Glossary
In Immigration Law, Income Assistance, Refugee Law
After someone becomes a permanent resident, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada gives them a permanent resident card. The card proves that the person has permanent status in Canada and includes details like their name, photograph, and date of birth.
A permanent resident card usually expires in 5 years but can be renewed.
Permanent residents who travel outside Canada need to make sure that they have their permanent resident card and that it is valid at the time they plan to return.
In Immigration Law, Refugee Law
A person in need of protection is someone who would likely face at least one of the following risks if they had to return to their home country:
- torture, or
- in some cases, a risk to their life or a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment
Their country is also not able or not willing to protect them, and they cannot reasonably and safely live in another part of their country.
In Immigration Law, Refugee Law
A port of entry is a place where people can enter Canada. Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) decides if a person can come into the country.
Ports of entry include international airports, land border crossings, such as border crossings from the United States, and maritime ports, such as the ports at Vancouver and Halifax.
In Immigration Law, Refugee Law
Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) is a process that reviews the risk a person would face if sent back to their country. Most people who apply successfully for PRRA become protected persons.
In Immigration Law, Income Assistance, Refugee Law
A protected person is someone who:
- the Refugee Protection Division or the Refugee Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board recognizes as a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection
- a visa officer outside Canada accepts for resettlement to Canada as someone who needs protection
Most people who have a successful Pre-Removal Risk Assessment are also protected persons. But this is not true if they’re inadmissible to Canada for certain reasons, for example, they’re considered a security risk. In that situation, they’re not ordered to leave Canada, but Canada Border Services Agency can review the decision to let them remain in Canada.
In Immigration Law, Refugee Law
A removal order says that a person must leave Canada. There are 3 types of removal orders:
Permanent residents can lose their status if they do not meet the residency obligation. This means that they cannot spend too much time outside Canada. The general rule is that over a period of 5 years, permanent residents must be in Canada for at least 2 years. That’s the same as 730 days. The 730 days do not have to be one after the other. And part of a day counts as a full day.
In some situations, permanent residents can include time spent outside Canada. For example, time spent travelling with a spouse or partner who’s a Canadian citizen.
In Abuse and Family Violence, Criminal Law, Family Law, Immigration Law, Refugee Law
A sentence is a punishment given to someone found guilty of an offence. A sentence for an adult can include jail time, but it does not have to. A sentence can also include a fine or a period of probation. Sentences for youth are different.
A permanent resident can be ordered deported if they’re convicted of a serious crime. A crime is serious if either:
- the maximum sentence that the law says you can get is 10 or more years in prison, even if you get a shorter sentence or no time at all in prison, or
- the sentence that you actually get is more than 6 months in prison or jail.