Permanent Residency (PR)
You are considered a permanent resident once you have activated your permanent resident visa at a point of entry in Canada. It's a status granting someone who is not a Canadian citizen the right to live and work in Canada without any time limit on their stay.
Permanent residents enjoy the same certain benefits as Canadian citizens, such as access to a free government medical system and free government schools.
Applying For Permanent Residency
The most popular and quickest way to apply for permanent residency (PR) is through Express Entry. There are various other routes to follow that lead to permanent residency if you don't qualify for Express Entry or if your CRS scores are too low to be considered for an Invitation to Apply:
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Applications for permanent residency can be done from inside or outside of Canada.
Permanent Resident Card
The PR card was introduced to facilitate ease of travel for permanent residents, it can also be used as a convenient method of proving status to government authorities, employers, and schools. As non-citizens, permanent residents must use the passport of their current nationality in combination with a permanent resident card when entering Canada after international travel.
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PR cards are sent to permanent residents within a few weeks after they arrived in Canada.
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PR cards are valid for five years and can be renewed.
Your PR status does not expire when your PR card expires. You can have valid PR status without having a valid PR card.
Loss Of Permanent Residency Status
A permanent resident must live in Canada for two years out of every five, or risk losing that status. Time spent traveling with a Canadian spouse, on a business trip for a Canadian business, or working for a federal or provincial government office abroad can be included in the calculation.
Permanent residents also risk loss for serious crimes or being a security risk associated with organized crime.
A person automatically loses permanent residence status upon becoming a Canadian citizen.
A permanent resident may also voluntarily renounce their status if the person possesses citizenship or the right of abode in another country