3. Prepare to answer questions about your status

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) or Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) may ask you to prove that you're a permanent resident. And you may need to show that you have met your residency obligation.

If you make an application to IRCC, they can look at your travel history to see how much time you've spent outside Canada and where you went. For example, IRCC looks at your travel history when you:

• apply for a permanent resident (PR) card or a PR travel document, or
• apply to become a Canadian citizen.

When you return to Canada, a CBSA officer will look at your documents and may ask you questions. The CBSA officer can ask you how much time you have spent outside Canada, where you went, and whether you have met your residency obligation. You must answer the questions, and you must tell the truth.

If IRCC or CBSA finds out that you have not met your residency obligation, it can lead to a process to take away your permanent resident status.

If you're a protected person, this can also happen if IRCC or CBSA finds out that did something that suggests you might not need Canada's protection anymore. For example, you travelled to your home country. Read more about that in Step 2.

Keep track of your travel

Keep detailed records of the dates you leave and return to Canada, and where you travel. Make notes every time you leave, even if you come back on the same day. For example, you can keep notes in a travel journal, a notebook, a spreadsheet.

You need to give your past travel dates when you make certain applications. For example, to apply to renew your PR card, or to apply for Canadian citizenship.

Other types of evidence to help you prove when you were in Canada may include:

• Passport stamps in all your current and expired passports
• Flight records, bus tickets, or hotel bookings
• Canadian tax returns
• Employment records showing the dates you worked in Canada
• Housing documents in Canada like a lease, a mortgage, or utility payments
• School records
• Canadian bank statements showing the dates of transactions in Canada

Get legal help

If you have not met your residency obligation, get legal help  from a lawyer or licensed representative. If you plan to travel or make an immigration application, get legal advice first.

There may be ways that you can ask to keep your status.

You should also get legal advice if you're a protected person and you have travelled to the country you claimed refugee protection against. This puts your status at risk.