PERMANENT RESIDENTS RETURNING TO CANADA

As of December 31, 2003, permanent residents, who do not have a PR Card and who are overseas and who will be returning to Canada by commercial carrier (aeroplane, train, boat or bus) will need to obtain a Travel Document. Note that a Travel Document is available for one-time use only, at a cost of $50. The application form can be downloaded from our FORMS page.

Any permanent resident of Canada in the Channel Islands, Denmark, Faeroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Norway, Sweden, or the United Kingdom may apply by mail.

Application forms (IMM 5524B) and a comprehensive guide, "Applying for a Travel Document (Permanent Resident Abroad)" (IMM 5529) may be downloaded from the FORMS page. The guide (IMM 5529) contains all the information an applicant should require in order to properly complete an application. Refer also to the FEES section for information on what fees are required and acceptable forms of payment.

Completed applications may be mailed to the following address:

Immigration and Medical Division
Canadian High Commission
38 Grosvenor Street
London W1K 4AA
United Kingdom

Incomplete applications WILL NOT be processed and will be returned to the applicant to be completed. All applicants should therefore first read thoroughly all the information in the guide, "Applying for a Travel Document (Permanent Resident Abroad)" and be sure also that they submit the correct fees in the correct format in order to avoid delays in the processing of their applications.

Applications MUST be accompanied by evidence that Canadian permanent resident status has been maintained.

When a fully-completed application is received, a visa officer will perform a determination of permanent residency status to see if the applicant has complied with the obligations for maintaining permanent resident status in Canada.

In order to comply with the residency obligations a permanent resident MUST accumulate two years of physical presence in Canada in every five-year period. The five-year period considered for a residency determination application is the five years immediately preceding the date of the application for the Travel Document (Permanent Resident Abroad).

Time spent outside Canada can be counted as the equivalent of physical presence in Canada if the permanent resident is described in any of the following circumstances:

• accompanying one’s Canadian-citizen spouse or common-law partner.

• a child accompanying a Canadian-citizen parent.

• employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business, the Public Service of Canada or the public service of a Canadian province.

• accompanying one’s permanent resident spouse or common-law partner who is also outside Canada and who is employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business, the Public Service of Canada or the public service of a Canadian province.

• a child accompanying a permanent resident parent who is outside Canada and employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business, the Public Service of Canada or the public service of a Canadian province.