You can get your PR Card faster than the usual 6 months if you provide the proper proof of urgent travel. You have to submit your proof of travel to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC); requests for urgent processing without proof will not be processed.
In 2016, proof of urgency was restricted to emergencies. Please note: you can no longer use a prepaid trip or vacation as a reason for urgent processing of your PR Card.
What is Acceptable Proof of Urgency?
Urgency requests are approved at the discretion of the officer reviewing your file. However, the following may be accepted as proof of urgency:
Proof of a Family Emergency for an Urgent PR Card
If you need to travel before your PR Card will be issued for a family emergency, this is often accepted as proof of urgency. However, only certain emergencies are acceptable and only emergencies involving immediate family are normally accepted. IRCC may process your application urgently for the following:
- your own personal health issue – you need to travel for emergency health care you cannot receive in Canada
- dying relative – need to visit them in the hospital
- death of an immediate family member – need to go to the funeral.
Please remember that these relatives need to be immediate relatives (father, mother, brother, sister, son daughter). It is exceedingly unlikely that IRCC will approve a request for urgency for an event such as a wedding, which is planned in advance.
To prove you need to attend a funeral, a copy of the death certificate (translated if necessary) and a plane ticket are recommended.
In order to travel for emergency medical care for yourself, or to attend to a dying relative, a letter from a doctor at the hospital or nursing home, and a plane ticket, are recommended.
Proof of Business Travel for an Urgent PR Card
If you are required by your employer to attend a conference or business meeting outside of Canada between the time when your current PR Card expires and your next card will be issued, IRCC may process your application faster.
To prove your business travel, you will have to provide a letter from your employer on company letterhead explaining why you need to travel.
Proof of a Job Opportunity for an Urgent PR Card
If you have a job opportunity that requires you to travel outside of Canada for the interview, you may be able to get your PR Card application processed urgently. You will have to demonstrate that the opportunity is real and is on a specific date.
To prove you need to leave Canada, you will need a request in writing for you to attend the interview, its time and date and location outside of Canada, from the company looking to hire you, on official company letterhead, and you should support that letter with a plane, train or bus ticket.
Submitting Your Request for PR Card Urgent Processing
If you are submitting your request for urgent processing with your renewal application, make sure to include the relevant proofs of urgency and mark URGENT on the front of your envelope or package. If possible, include a letter explaining the circumstances.
If you are submitting your request after your have submitted your PR Card renewal application, you need to make sure you have your Unique Client Identifier (UCI), an eight digit number assigned to you by IRCC (formerly CIC). Write a letter explaining the situation and include
- your UCI
- your full name
- your PR Card number if you know it
- your reasons for requesting urgency.
Attach your proofs of urgency to the letter. Make URGENT on the package. Courier the letter or send it by registered mail. DO NOT send the letter by regular mail.
Following Up on Your PR Card Urgency Request
In order to check whether or not your request is processed, check your status online as often as necessary. If you do not see any indication that your card will be processed in time, call IRCC at 1-888-242-2100. If the call centre staff does not tell you whether or not your application is being processed urgently, do not get mad, they cannot process your card. Instead, tell them what proof of urgency you submitted and ask what else you could submit.
