BrennaBoo

Hi expat forum!
It's been a very long time since i've posted on this site since my husband received his pr about 5 years ago.

I cannot believe how unorganized CIC is in the updating of PR card renewals!

We booked flights to the UK a year ago - but could not update my hubby/s PR card until later in the year as it was TOO early...so we sent his renewal application in August thinking that would give us PLENTY of time to get them back. We fly out next week...and for the last 3 months have been sitting on edge fearing the worst as the online check your application status thing on CIC HAS NEVER WORKED - even though they emailed my hubby with confirmation they received his form and said he could check it online....NEVER AN UPDATE! (Now mind you - we made an error on the application and it was sent back to us due to my hubby not putting the location on the application where he signed it...so our bad as well)

My husband finally received his PR card last week - but SERIOUSLY - I don't think I could ever be more stressed out about something!

The amount of stress that the CIC place on people/families. It's crazy. All they need to have is a system that actually updates people on the status of their application. Even when my hubbies application was returned, they had our contact information in their system...could they not send an email noting something was wrong? (I know this is asking a bit much, but we were 3 weeks late sending back the application to them because we never really have a need to check our mail! so we didn't know there was a problem....)

So - for anyone stressing out because they can't bring up their PR card renewal application online...it's not ALWAYS a bad thing - sometimes they just never update!!!

Better transparency on their applications and the status of your application would be something I think they can improve upon.

not2old

vent noted & since its all sorted now you can be on your way

Share the blame for the delay in the fact that you had not completed the application or that there was missing information in it

As for the on-line checking, of course it works

As for CIC sending emails, thats not how it works is it because there is no proof people read, even acknowledge emails

Government of Canada all by mail is the proper way

Vulcanoid

Sure that's how it works. Works darned well. Fedex'd an application on Dec 2nd, got to them Dec 5th, they sent an email on Dec 7th saying there was a problem, replacement form was with them on Tuesday.

If we'd been doing that by mail, it's extremely improbable we'd even know there had been a problem by now, never mind have long-since sorted it.

Snail mail is slow, inefficient, expensive, environmentally unfriendly, and in what may be a generational issue, unbelievable. If a random piece of paper appears through my door, I have no way of knowing what its provenance is, who really sent it or why. An email comes with a chain attached, so I can interrogate those things from the headers, seeing every computer it passed through en (near instantaneous) route.

Government of Canada is getting quite electronic and abandoning mail where they can - as it should be. Unless there's something physical that absolutely has to be sent (eg COPR), there's no reason for the paper version.

Aviator

Not all. CRA accounts have mail online through secure server.

scrubbedexpat091

Certainly agree with you on snail mail. Every gov't agency both federal and provincial I deal with is all electronic communication now, not exactly email but through their websites, but haven't gotten any government mail snail mail in a couple years now.

I even got an email from CIC a couple weeks ago, didn't even know I had given them my email.

not2old

@ post, 3, 4 & 5

quite surprised to learn that gc.ca is an electronic communicator, just goes to show different experience by all. Never had a email from a Canadian government dept, always by mail

I suppose CIC is high on the efficeincy list, yet there is always the [occassional] one that gets screwed up

OP issue is thankfully sorted

Former Lancastrian

Something to be said for applying for Canadian citizenship at the earliest opportunity which cuts down on renewing PR cards every 5 yrs unless you don't travel.

not2old

is it possible there should be a mandatory citizenship rule that folks get to get one only PR renewal card - after that you're screwed ... 'you must now leave the country since your PR status has expired'.

So folks with PR status living in Canada must get Canadian citizenship?

I'd go for that

BristolUK

If you don't travel, you don't need the PR card do you?
I get it just in case. Of course, if you do travel, then you exchange renewing a PR Card for renewing a Canadian passport so not a great deal of difference.

The EU passport currently has some advantages over a Canadian one so if you want to retain that there's little difference between renewing EU passport/Canadian passport and EU passport and PR card. It's two renewals whichever way you look at it.

You don't believe in freedom of choice then?

How does something 'permanent' expire?

Shirtback

I can't see how, or why, Canada would or could ever impose citizenship on anyone. Why would that be necessary?

BristolUK

##I've only renewed PR card once so far and I don't recall it being that long.

I wonder though...given the recent changes mentioned like inland applications speeding up, maybe PR Card renewal speeds up too.

Is there anything to suggest PR Card renewal takes significantly longer when there have been periods out of Canada?

Former Lancastrian

How does something 'permanent' expire? [/QUOTE]

It depends on your definition of permanent. Although Permanent Residency doesn't expire it can be taken away from you if you don't meet the residency obligation.
Permanent residents can still be deported even if they have permanent residency.

BristolUK

Yes, but PR having an expiry date was the issue raised

Shirtback

IME, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to how long renewal takes, or why.

In my immediate family, we've experienced a relatively rapid renewal (a couple of months, I think), & an interminable 14 month wait, following a request for additional info. Neither person had significant periods spent outside Canada and were/are both WAY inside the residency requirements.

It's a bit of a mystery.

BristolUK

I'm due to find out next year.

It says 31 days right now.