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PR card renewal · Canada

How to renew your PR card

Every step IRCC requires, explained from inside the portal. Checked against canada.ca, and free.

Processing time right now: 38 daysIRCC source linked on every stepNothing you type is sent to us

Where are you?

My card expires within 9 months

You can apply now. Start at step 1 and follow the path.

Start at step 1

My card has already expired

Your status is not affected by an expired card. What that means for travel, then renew the same way.

What an expired card means

I'm outside Canada right now

A PR card can't be renewed from abroad. To fly home without a valid card, you need a PR travel document (PRTD).

Read the PRTD guide
1

Check when you can apply

IRCC says
Apply when your card is within 9 months of expiring, or has already expired. You must be in Canada when you apply.1
You do
  • Look at the expiry date printed on your card. 9 months before it, you're on.
  • Sign in to the Permanent Residence Portal (not the paper form) and choose *renew or replace a PR card*.
  • Keep your old card until the new one arrives, even if it has expired.
What is a PR card?
What's on the front and back, the card number, and how long the card itself is valid.
Read the guide
Don't start the downloadable IMM 5444 PDF if you're applying online. The portal has its own digital version of the form.

How the PR Portal works: sign-in, account and uploads

Next step: Count your days

2

Count your days

IRCC says
You must have been physically in Canada for at least 730 days in the last five years. The portal counts it the other way round: fewer than 1,095 days outside Canada, and the days you leave and return don't count as days away.2
You do
  • List every trip outside Canada in the last five years: departure date, return date, where, why.
  • Rebuild the list from passport stamps, flight emails and your CRA account.
  • Put the trips in the calculator. It gives you the three totals the portal asks for, formatted for its table.
Residency days calculator
Free. Runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Open the calculator
Don't guess dates. When you consent in the application, IRCC compares your list with the border entry and exit records.

Next step: Gather your documents

3

Gather your documents

IRCC says
Your application is returned if anything on the document checklist (IMM 5644) is missing.3
You do
  • Current PR card: front and back, one file.
  • Passport photo page: your primary identity document.
  • Proof you live here (2): a Notice of Assessment is the strongest. Then a lease or pay stubs.
  • Photo, front and back: two images. See step 5.
File name pattern the portal asks for
Last-First-DocumentType-1.pdf
Don't name files freely. The portal accepts only letters, digits, hyphen, underscore and dot. PDF, JPG or PNG, 4 MB max each.

Full document list and printable checklist

Next step: Fill in IMM 5444

4

Fill in IMM 5444, screen by screen

IRCC says
The portal's digital form has five sections: applicant situation, personal details, immigration history, personal history, residency obligation. Numbering jumps from 2.7 to 2.9 and from 5.5 to 5.7; that's normal.4
You do
  • 1 Applicant situation: your UCI, the date and place you became a PR. Both are on your COPR or the back of your card.
  • 2 Personal details: your name exactly as on your COPR. Eye colour, height in cm, addresses.
  • 3 Immigration history: four yes/no questions. "IRPA" is the immigration law for everyone, not only refugees; the questions apply to you too.
  • 4 Personal history: five years of addresses and jobs, no gaps. Months without work go in as "unemployed"; they are not left blank.
  • 5 Residency obligation: your trips table. Copy the rows from the calculator. Leave the humanitarian box empty if your totals are fine.
Don't leave a table without pressing Save Table. "Save and continue" does not save table rows; the portal drops them silently.

IMM 5444 screen by screen

Next step: Get the photo right

5

Get the photo right

IRCC says
One photo taken in the last 12 months, uploaded as two images: the front, and the back showing your name and date of birth, the studio's name and address, and the date it was taken (stamped or handwritten).5
You do
  • Go to a photo studio and ask for a "Canadian PR card photo". They know the spec and will stamp the back.
  • Ask for the digital file too, JPEG, under 4 MB. Photograph or scan the stamped back.
Photo checker
Free. Checks the file type, size and pixels in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Check your photo
Don't use a selfie or a phone photo. The back must carry your name, date of birth, the studio's name and address, and the date, stamped or handwritten by the studio; a selfie has none of that, and the portal will not accept it.

Photo requirements in detail, including the back

Next step: Pay the fee

6

Pay the fee

IRCC says
The fee is $50. Pay on IRCC's online payment site, save the official receipt with the barcode, and attach it to your application. If the payment can't be processed, the application is returned.5
You do
  • Pay on the separate payment site, then save the receipt as a PDF.
  • Come back to the portal and upload it under Proof of payment.

Fee, payment site and receipt

Next step: Sign, submit, wait

7

Sign, submit, wait

IRCC says
The consent and declaration form acts as your digital signature. Once submitted, nothing can be changed.6
You do
  • IRCC's current processing time for renewals is 38 days (last verified Sep 18, 2026). Nothing to do until then.
  • The new card is mailed to your residential address. A PO box is accepted only if that is where you live; a third party's address is never accepted.
You're set. If you followed all seven steps, nothing on this page will get your application returned.

Today's processing time and what happens after you submit

Want every field answered and your files ready? See the renewal pack

Common questions

How long does a PR card renewal take?
IRCC's published processing time is 38 days for a renewal right now (IRCC updated Sep 16, 2026). Add mailing time. The processing-time page tracks the figure.
Can I renew my PR card online?
Yes. Renewals are made in the Permanent Residence Portal: a digital IMM 5444, uploads for your documents and photo, the fee receipt, and a digital declaration.
Do I need to renew my PR card after five years?
IRCC says a PR card is usually valid for 5 years, and in some cases for only 1 year. The card expires; your status does not. Renew when the card is within 9 months of expiring or has expired, if you are in Canada. Outside Canada without a valid card, you need a PR travel document to fly back.
How early can I renew my PR card?
When it will expire in less than 9 months, or once it has expired. An application for a card still valid for longer than that is returned.
Can I renew my PR card at Service Canada?
IRCC doesn't list Service Canada as a way to apply. You renew 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. Guide 5445 mentions Service Canada only as a place to give biometrics.
How many times can a PR card be renewed?
IRCC's Guide 5445 sets no limit on the number of renewals. What it asks each time is that you meet the residency obligation: at least 730 days in Canada in the last five years. Each renewal is a new application with the $50 fee.

* IRCC processing times — IRCC updated Sep 16, 2026 · we verified Sep 18, 2026

  1. 1.canada.ca — canada.ca
  2. 2.canada.ca, residency obligation — canada.ca
  3. 3.IMM 5644 — canada.ca
  4. 4.PR Portal — prson-srpel.apps.cic.gc.ca
  5. 5.Guide 5445 — canada.ca
  6. 6.PR Portal, Declaration — prson-srpel.apps.cic.gc.ca