Returning to Canada After Living Abroad

A Canadian citizen always has the right to come home under IRPA s.19(1), however long they lived abroad. A permanent resident can return too, but needs a valid PR card or a PR travel document (PRTD) to board. A PR must also meet the 730-day residency obligation in every 5-year period (IRPA s.28).

Read IRPA section 19

Last verified: November 2026

730 days
PR presence needed in every 5-year period
9805.00.00
The customs tariff item for former residents
BSF186
The form for declaring personal effects

Can a Canadian citizen always come home?

Under IRPA section 19(1), every Canadian citizen (and every person registered as an Indian under the Indian Act) has the right to enter and remain in Canada. An officer must allow them to enter once satisfied of their citizenship. This right does not expire and cannot be waived by years spent abroad.

A CBSA officer can inspect you, ask questions, and assess what you are bringing into the country, but they cannot lawfully refuse entry to a confirmed Canadian citizen. A criminal record does not remove a citizen’s right to enter under IRPA s.19(1).

Canadian citizens re-enter on their Canadian passport. If your passport has expired, you can apply for a new one, or in urgent situations request an emergency travel document, from the nearest Canadian embassy, consulate or high commission abroad. Once in Canada, you can renew through a Service Canada/passport office.

If you are unsure whether you are a citizen (for example, a so-called “Lost Canadian”), apply for a citizenship certificate to confirm your status before you travel.

The rule

Every Canadian citizen (and every person registered as an Indian under the Indian Act) has the right to enter and remain in Canada.

IRPA s.19(1)Verify on justice.gc.ca

What does a permanent resident need to return?

Permanent residents have a statutory right to enter Canada under IRPA s.19(2), which requires an officer to let a permanent resident in once satisfied they hold that status. Returning by plane, boat, train or bus, however, requires a valid PR card or a Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD), because carriers must check that you hold a prescribed document (IRPA s.148, IRPR s.259).

You cannot use an expired PR card as a travel document. An expired or lost PR card does not mean your PR status has expired. It means you generally need a PRTD to board your trip back.

An IRCC office abroad decides a PRTD application. Processing times vary, and you cannot board without it (or a valid PR card).

What can a former resident bring back duty-free?

If you are a former resident coming back to resume residence, you generally claim under tariff item 9805.00.00 (Former Residents). It lets you bring household and personal goods back duty- and tax-free, subject to a value limit per article. CBSA policy for this provision is set out in Memorandum D2-3-2.

The core rules:

Goods must generally have been owned, possessed and used by you abroad for at least 6 months before your return. This 6-month use requirement is waived if you lived abroad for at least 5 years immediately before returning.
Declare your goods in person and complete Form BSF186 (the Personal Effects Accounting Document, formerly Form B4) at your first point of arrival in Canada. List goods that accompany you and goods to follow later.
Goods must be for your personal or household use, not items bought for resale. A per-article value limit applies, and amounts above it can attract duty and tax on the excess.

New permanent residents settling in Canada for the first time claim settler’s effects under Customs Tariff item 9807.00.00 instead.

When do you become a Canadian tax resident again?

You become a resident of Canada for income tax purposes when you have enough residential ties in Canada. For most newcomers, this starts the first day you live in Canada (CRA). From that date, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requires you to report worldwide income, including foreign pension, investment and employment income earned abroad.

If you ceased to be a Canadian tax resident when you moved abroad, you were subject to a deemed disposition (departure tax) at that time. The CRA treated you as having sold most of your property at fair market value on departure day, with exceptions such as Canadian real estate and registered plans like RRSPs.

Form T1243 reports the deemed disposition, Form T1161 lists your properties if their value was over $25,000, and Form T1244 is the election to defer the tax. If you did report a deemed disposition, you can ask the CRA to unwind it, in writing, by your filing due date for the year you return.

Which records do you update after you return?

