My permanent resident card has expired have I lost my status?
Short answer
No. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act sets out an exhaustive list of the ways permanent resident status is lost (s. 46), and an expired card is not one of them: the card is a document that proves the status, it is not the status.
In detail
Section 46 lists the situations in which permanent resident status is lost: becoming a Canadian citizen, a final determination of a failure to comply with the residency obligation, a removal order coming into force, certain decisions relating to cessation of refugee protection, and acceptance of an application to renounce the status.
An expired card does not appear on that list. It does create a practical problem: the card is what proves the status, in particular for returning to Canada by commercial carrier. The status remains; the proof is missing.
Two distinct things should not be confused: the expiry of the card, and compliance with the 730-days-in-five-years residency obligation set out in section 28. It is the second, established by a final determination, that can lead to loss of status.
What to document
The card's expiry date, the date of your renewal application, and above all your record of days present in Canada (entries and exits, with the proof: tickets, stamps, employer records, school or medical files).
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
Open the application Up to 3 files, no card · see the plans
Official sources
- Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, s. 46 (loss of status)
- Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, s. 28 (residency obligation)
Related questions
- Can I make a humanitarian application while my refugee claim is being processed?
- My work permit expires soon can I keep working?
- What is maintained status or implied status in Canada?
- Can I change employers while my extension is being processed?
- Can I leave Canada while my extension application is being processed?
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.