Canadian Permanent Resident and Citizenship

In order for a person to achieve their Canadian Permanent Resident status they must receive their Canadian permanent Resident Card. The Permanent Resident card is a small, secure plastic card containing personal information on the cardholder. The personal information includes height, eye colour and gender, laser-engraved photograph and signature. Other personal data are encoded on the card as well and can only be accessed by authorized Canadian Immigration officials. It also confirms the cardholder’s status as a Permanent Resident of Canada.

Canadian Permanent Residents who plan on exiting Canada will be required to show their Permanent Resident card at the time of re-entry to confirm their Permanent Resident status before boarding. If an individual is not in possession of the Permanent Resident card they will have to apply for a Temporary Travel Document from the closest Canadian Immigration Visa Office to be able to travel to Canada on a commercial carrier. The Canadian Permanent Resident renewed card can now be obtained via mail. The present processing time for new permanent residents is 47 business days. The processing time for present permanent residents is 70 days as of 13^th July 2012.

Canadian Permanent resident status doesn’t affect US immigration requirements for admissibility to legal employment.

To obtain Canadian Citizenship, the Canadian Permanent Resident must have a Canadian residency of generally three years. The Resident must physically be present in Canada for 1095 days unless there are exceptional circumstances. The test sometimes is referred to as the “1095-Day Rule”.

The following list of reasons that may, in a few cases, lead Canadian Citizenship judges to “bend” the 1095-Day Rule:

• Applicant was physically present in Canada for most of the required period other than recent absences that happened instantly prior to the request for Canadian Citizenship was submitted.
• Applicants immediate family and depends continue to live in Canada, even after the applicant exits Canada on a consistent basis.
• The applicants overall pattern of physical presence shows that they come back home to Canada and doesn’t just “pay a visit” to Canada.
• The total number of days absent from Canada is comparatively few despite repeated absences.
• The physical absence was caused by a temporary situation for a limited sum of time. Temporary situations can include employment or studies.
• The quality of the applicant’s connection with Canada is more extensive than that which exists with any other country.