PR Card Renewal in Canada: Fee, Time and Steps

Under IRPA section 28(2)(a), a permanent resident must be physically present in Canada for at least 730 days (2 years) within every 5-year period. This obligation is assessed when you:

• Apply to renew or replace your PR card
• Seek to enter Canada at a port of entry
• Are the subject of an admissibility examination for non-compliance

The 5-year period is a rolling window. It is the 5 years immediately before the date of assessment, not a fixed calendar period. If you have been a permanent resident for less than 5 years, an officer generally assesses whether you can still meet the 730 days within your first 5-year period.

Days that count toward the 730:

• Every full day you are physically present in Canada (IRPA s.28(2)(a)(i))
• Days spent outside Canada accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse or common-law partner, or, for a child, their parent (IRPA s.28(2)(a)(ii))
• Days spent outside Canada employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business or in the federal public administration or the public service of a province (IRPA s.28(2)(a)(iii))
• Days spent outside Canada accompanying a permanent resident spouse, common-law partner or, for a child, parent who is so employed (IRPA s.28(2)(a)(iv))

IRCC’s form instructions say a same-day trip out and back is not listed as an absence. You must send proof: IRCC asks for 2 pieces of evidence, so keep passport stamps, travel records, and entry/exit data.

The PR Residency Obligation guide sets out the 730-day rule.

If your PR card has expired and you are outside Canada, you cannot board a commercial flight, train, bus, or boat to Canada without a valid PR card or a Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD). Carriers must check that you hold a prescribed document (IRPA s.148, IRPR s.259).

A PRTD is a travel document, normally valid for a single entry, decided by an IRCC office abroad. Apply online in the Permanent Residence Portal, or on paper through a visa application centre (VAC) that accepts paper applications.

Under IRPA s.31(3), following an examination, an officer issues a permanent resident travel document if satisfied of one of these:

• You comply with the residency obligation under s.28.
• An officer has made the humanitarian and compassionate determination in s.28(2)(c).
• You were physically present in Canada at least once in the 365 days before the examination and have an appeal under s.63(4) that is not finally determined.

If you are in the United States, you can generally drive to a Canadian land border. IRCC says a permanent resident travelling in a private vehicle can use the PR card or other documents to return. The officer will still assess your residency obligation and may refer you to secondary inspection.