In the interest of public safety during the coronavirus pandemic, Canada is using a new online portal to confirm permanent resident status. This new electronic process was introduced in October on a trial run, to expedite the landing process for new permanent residents.
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited developed this new, secure portal for Canada. This portal is different from an IRCC account and applicants can access the portal using supported browsers like Chrome, Firefox, or Edge.
This secure portal offers services to share personal information, declare that applicant is in Canada, confirm address, submit recent photo for PR card, and access proof of permanent resident (PR) status. This portal does not offer services to check the status of application.
In this new electronic portal, everyone has their own separate account profile, with distinctive username and passwords. This portal can be accessed only by the applicant, representatives cannot use the portal on behalf of the applicant.
Working of the portal
Step 1
If an application is approved by IRCC, they contact the applicant via email to invite the applicant to use the new online portal. The principal applicant needs to submit their own email address and all email addresses of other members in the application.
Step 2
After receiving these details, IRCC will create an account for the applicant as the portal does not allow applicants to create a profile for themselves.
Step 3
Then the applicant will confirm the details mentioned in the account. Later IRCC will send another email with a link to the portal and guidelines on how to sign in the account, with a unique username and temporary password.
Step 4
Applicants can now login for the first time and create their own password. Applicants could confirm that they are currently in Canada, update home or postal address, and upload digital/ scanned photos.
Step 5
IRCC will review and accept the photo if it meets the requirements. Applicants can check if the photo is accepted or not on the portal. If the photo is returned, the applicant can resubmit a new photo into the portal. Common reasons for photos to be returned are dark pictures, flare, improper visibility of facial features, and wrong format.
Step 6
Once the photo is accepted, applicants will receive a Permanent Resident card within one week at their mailing address inside Canada.
If any issue arises throughout the PR card process, IRCC will contact the applicant directly. If the applicant is unable to login the portal, they can contact IRCC via email mentioned in the invitation message.
