Permanent Residents may live and work anywhere in Canada, and enjoy most of the same benefits and privileges of Canadian citizens, with the exception of some voting rights.
Once you obtain Canadian Permanent Residence, you must renew your status every five years and meet residency requirements in order to maintain your status. After a required residency period in Canada, Permanent Residents may apply to become Canadian citizens.
You will gain access to most of the same rights and privileges as Canadian citizens, including the right to freely live and work anywhere in Canada and access Canadian social services.
If your Permanent Resident card has expired, it does not mean that you are no longer a Permanent Resident. But, you will need to apply for a new card. When applying for a Permanent Resident card, you will need to provide information about all of your time away from Canada. We advise all clients to keep a record of this information to ensure a smooth renewal process. You will also need this information to demonstrate residency should you choose to apply for Canadian citizenship.
You may apply to renew your Permanent Resident card up to six months before it expires. Because card renewal applications take many months to process, we recommend you apply as soon as you are eligible.
