The portal replaces the PDF with a five-section digital form. Here is every screen, the field that trips people up on each, and where the answers live on your own documents.
Verified Sep 18, 2026 inside the PR PortalNothing you type is sent to us
Is there an IMM 5444 PDF?
Yes. IRCC publishes the IMM 5444 PDF (the paper application form) on its IMM 5444 page on canada.ca, and the same page says: "Don't fill out this PDF form if you apply online." Renewals are made online, in the Permanent Residence Portal; IRCC offers paper forms as an alternate format for people who can't apply online and need an accommodation, such as for a disability.
If you apply through the Permanent Residence Portal, you never download IMM 5444. The portal opens its own digital version with five sections (the paper form has eight; the consent and declaration are separate portal steps). You don't print, hand-sign or date anything.
The section numbers jump: there is no 2.8 and no 5.6. That is the portal, not a missing field.1
Don't fill in the downloadable PDF as well. Uploading a second IMM 5444 confuses the file and can delay the application.
1
Section 1: Applicant situation
IRCC says
Choose your situation (renew), enter your UCI (8 or 10 digits, found on IRCC correspondence or your old PR card), the language for correspondence, and the date and place you became a permanent resident.2
You do
1.2 UCI: copy it from your current PR card or any IRCC letter. Digits only.
1.4 Date you became a PR: the landing date on your COPR (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688) or Record of Landing (IMM 1000). If you became a PR less than five years ago, this date starts the section 5 window; otherwise the window is the five years before today.
1.5 Place: the city and province where you landed, or the port of entry printed on your COPR.
Can't find your UCI?
The two formats, the documents it is on, and the number people confuse it with.
Don't pick a date from memory. If you became a PR less than five years ago, a wrong date here changes every total in section 5; for anyone else the window does not depend on this date.
Enter your name exactly as it appears on your IMM 1000, IMM 5292, IMM 5688 or your last PR card. The card is mailed to your residential address; a PO box is accepted only if it is your residential address, and third-party addresses are not accepted.2
You do
2.1 Name: character for character as on your COPR, even if you use a different spelling today. A different current name goes in 2.2 with legal name-change documents.
2.3 Eye colour and height: eye colour as on your COPR (if your eyes differ, the right eye counts); height in centimetres.
2.4 Country of birth: the dropdown includes historical countries (USSR, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia); pick the one on your birth document.
2.6 and 2.7 Addresses: residential first; mailing only if it differs and is still yours.
Don't put a friend's or a representative's address in 2.7. The portal rejects third-party addresses, and cards not collected within the pickup window are destroyed.
Four yes/no questions: a removal order, a report under section 44(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, loss of permanent resident status, and an appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division on the residency obligation. Then whether a travel document or PR travel document was ever issued to you.1
You do
"IRPA" is the immigration law for everyone in Canada, not only refugees. Read each question as "has an officer ever formally written this up about me?"
For most renewals every answer is No. Answer Yes only if you received a written report, order or decision, and keep its reference handy.
3.5: tick PR travel document only if you ever applied for one from abroad.
Don't answer No to something that did happen. IRCC has the record; a contradiction is worse than the event itself.
List every address and every work or study activity for the past five years, most recent first, with no gaps. Rows are added with all fields filled in and are kept only when you press Save Table.2
You do
4.1 Addresses: month by month coverage. Two rows can share a month if you moved mid-month.
4.2 Work and study: months without a job go in as "Unemployed", "Homemaker", "Retired" or "Student"; nothing is left blank. No abbreviations in employer names.
Press Save Table after every row. Then press Save and continue.
Don't leave a table without pressing Save Table. "Save and continue" does not save table rows; the portal drops them silently and you find out at the end.
List every absence from Canada in the assessment period: from, to, where, why (reason A, B, C or Other) and days. The days you left and returned are excluded. The portal shows three totals and tells you that fewer than 1,095 days outside Canada, excluding reasons A, B and C, appears to meet the obligation.3
You do
5.1: Yes if you left Canada at all in the period, even for a day trip. No only if you never left.
5.2 to 5.4: the three exceptions (working abroad for a Canadian business or the public service; accompanying a Canadian-citizen spouse or parent; accompanying a PR spouse or parent working abroad for a Canadian business). Most people answer No to all three.
5.5 Absences table: copy the rows from the calculator. It uses the same day-count rule as the portal and lists trips most recent first.
5.7 Humanitarian box: leave it empty if your totals appear to meet the obligation. It is shown to everyone; it is not a hint that something is wrong.
Residency days calculator
Free. Your trips in, the three portal totals out, formatted for table 5.5.
Don't write an explanation in 5.7 "just in case". If your days outside are under 1,095, an unnecessary explanation invites questions; if they are over, get advice from a licensed consultant or lawyer before writing it.
Every field that people look up, and the document that has the answer. Nothing here needs to be typed on this page.
Portal field
Find it on
1.2 UCI
Your current PR card (back), your COPR, or any IRCC letter or email
1.4 Date you became a PR
COPR (IMM 5292 / IMM 5688) or Record of Landing (IMM 1000): the date stamped at landing
1.5 Place you became a PR
COPR: the port of entry or the inland office, with the province
2.1 Name
COPR, exactly as printed (also on your current card)
2.3 Eye colour, height
COPR lists both; otherwise measure your height in cm
2.4 Country of birth
Your birth certificate or passport
2.5 Citizenships
Every passport you hold; "Stateless" is an option
4.1 Addresses
Leases, tax returns, CRA My Account address history
4.2 Work and study
T4 slips, pay stubs, CRA My Account, school records
5.5 Absences
Passport stamps, flight emails and your CRA account
6
After section 5: complete and return
IRCC says
Section 5 ends with "Complete and return to application". The form then shows as completed in the application forms table; photos, documents, proof of payment and the declaration are separate portal steps.2
You do
Press Complete and return to application. The form row turns to "Completed".
You can reopen the form until you submit the whole application. After submission nothing can be changed.
Applying for a child?
Who signs by age, the extra document for an applicant under 18, and when biometrics apply.
You're set. Five sections completed, every table saved with Save Table, humanitarian box empty. Next: the photo.
Common questions
Is IMM 5444 the same form online and on paper?
Same name, different shape. Online the portal shows five sections and signs digitally through the declaration step. The paper form has eight sections and must be printed, hand-signed and dated. If you apply online, ignore the PDF.
Do I need to print and sign IMM 5444 if I apply in the PR Portal?
No. The consent and declaration step in the portal acts as your signature. Printing, signing and re-uploading the form is only for paper applications.
Why does the numbering skip 2.8 and 5.6?
Those fields exist on the paper form but not in the portal's digital version. The gaps are normal; nothing is missing from your application.
Why does my IMM 5444 say in progress?
Once your application is submitted, IRCC's help centre says an In progress status means "we're still reviewing your application." There is nothing to do; IRCC contacts you if it needs more. A renewal can be followed in IRCC's Client Application Status tool once you have your acknowledgement of receipt.
What if I made a mistake after submitting?
Nothing in a submitted application can be edited. Use the IRCC web form to send a correction with your application number, and keep a copy of what you sent.
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