Confirmation of Permanent Residence: COPR and eCOPR explained

What are the current COPR and eCOPR rules and figures?

As of 5 October 2026, IRCC issues a COPR before you travel if you are outside Canada, uploads an eCOPR if you are in Canada, cannot extend a COPR, and mails your first PR card free once it has your address and photo.

The table lists each figure with the page it comes from and the day we read it.

What is a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR)?

A Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) is the IRCC document that proves you have been approved for permanent residence and is used to complete the final steps of becoming a permanent resident in Canada (canada.ca, checked 5 October 2026).

IRCC also calls the document IMM 5292 or IMM 5688, and once it is completed it is valid as proof of permanent resident status in Canada until you get your PR card. IRCC says that a permanent resident returning to Canada by plane, train, bus or boat must show a valid PR card with their passport, so the COPR is not a substitute for the card when you travel. Our PR card guide covers the card itself.

• Your details: your name and date of birth appear on the COPR, and IRCC says to check that they match your passport.
• Category: your immigration category is printed on it as a code, which the category section below explains.
• Destination: your city and province of destination are shown.
• Conditions: any conditions of stay are listed.
• Dates: it shows a “Valid to” date, an expiry date and the date you became a permanent resident.
• Landing and medical details: it also records the official date of landing, where you landed and your medical exam details.

Which document is which: COPR, PR card, Verification of Status and landing paper?

IRCC lists three permanent resident documents: the COPR, which confirms your status before the card, the PR card, which you show to return to Canada, and the Verification of Status, a plain-paper record issued when an original is lost (canada.ca, checked 5 October 2026).

What is the difference between a COPR and an eCOPR?

A COPR is issued before you travel to Canada and completed by a border officer at a port of entry, while an eCOPR is uploaded to your Permanent Residence Portal account after you confirm you are in Canada (canada.ca, checked 5 October 2026).

How do you get your eCOPR if you are in Canada?

If you are approved while in Canada, you sign in to the Permanent Residence Portal and confirm you are in Canada, and IRCC then uploads your eCOPR to that account, which it says can take up to a few weeks (canada.ca, checked 5 October 2026).

IRCC's own page for this step is titled “Confirm your permanent residence from within Canada”, and people often call the portal the PR Confirmation Portal. It is separate from your IRCC secure account. Our guide to IRCC application statuses shows where this step sits after the decision.

1. 01

   Wait for IRCC's two emails

   IRCC sends a first email asking for some basic information and a second saying it is ready to confirm your status, from a mailbox ending in cic.gc.ca. You do not have to do anything until IRCC contacts you.

2. 02

   Use the right account

   Do not create your own portal account. If you applied through the Permanent Residence Portal you use the same account; if not, IRCC creates one and emails you a username and a temporary password, which expires 30 days after the account is created.

3. 03

   Sign in and confirm you are in Canada

   Sign in to the portal, choose the category Confirmation of permanent residence, and confirm you are in Canada. IRCC says declaring that you are in Canada does not make you a permanent resident yet.

4. 04

   Give your Canadian address and photo

   Provide the Canadian address where IRCC should mail your PR card and upload a digital photo for it. IRCC mails cards only to Canadian addresses, to a PO box only in rural areas where mail is not delivered to houses, and never to a third party such as a family member or a representative.

5. 05

   Get your eCOPR

   After you confirm you are in Canada, IRCC uploads your eCOPR to your portal account, which it says can take up to a few weeks. You can use it to prove your status while you wait for the card.

6. 06

   Wait for your PR card

   Once IRCC accepts your photo, it mails your PR card to the Canadian address you gave.

What if you did not get IRCC's emails or the portal will not work?

Check your junk or spam folder first, and if you cannot sign in, contact IRCC at the email address shown in your invitation message, because IRCC must reset a lost or expired temporary password for you (canada.ca, checked 5 October 2026).

Our PR card photo requirements guide covers the photo in more detail.

What happens when you land with a COPR at a port of entry?

If you are outside Canada, you show your COPR and passport to a Canada Border Services Agency officer, who checks your dates and identity, completes the COPR and, if you are admissible, admits you as a permanent resident (canada.ca, checked 5 October 2026).

IRCC's Express Entry guidance for people landing from outside Canada lists what to have with you and what the officer checks. The same page says to keep your passport and other documents with you rather than packing them in your luggage, which speeds up your entry.

• Passport: you must have a valid passport or travel document, and it must be a regular, private citizen passport rather than a diplomatic, government service or public affairs passport.
• COPR and visa: you must have your COPR and your permanent resident visa, if IRCC gave you one.
• Proof of funds: you must have proof of the funds to support yourself and your family after you arrive, unless you are exempt.
• Large amounts of money: if you arrive with CAN$10,000 or more you must tell the officer, or you could be fined and your funds seized.

