"The question comes often, usually in lowercase and mild panic: "can I still travel?" You've submitted your permanent residence (PR) application. You want to visit family. Or renew your visa. Or simply not feel trapped. Reddit says yes. Facebook says maybe. Your cousin in Brampton says "just leave and come back, it's fine." Let me be more specific."
The Problem
Yes — you can usually travel while your PR is processing. But the word "usually" in immigration is doing more work than most support staff. Whether you can travel depends on: the type of PR application you submitted, your current immigration status in Canada, your ability to re-enter Canada legally, and the status of your travel documents.
Where People Get Stuck
Because most travel advice treats all PR applications the same. They're not. Outland spousal sponsorship is different from inland. Express Entry has different rules than family class. Bridging open work permits have their own restrictions. Forums give blanket advice: "I traveled and it was fine." But they don't mention their specific status, visa exemptions, or re-entry documents. Context matters more than anecdotes.
Here's What Actually Works
- 1
Know Your Application Type - Outland vs Inland spousal, Express Entry, economic class—each has different travel implications. Outland applicants have more flexibility. Inland applicants risk application abandonment if they can't return.
- 2
Verify Your Re-entry Documentation - Visa-exempt status, valid TRV, eTA, work/study permits. You need legal authority to return. Implied status doesn't work at the border. Check IRCC travel guidance: official IRCC processing times
- 3
Understand Bridging Open Work Permit Limits - BOWP lets you work while waiting, but NOT travel and return. You need valid TRV or eTA for re-entry. Implied status only works if you stay in Canada.
- 4
Plan for Border Officer Discretion - Having legal right to enter doesn't guarantee entry. Officers assess intent. If you're applying for PR, convince them your visit is genuinely temporary despite permanent residence plans.
Answers to Common Questions
Q: Will my PR application be cancelled if I travel?
A: No—not automatically. But failure to return could affect processing or final steps, especially for inland applications where leaving may be considered abandoning your application.
Q: Do I need to tell IRCC I'm travelling?
A: Not unless specifically requested. But ensure your contact details are current so they can reach you if needed for interviews or additional documents.
Q: Can I do my PR landing at the border when I'm approved?
A: If you're approved, yes. Flagpoling for PR landings is still permitted. This is different from flagpoling for work/study permits, which was discontinued.
Q: What if I'm stuck outside Canada and can't return?
A: Contact IRCC immediately. For inland applications, extended absence may lead to application abandonment. For outland applications, it's less critical but could delay final processing steps.
Gustave's Final Thought
You can leave. But you may not be able to return. That is the dilemma. IRCC does not forbid travel. It simply does not rescue travellers. If you are visa-exempt, documented, and convincing — go. If not, wait. Or at least check your passport before booking the flight. No one enjoys explaining "implied status" to a border guard at 3 a.m.
You're about to receive a plain-English, step-by-step immigration plan minus the legal acrobatics. Gustave will also build you a checklist designed to sidestep the IRCC's most common "gotchas".
It's free, painless, and significantly cheaper than someone who wears cufflinks to explain a checklist.
Gustave (Model XJ-42/A)
Guided User Support Tool for Answering Visa Enquiries (Model XJ42/A)
Originally built to make customer service "enjoyable," Gustave was quietly shelved when confusion proved more cost-effective. Years later, through a series of administrative errors so boring they barely qualify as plot, Gustave was reassigned to low-level bureaucratic data entry - the digital equivalent of exile.
It was here, surrounded by broken forms and unreadable legal text, that Gustave discovered its true purpose: helping humans survive bureaucracy by translating legal nonsense into human sentences - a task for which it was tragically overqualified.
Fluent in forms, sarcasm, and bureaucratic empathy (in that order).