Canada has redesigned its per­ma­nent res­i­dent card, the wallet-​​sized plas­tic card that pro­vides proof of per­ma­nent res­i­dent sta­tus.

According to an announce­ment from Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the card was redesigned to add sev­eral new secu­rity features.

If you already have a per­ma­nent res­i­dent card, don’t worry. Your exist­ing card will remain valid. When your card expires and you apply for a new one, you’ll receive the new-​​style card. Permanent res­i­dent cards expire every five years.

If you’re in the process of apply­ing for per­ma­nent res­i­dent sta­tus, you’ll get the new card after Citizenship and Immigration Canada approves your application.

See the Paperwork 101 sec­tion of this web­site for more infor­ma­tion about becom­ing a Canadian per­ma­nent res­i­dent. You can get detailed instruc­tions and appli­ca­tion forms online from Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Photo ©Alan Albert