Confirm your SIN with Service Canada
A citizen’s or permanent resident’s SIN is permanent and does not expire (a SIN starting with 9 does). Contact Service Canada to update your address and confirm your SIN is active in their systems.
Apply for provincial health insurance
Provincial health insurance coverage does not restart automatically when you land in Canada. Apply as soon as you arrive, and bring proof of your return date (stamp in passport, travel documents).
Check your driver’s licence
If your Canadian driver’s licence expired while you were abroad, rules for an expired licence are set by each province. Contact ICBC, ServiceOntario, the SAAQ or your province’s licensing office.

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What do people ask?

Can I lose my Canadian citizenship if I live abroad?

No. Canadian citizenship does not expire with time abroad. It ends only if you formally renounce it or it is revoked under the Citizenship Act. IRPA s.19(1) gives every citizen the right to enter and remain in Canada, and an officer must let you in once satisfied you are a citizen. An expired passport only means you must prove who you are. The Canadian Citizenship guide covers proof of citizenship.

Is there a returning resident visa or permit for Canada?

No. Canada has no separate returning resident visa. Citizens come home on a Canadian passport, or on an emergency travel document from a Canadian embassy or consulate. Permanent residents use a valid PR card. If the card has expired or is lost, they apply for a Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD) from outside Canada, online in the Permanent Residence Portal or on paper through a visa application centre that accepts paper applications. IRPA s.19(2) gives a PR the right to enter once an officer confirms their status.

My PR card is expired. Can I still return to Canada?

Yes. An expired PR card leaves your PR status in place. Carriers cannot accept it as a travel document, though. To board a flight, bus, train or boat to Canada, apply for a Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD) online in the Permanent Residence Portal, or on paper through a visa application centre that accepts paper applications. Processing times vary. A land crossing by private vehicle is the only way back without a card or PRTD. The PRTD officer, or the CBSA officer at the border, may also check your 730-day residency obligation under IRPA s.28.

As a permanent resident, do I have to be in Canada 730 days every year?

No. The rule is 730 days of physical presence in every rolling 5-year period, under IRPA s.28. That works out to about two years out of five, and the days need not be continuous. Some time abroad also counts, such as days with a Canadian-citizen spouse or parent, or full-time work for a Canadian business. An officer assesses it at a PRTD application or at the border. The residency obligation box in this guide lists the exceptions.

What is the returning resident exemption in Canada?

It is Customs Tariff item 9805.00.00, which lets former residents bring personal and household goods back duty- and tax-free. You generally qualify after at least one year abroad. Goods must usually have been owned and used abroad for 6 months, a rule waived after 5 years away. A per-article value limit applies. Declare everything on Form BSF186 at your first point of arrival. Our BSF186 Personal Effects guide walks through the form.

Do returning residents pay Canadian tax on income earned abroad?

Only from the day you become a Canadian tax resident again. The CRA taxes your worldwide income from that date, and you file a return for the partial year. For the part of the year before you became resident, you report only certain Canadian income, such as employment or business income earned in Canada (CRA). Tax treaties, such as the one with the United States, contain rules to avoid double taxation, including credits for tax paid to the other country. The tax section of this guide covers departure tax and foreign pensions.

How long do I wait for provincial health coverage when I return?

It depends on the province. British Columbia has a wait period of the rest of the month you become a resident plus two more months. Ontario has no waiting period, Manitoba lets returning citizens and permanent residents apply for coverage from the date they arrive, and Alberta may cover you from the date you re-establish residency. In Quebec, an adult is covered from the first day of the third month after registering, unless an exception in the regulation applies (chapter A-29, r. 1, s.4). Ask the RAMQ. Register as soon as you arrive, and buy private insurance to cover any gap.

My children were born abroad. Are they Canadian citizens?

Possibly, and Bill C-3 changed the rules on December 15, 2025. A child born abroad to a Canadian parent who was born in Canada is generally a citizen. Citizenship by descent can now pass beyond the first generation. For a child born or adopted abroad on or after that date, a parent born abroad generally needs 1,095 days of presence in Canada first. Our Citizenship by Descent guide explains the test.

Part of:Already a permanent resident

Official sources

This page is based on law and policy published by the Government of Canada.