PR Renewal & Citizenship Application
#1

Hi All,
As of September 11, 2020, I am eligible to apply for Citizenship (woo hoo!). My PR card expires on August 5, 2021. Should I apply to renew my PR card, or just apply for Citizenship?
My plan was to apply for both, in case my citizenship application isn't completed before my PR card expires, but I'm not sure if a) it's a waste of money applying for both, and b) if it will cause confusion for me to apply for a PR card and citizenship at the same time.
Any advice is greatly appreciated, as always.
As of September 11, 2020, I am eligible to apply for Citizenship (woo hoo!). My PR card expires on August 5, 2021. Should I apply to renew my PR card, or just apply for Citizenship?
My plan was to apply for both, in case my citizenship application isn't completed before my PR card expires, but I'm not sure if a) it's a waste of money applying for both, and b) if it will cause confusion for me to apply for a PR card and citizenship at the same time.
Any advice is greatly appreciated, as always.
#2
Lost in BE Cyberspace










Joined: Nov 2011
Location: Somewhere between Vancouver & St Johns
Posts: 19,726












Do you have any plans to travel outside Canada after 5 August 2021 returning by a commercial carrier? If yes and don't have citizenship and a Canadian passport then you need a valid PR card. Current processing time for citizenship grant is 12 months.
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...ing-times.html
IMHO apply for citizenship asap.
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...ing-times.html
IMHO apply for citizenship asap.
#3
BE Enthusiast





Joined: Sep 2014
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 824












Do you have any plans to travel outside Canada after 5 August 2021 returning by a commercial carrier? If yes and don't have citizenship and a Canadian passport then you need a valid PR card. Current processing time for citizenship grant is 12 months.
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...ing-times.html
IMHO apply for citizenship asap.
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...ing-times.html
IMHO apply for citizenship asap.
#4
Lost in BE Cyberspace










Joined: Nov 2011
Location: Somewhere between Vancouver & St Johns
Posts: 19,726












Citizenship applications are badly backlogged because they haven't had any citizenship tests since March. I would say that anyone applying today is probably going to be in for a 18-24 month wait. So I would renew PR card in this case. It won't cause any confusion, it's done all the time.
#5
BE Enthusiast





Joined: Sep 2014
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 824












In my view it's always better to have a valid PR card, just in case. It's only $50 + photos + postage and is worth it for piece of mind just in case (despite intentions) you have to travel outside of Canada and saves messing around with PRTD (which costs $50 anyway).
#6
BE Enthusiast




Joined: Dec 2016
Location: St Catharines, Ontario From Bournemouth UK
Posts: 411












I can apply for Citizenship in May 2021. My PR card expires in Jan 2023. PR can only be renewed within 9 months of expiry = April 2022. If Citizenship is taking more than 20 months and I need to travel abroad after Jan 2023, when is the optimal time to get a replaced PR card?