Renouncing Permanent Residency

mmkp

New Member
I recently visited my mom in Canada and found out that I still have Canadian Permanent Residency which I had around 43 years ago.I completely forgot I had it since I already am a US citizen. No one ever notified me if it expired and I can't find my permanent resident card. Now the immigration officer wants me to renounce my permanent residency. What are the chances of me still keeping it without fulfilling the requirements? Are there pros and cons in keeping it? The immigration officer said that if I don't renounce, I won't be able to go back in to visit.
 

Riley Haas

Administrator
Staff member
Location
Toronto
Hi there,
Your status didn't expire - it doesn't expire, it must be renounced or revoked - and that's why you still have it.
Here's the problem: they now know that you are a permanent resident and have been living outside of the country for 43 years. It's pretty unlikely you will be allowed to re-enter Canada again, though it is possible they could let you in, because you're an American. (I wouldn't risk the attempt, personally.) Basically, you can only enter Canada with the appropriate status/travel document and you don't have one. Getting your PR Card (which you can only do in Canada) or applying for a Permanent Resident Travel Document, would cause your status to be investigated and revoked.
Had you learned this while in Canada, it might have been a different story as you could have, conceivably, waited it out for a while (2 years), and got a PR Card.
To the best of my knowledge, the only choice you have now is to complete the renounce application.
Here's some information about it: https://www.immigroup.com/news/pros-and-cons-renouncing-your-permanent-residency
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/voluntarily-renounce.asp
And here's the application: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5782E.pdf

Sorry I don't have better news.
 
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