Permanent resident (Canada)

Immigration to Canada
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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 elections in Canada
• run for elected office,
• hold Canadian passports, nor
• join Canada's armed forces

Permanent residents also risk deportation for serious crimes committed while resident in Canada. Permanent residents may apply for Canadian citizenship after three years in Canada, however this is not mandatory.

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, though possessing a card is not mandatory except in the case of international travel.

In 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 proves one's status meant to facilitate entry back to Canada. It incorporates several state-of-the-art security features among which is 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 French) 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 from outside Canada, one has to legally enter Canada, or "land", at one of the designated ports of entry. If granted a permanent residency visa while living in Canada as a temporary resident (for example on a study or work permit or holding a visitor record), the applicant must still officially land and achieve the landed immigrant status. Previously many have left the country through the USA/Canada border, either entering the USA or receiving a refusal notice, and then re-entered Canada through customs, but since late 2008 some, but not most, may now "land" at a Citizenship and Immigration Canada office in Canada.

See also

• Immigration to Canada
• Canadian nationality law
• Citizenship and Immigration Canada
• Canada Permanent Resident Card
• temporary resident (Canada)
• Green card (United States permanent resident)

Further reading

• Kranc, Benjamin A; Elena Constantin (2004), Getting into Canada : how to make a successful application for permanent residence, How To Books, ISBN 1857039297, http://books.google.ca/books?id=NNyWivr-lRAC&lpg=PP1&dq=Canada&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true 
• Noorani, Nick; Sabrina Noorani (2008), Arrival Survival Canada: A Handbook for New Immigrants, Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780195428919, http://books.google.ca/books?id=uTw7l3NMR5oC&lpg=PA51&dq=Firearms%20in%20Canada&pg=PR1#v=onepage&q&f=true 

External links

• Citizenship and Immigration Canada
• Information for Newcomers
• Applying for citizenship
• Permanent Resident Card