Background: Anecdotal evidence (Vancouver Sun) suggest that potentially thousands of Permanent Residents are experiencing significant delays of between 3 months to 2 years in the processing of applications to renew their Permanent Residents (PR) cards.

Impact: Permanent Residents of Canada are required to have a valid PR card to enter Canada via a commercial carrier (airline, bus, train). If a Permanent Resident does not have a valid card he/she must apply for a Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD) at a visa office when they are outside Canada. Many Permanent Residents who are waiting for their PR cards to be renewed have to cancel or postpone family and business related travel plans as they cannot risk the uncertainty of how long it will take to obtain a PRTD. Despite representations and media exposure IRCC has not publicly acknowledged that there is a problem and as such it is likely the problem will continue to grow.