
  • is capable of generating revenue
  • is carried out in anticipation of profit
  • in which a majority of voting or ownership interests is held by Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or Canadian businesses as defined above or
• an organization or enterprise created by the laws of Canada or a province

Supporting documents:

You must provide a letter signed by an official of the business stating:

• the position and title of the signing official
• the nature of the business and how it fits the description of a Canadian business (see definition above)
• details of your assignment or contract outside Canada such as:
  • length of the assignment,
  • confirmation that you are a full-time employee of the “Canadian business” working abroad on a full-time basis as a term of your employment, or that you are on contract working abroad on a full-time basis as a term of your contract; and
  • a description or copy of the position profile regarding the assignment or contract abroad, and
• confirmation that the business was not created primarily to let you meet your residency obligation

You may also include:

• articles of incorporation and business licences
• partnership agreements or corporate annual reports
• corporate Canadian Income Tax Notices of Assessment or financial statements
• copies of the Employee Assignment Agreement or Contract
• copies of any agreements between the Canadian business and the business or client outside Canada concerning your assignment to that client or business
• Pay Statements
• Canadian Income Tax Notice of Assessment (NOA)
• T4 slips
• Any other proof you want us to consider

Situation 3. Accompanying a permanent resident outside Canada

You may count each day you accompanied a permanent resident outside Canada as long as:

• the person you accompanied is your spouse, common-law partner or parent (if you are a child under 19 years of age); and
• the person was employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business or in the public service of Canada or of a province or territory during the time you accompanied him or her.

Proof needed

You must provide supporting documents to prove that:

• The person you are accompanying is a permanent resident;
• You are the spouse, common-law partner or child of that person; and
• The permanent resident you are accompanying meets the residency obligation.

Supporting documents may include:

• Mandatory:
  • documents showing the person you are accompanying meets the residency obligation;
  • all passports or other travel documents the person you are accompanying used in the five (5) years before the application;
  • marriage licence or proof of common-law partnership (if you are accompanying a permanent resident spouse or common-law partner);
  • child’s birth certificate, baptismal document, or adoption or legal guardianship document (if you are accompanying a permanent resident parent);
• You may also include:
  • School or employment records;
  • Canadian Income Tax Notice of Assessment;
  • association or club memberships;
  • any other documents you want us to consider.

Humanitarian and compassionate grounds

If you cannot meet the residency obligation, we will consider any compelling humanitarian and compassionate factors in your individual circumstances that may justify that you keep your permanent resident status.

We will notify you if this additional assessment is needed.

Appendix B

Changing sex designation on a PR Card

To change your sex designation on your PR Card, you must submit supporting documents. See below for the list of acceptable documents.

Documents issued by Canadian provinces or territories

To ask for a change of sex designation where your documents were issued in Canada, you must submit one of these:

• a legal document issued by a Canadian provincial or territorial vital statistics organization showing a change of sex designation;
• a court order; or
• an amended birth certificate showing a change of sex designation.

Visit your provincial or territorial website to see if you are eligible for any of the documents above.

If you cannot get any of the documents listed above, you must submit:

• a Request form for a Change of Sex Designation (CIT 0404) (PDF, 1.52MB) stating that
  • your gender identity matches the requested change in sex designation;
  • you are living full-time in that gender; and
  • the reason why you did not submit a provincial or territorial document (see requirements for witnesses below);

In the Request form (CIT 0404), you must explain why you did not submit a provincial or territorial document. Otherwise, your application will be returned as incomplete.

If you reside inside Canada, the Request form must be sworn in the presence of:

• a notary public,
• a commissioner of oaths, or
• a commissioner of taking affidavits.

If you reside outside Canada, the Request form will need to be sworn in the presence of:

• a notary public.

There may be risks when travelling internationally with documents that have conflicting personal details (such as name, date of birth, or sex designation).

If you are asking for a change of sex designation and your foreign passport has not been amended, you must submit the Request for Permanent Resident Card indicating sex designation other than sex shown on foreign travel document (IMM 5543) (PDF, 701.48KB).

Documents issued outside Canada

If your supporting documents were issued outside Canada:

• we will only grant your change to sex designation if your foreign passport shows your new sex designation.

If your foreign passport shows the requested sex designation, you must submit these documents :

• a copy of your foreign passport or other national authoritative document showing the requested sex designation;
• photo identification document issued by the national, state or provincial (or equivalent) authority where you live, showing the amended sex designation (such as a driver’s licence or national ID card);

  and one of these sets of documents:

  • a document showing a change of sex designation (such as a legal order issued by a vital statistics agency or an amended birth certificate); or
  • a Request form for a Change of Sex Designation (CIT 0404) (PDF, 1.52MB) stating that:
    • your gender identity matches with the change in sex designation you are asking for,
    • you are living full-time in that gender, and
    • the reason why you did not submit a provincial or territorial document

Appendix C

Features