PR Card General Questions

zainney: My wife has finally received notice that her application has been approved and she can go and get her Permanent Residence card next week. My question is: Will she get her card that day or is there usually a waiting process for that as well? and Once she has her card is she free to travel outside of Canada right away? Anything would be helpful at this point

I assume this is reference to a PR card renewal. (If not, what follows is not relevant.)

Under the old process, the usual mode of delivery was this, the applicant received notice to go to the local office to pick up the PR card. Thus, the vast majority of PRs renewing their PR card would, indeed, go to the local office and surrender their old card, answer some perfunctory questions, and be given the PR card at that point. Some, however, were subject to further inquiry, even residency examinations, or given a PR card version of a request for further information and documentation regarding residency. They were not given their PR card at that point, but had to wait for the further inquiries to be resolved.

This year CIC has gone to a process in which most PR card renewals result in the new PR card being mailed to the PR. Well, at least that is the theory. We have never had a lot of representation here of PRs going through this process and reporting on it. So, what happens in practice is a bit sketchy.

In any event, again, the theoretical process is that most PRs are directly mailed their new cards. Some PRs are required to pick up the card in person. This appears to mean that CIC wants to interview the individual in person, mostly to confirm identity, but also to possibly make some inquiries as to compliance with the residency obligation.

Thus, there is no guarantee that your wife will be able to pick up the PR card that day. If there are no questions, no issues, there should be no problem. She answers a few questions (again, mostly to confirm identity and compliance with residency obligation) and they deliver her the card.

It is indeed good to use at that point, when it is delivered.

Of course, if there are issues, if she is given a "counter-referral" for example, that means further inquiry and further delay in receiving the PR card.

You, or at least she, should know if there are likely to be issues. I mean, you know whether or not there are reasons for CIC to question residency for example. So you should have a good idea about how it will go. No guarantee, but a good idea.