Permanent resident (Canada)

A Permanent Resident in Canada is someone who is not a Canadian citizen but who has been granted permission to live and work in Canada without any time limit on his or her stay. A permanent resident must live in Canada for two years out of every five or risk losing that status.

A Permanent Resident holds many of the same rights and responsibilities as a Canadian citizen, among others the right to work for any enterprise as well as for the federal or provincial government (Under restriction of access rights to certain regulated professions). The main differences are that residents cannot vote in federal elections in Canada, run for elected office or hold Canadian passports. They also cannot join Canada's armed forces or be conscripted.

Permanent residents may apply for Canadian citizenship after three years in Canada, however this is not a mandatory requirement. [ [http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/become-eligibility.asp Becoming a Canadian citizen: Who can apply] ]

Permanent Resident Card

In 2002, the Department of Citizenship and Immigration started issuing the Permanent Resident Card (originally billed as the "Maple Leaf Card") to all new Canadian permanent residents. All existing permanent residents were given the option of applying for a Permanent Resident Card at a cost of 50.-CAD, though possessing a card is not mandatory except in the case of international travel. [ [http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/pr-card/index.asp Permanent Resident Card] ]

With effect from December 31, 2003, every permanent resident must be able to present his or her Permanent Resident Card upon boarding a commercial carrier (aircraft, train or bus) in order to travel to Canada. It looks like a bank card and it allows to prove the status meant to facilitate entry back to Canada. It incorporates several state-of-the-art security features among which an electronic chip containing the necessary data.

As the Permanent Resident Card may only be issued in Canada, a single-use travel document is needed (for a fee) and can be obtained from Canadian embassies abroad for those permanent residents wishing to return to Canada and who do not possess it.

The Permanent Resident Card expires every five years, and then may be renewed by making application and proving that the applicant has been physically present in Canada for the requisite time period, or has otherwise satisfied the residency requirements. Although an individual may meet the residency requirements by living outside of Canada with a Canadian citizen spouse, or working outside Canada for a Canadian business, the Permanent Resident Card cannot be renewed without being present in Canada and having a Canadian address.

History - Landed immigrant

The term "Landed immigrant" ("Immigrant reçu" in Quebec) is an old classification for a person who has been admitted to Canada as a non-Canadian citizen permanent resident. The current official classification for such a person is simply "permanent resident". Nevertheless, the term "Landed immigrant" has been in use for so long that it is still part of the Canadian vocabulary and even still appears in some government publications and forms.

To become a landed immigrant, one had to legally enter Canada, or land, from one of the designated ports of entry. If one was living in Canada as a temporary resident (for example on a study or work permit) and received a permanent residency visa, he (she) had to exit Canada and re-enter via one of the ports of entry to officially land and achieve the landed immigrant status. One way of doing this was to leave the country through the USA/Canada border, attempt to enter USA legally (or receive a refusal notice..) and then re-enter Canada through customs. In some cases, notably those persons married to Canadians and applying for permanent residence "in-country", it was possible to "land" at a Citizenship and Immigration Canada office.

References

See also

* Canada
* Immigration to Canada
* Canadian nationality law
* Citizenship and Immigration Canada
* Canada Permanent Resident Card

External links

* [http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp Citizenship and Immigration Canada]
* [http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/index.asp Information for Newcomers]
* [http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/index.asp Applying for citizenship]
* [http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/pr-card/index.asp Permanent Resident Card]
* [http://www.trackitt.com/canada-immigration-trackers/ Canada Immigration Tracker]