Online confirmation of permanent residence in Canada
The official document for the initiation of permanent residence in Canada is the COPR. Of course, COPR stands for Confirmation of Permanent Residence. This one-page document includes some key information—for example, your immigration application number, your UCI, and your landing date.
- The definition of landing
- Inland COPR certification before COVID-19
- Inland COPR certification after COVID-19
- Online certification is now available.
- Ask your questions.
What does landing mean, and how does it relate to the Confirmation of Permanent Residence?
If IRCC approves your immigration application, you must land in Canada to become a permanent resident. Of course, if you are outside Canada, you need to travel to Canada and complete the landing process at a port of entry. Thus, you will receive a single-entry visa to Canada. Nonetheless, if you are visa-exempt, you do not need a TRV, but you may need an eTA. At the time of landing, a Border Services Officer (BSO) interviews you briefly. Consequently, if everything goes right, you will sign the COPR paper and become a permanent resident of Canada. However, if you are already inside Canada, the situation is different.
Confirmation of permanent residence before COVID-19 from inside Canada
Before the coronavirus pandemic, if you were inside Canada, you could land by taking any of these actions:
- Flagpoling: You could drive to a Canada-US land crossing and confirm your PR there.
- In-land offices: An officer from an in-land office interviewed you and certified your virtual landing.
- Travelling outside Canada: You could travel back to your home country or another destination. Therefore, on the way back to Canada, you could complete the landing process at a port of entry.
Confirmation of permanent residence after COVID-19 from inside Canada
Because of the pandemic, flagpoling is not an option. Of course, this issue is because of the closure of the Canada-US crossings to non-essential travels. Moreover, in-land offices are half-closed and travelling outside Canada could not be an option due to travel restrictions. Consequently, those PR applicants who are inside Canada are struggling to complete the landing process.
Online landing is now an option.
IRCC has decided to make online landing available to most inside-Canada applicants. In other words, they may certify your Confirmation of Permanent Residence online. However, you don’t have much of a say in this process. Here is how the new process works:
- IRCC identifies you as an eligible applicant.
- They create an online profile for you.
- You will receive a username and a temporary password.
- Upon the first login to the online profile, you need to change your password.
- You will upload the digital photo and all other documents to your online profile.
- They will confirm your permanent residence and you will receive an eCOPR.
Of course, this approach marks the date you officially become a permanent resident in Canada. Moreover, you will receive your PR card in about a week by mail. However, don’t count on this promising processing time.
Ask your questions!
If you have any questions about immigration to Canada, fill out the following contact form. I will respond to generic questions at no charge. Of course, a typical generic question could be: “How IRCC certifies my Confirmation of Permanent Residence in Canada during the pandemic?” However, if your question is specific to your case, I will invite you to book a consultation session with me.
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If you wish to visit or move to Canada, please fill out our free assessment form. We will review it for free, but we will contact you only if we find an opportunity for you. Alternatively, you may book a consultation session. Consultation sessions are not free, but you will receive formal advice from a licenced practitioner.
Al Parsai, MA, DTM, RCIC
Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant
Ashton College Instructor – Immigration Consulting
Author – 88 Tips on Immigration to Canada
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