Permanent Resident Card Advice

K

kaylashaye

New Member
I have been a landed immigrant since I was three years old. I have a Canadian drivers license, and an expired PR card. My drivers license is set to expire next month and when I went in to renew (Alberta) they told me they couldn't renew my drivers license without a valid PR card.

Right now the wait time is 6 months, that's a long time to go without being able to drive!

I was told that the only way to get urgent processing is tickets that are paid for travelling out of Canada (and returning). Does anyone have any advice on how far out I should book these tickets? 2 months? 3 months?

Never knew that I had to have a PR card to get a drivers license, I have contacted a few immigration lawyers and still waiting for them to call me back. Is it worth the cost to secure a lawyer or counsel from an immigration firm?

Also, (so many questions!) are there any provinces that do not require this?

Thanks much!
 
Riley Haas

Riley Haas

Administrator
Staff member
Location
Toronto
Hi there,
First of all, I wouldn't say you want a lawyer. Lawyers normally do not deal with small issues like this and they are going to charge you a lot. Consultants (like us) will also charge you money, but it will be significantly less than a lawyer. Let me try to answer your question and then you can decide whether or not you want to hire us (see here http://www.immigroup.com/application-pdfs/canadian-documents/permanent-resident-card-application.pdf for prices).
If they will not accept your landing paper (if you still have it), you might be able to convince IRCC to issue your PR Card urgently if you can get the denial of your driver's license application in writing. I stress "might" because what I am talking about here is evidence usually just reserved for urgent processing of replacement landing papers (now called "Verification of Status"). I don't personally know whether or not it would work for a PR Card. The only way to know for sure is to try. It would have to be some kind of official letter from the Alberta department responsible for licensing, saying they need your PR Card (and will not accept anything else).
Otherwise, you are correct: the best way to get urgent processing is to go on a trip and show IRCC that you booked and paid for this trip, and that this trip is happening well before your card would be ready.
Hope this helps.
 
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