PRTD – Permanent Resident Travel Document

Apply for PRTD - Permanent Resident Travel Document

Suppose you are a Permanent Resident in Canada or someone who wants to get a Permanent Residency in Canada. In that case, you ensure that you have enough information about it before you apply for PR. All the essential points related to PRTD (Permanent Resident Travel Document) & Permanent Residency are highlighted below. Follow the entire blog for this.

Permanent Resident refers to a specific kind of status allotted to those living in Canada and having cleared particular parameters. All the parameters are as follows: 

  • One needs to be a permanent resident of Canada.
  • One must not be a citizen of Canada. There’s a difference between Resident & citizen.
  • One must meet all the residency requirements & obligations as mentioned in different forms to apply for the PR card.

To get a PR card for Canada for a permanent Resident, one must be eligible for all these. But what is a permanent resident? 

In general, a Permanent Residency is a unique position or status given to any man or woman who’s a Canadian citizen but is eligible to get the right to live freely in Canada as the citizens do.

Meaning it enables you to live your life as a citizen in Canada, but PR is not citizenship status. One who gets a PR card has to renew it after some years to enjoy the same quality without any hindrance. However, while staying in Canada on PR, the Permanent Residents have to take care of all the permanent resident documents & especially the PR card to avoid any dilemma.

In case one loses the PR card, one has to complain at the very moment about this incident. This is a crucial point to remember unless there are severe problems you can face.

Why Permanent Residency Travel Document – PRTD is important?

If you don’t have your PRTD (Permanent Resident Travel Document) with you and have been a resident of Canada for 5+ years or five years, you are eligible to apply for a new one only if you have lived in Canada physically for 730 days within the five years before your application.

If you have lived in Canada for less than five years, your physical presence for almost 730 days in Canada between the 5 years of the date you became a permanent resident is essential.

However, you also have the option to count those days you have spent outside Canada if any Canadian Citizen is accompanying you outside Canada or if you are employed outside Canada. Or if any permanent resident of Canada is attending you outside Canada.

Lastly, if you fail to meet the residency obligations, you still have the chance to get permanent residency. But wondering how? You can get it on humanitarian & compassionate grounds. Here you have to remember that you can’t get it by claiming that you have your humanitarian & human background. You must have valid proof with you to substantiate your stand.

Below are a few points that you have to understand before claiming your stake on humanitarian & compassionate grounds: 

  • Your application form will have ten questions. You have to answer them all clearly with valid justifications.
  • Explain clearly the consequences if you lose your Permanent Residency status. You must have to ensure the insertion of good points.
  • Explain the points for which you couldn’t meet the residency obligations. Make sure you mention & explain them adequately.
  • Ensure the attachment of substantiating documents so that you can make a stand on humanitarian & compassionate grounds.
  • Additionally, you have to understand clearly that a case officer will see the essence of your case and the validity of the information provided. Then only the case Officer will permit you. Or else your application will be rejected.

What Are Needed To Apply For The PRTD (Permanent Resident Travel Document)?

Here you will get to know about the documents you need so that you can apply for the PRTD – Permanent Resident Travel Document. 

  • You need to have your identity proof with you showing who you are.
  • You must be the one who meets all the residency obligations before you apply.
  • You must have to confirm your permanent residency status.
  • You have to provide your original passport. That means you must have your actual access with you.

One Who Are Not Eligible To Apply For PRTD (Permanent Resident Travel Document)

Know whether you are eligible to apply for the PRTD or not. And what are the responsible factors that determine this:
  • If you are a Canadian Citizen, you won’t be eligible to apply for the PRTD.
  • If you already have had a PR Status granted and you have lost the PR card, you won’t be able to apply.
  • Those who are Permanent Residents with a PR card are not eligible for this.
  • If you’re a foreign national with no PR status, you won’t be the right fit for this, nor will you be allowed to apply.
  • Those Permanent Residents looking forward to giving up their residency voluntarily won’t be able to apply.

Facts To Know About PRTD (Permanent Resident Travel Document)

After doing all these, one has to fill up the form to apply for the PRTD. You won’t have any age issues for this. Anyone eligible as per the criteria mentioned above can fill-up the form & apply for it.

When filling out the form, ensure that you don’t provide the wrong information. If you are held for providing incorrect information, you will be jailed as this is a serious crime. So take care of this while filling up the form.

The application form for PRTD contains the following things:

You’ll have to provide information about you & your family as per the record of landing. Meaning your details at the time of landing in Canada Should be similar to what you find.

  • In case you have two citizens with you, you are provided to submit all the details.
  • You have to mention details about the city, province & date when you’ll be a permanent Resident.
  • You have to provide information about or proof of employment status.
  • You then have to check your statement of consent. In the consent statement, you have to say “yes” if you have provided the SIN no. “No” if you have not.

In case you feel that you should take the help of someone for the application process. Then, you are said to accept the use of representatives. 

Here a representative refers to the one who provides information, guidance & consultation about immigration law to you. These people are professionals and have expertise in immigration law.

If you get help from these people, they will do the entire application process as your Representative. 

However, remember that you should always hire an officially authorized representative, or won’t be as per the immigration law.

There are mainly two types of representatives. They are as follows; One of them is an uncompensated Representative & the other one is a compensated, representative.

  1. Uncompensated representative: Uncompensated Representative is the one who will not charge you any fees to do your application process. They never ask for any money against the guidance or support they provide.
  2. Compensated Representative: Compensated representatives are those who ask you to pay for their service. They will charge you a specific amount for whatever guidance or support they provide.

One thing you’ll get by making your application from such an experienced Representative is their expertise. And this eventually raises your stake to succeed. If you do it yourself, the chances of failure are higher.

Apart from this, you have to face many technical questions in the PRTD application, and they are hard to attempt without proper guidance. So better if you go for a professional

Conclusion

Hopefully, in case you have gotten an overview of the Permanent Residency Travel Document- PRTD and its importance. You will understand the in-depth essence of the application process. This will also enable you to understand the importance of hiring a professional as well. Lastly, if you think you meet all the above-given parameters, you can apply for it. If you still feel like you need proper guidance, you can consult with the registered representatives to understand it. In the end, if you are really serious about the PRTD, ensure that you provide the right information & state your points clearly so that the immigration officer will allow you for PRTD.




Frequently Asked Questions

Typically, the processing time for a Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD) ranges from 2 to 8 weeks. To ensure timely processing, it^s advisable to submit your application at least 1 to 3 months before your intended travel dates.


The validity of a Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD) in Canada typically corresponds to the validity of the applicant^s permanent resident status. This means that the PRTD allows a permanent resident to return to Canada if they do not have a valid PR card or if they are unable to obtain a PR card before traveling.


The processing time for a Permanent Resident (PR) card in Canada can vary. Generally, it takes about 50 to 80 days from the date the application is received by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). However, processing times may change depending on factors such as the volume of applications and the complexity of individual cases. It^s advisable to check the most recent processing times on the IRCC website.


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