If you change your address within 180 days of arriving in Canada, IRCC says to tell it through its web form. After you land, the next steps are in our guide to the first steps after landing in Canada.

What does the Valid to date mean, and what does your COPR expiry depend on?

The Valid to date is the last day you can land as a permanent resident if you are outside Canada, and the separate expiry date on the COPR is the date your travel document expires (canada.ca, checked 5 October 2026).

IRCC has said that a COPR's validity can last up to one year and is tied to the applicant's passport and their immigration medical exam (IRCC backgrounder, 21 June 2021). We read that as meaning the earlier of your passport expiry date and the end of your medical exam's 12 months is your outer limit, so plan to land well before it. Our immigration medical exam guide explains the exam.

What happens if your COPR expires before you land?

IRCC says it cannot extend a COPR and the border officer checks that you enter on or before the date shown, and the IRCC pages we checked give no step-by-step process for an expired one (canada.ca, checked 5 October 2026).

The only IRCC statement about expired COPRs that we found is a COVID-era notice dated 21 June 2021. It said that people whose COPR had expired should not book flights or try to travel to Canada until they receive a new COPR from IRCC, and that IRCC was working with some applicants to reissue COPRs. That notice was written for pandemic travel restrictions, so we cannot confirm that it still applies.

• Act before the date: IRCC's web form is its general channel for questions about an application, so write to IRCC as soon as you know you cannot land in time, not after the date has passed.
• Check your other dates: compare the Valid to date with your passport expiry date and the 12 months on your medical exam, because IRCC ties a COPR's validity to both.
• Do not book travel on an expired COPR: a flight for a date after the Valid to date puts your money at risk, because the officer checks the date and IRCC publishes no way to extend it.
• Get advice if a document has lapsed: a licensed RCIC can check which of your dates are at risk and how to raise it with IRCC, although the decision is IRCC's.

Read the full 21 June 2021 notice on canada.ca, and use IRCC's web form to contact it.

What if you lose your COPR or eCOPR?

IRCC's application for a lost COPR is a Verification of Status, a plain-paper record of what the COPR showed that costs $30 on form IMM 5009, rather than a new COPR document (canada.ca, checked 5 October 2026).

• Where to apply: mail form IMM 5009, the receipt for your $30 online payment and copies of your identification to IRCC's Operations Support Centre in Ottawa; IRCC accepts only online payment.
• Processing time: IRCC's processing-times tool shows 11 weeks for a Verification of Status (updated 1 October 2026).
• What it is not: a Verification of Status cannot be used for travel and is not an identity document, and IRCC says the PR card is the proof of status for returning to Canada on a commercial carrier.
• Urgent cases: IRCC allows urgent processing, with proof, if Service Canada has told you your pension file will close without proof of your status, if you must travel because of a death or serious illness in the family, or if you face immediate loss of employment; mark the envelope URGENT.
• If you lost an eCOPR: IRCC says it makes the eCOPR available to you in the Permanent Residence Portal, so sign in to your portal account first.

Our IRCC forms guide explains the forms, and the PR card renewal and replacement guide covers a lost PR card, which is a different process.

What if there is a mistake on your COPR or eCOPR?

Compare your COPR with your passport as soon as you get it; if IRCC made a mistake, Express Entry applicants contact IRCC through their account, and permanent residents can file a Request to Amend (IMM 1436) (canada.ca, checked 5 October 2026).

IRCC's amendment application covers only errors made by Canadian immigration officials when they recorded your information, and it treats the COPR as a historical document. If IRCC approves the request, it issues a Verification of Status showing the correction, free of charge, and you present it with your original COPR.

• Forms and address: mail form IMM 1436, with form IMM 5476 if a representative acts for you, to IRCC's Operations Support Centre in Ottawa.
• Evidence: include copies of your passport pages, of your COPR and of an identity document from before you entered Canada that shows the correct information, and do not send originals unless IRCC asks for them.
• Keep your original: IRCC says not to destroy your original COPR, because you present the Verification of Status together with it.
• Processing time: IRCC's tool shows 11 weeks for amendments of immigration documents (updated 1 October 2026).
• If IRCC refuses: it sends a letter with the reasons and notes your request on your immigration file.

IRCC's amendment page has the forms. Our guide to the IMM 5476 form explains how a representative is named.

How long does it take to get a COPR, an eCOPR or a replacement?

IRCC's processing-times tool has no separate time for issuing a COPR, and its portal page says an eCOPR can take up to a few weeks to appear after you confirm you are in Canada (canada.ca, checked 5 October 2026).

IRCC does not publish a separate figure for the time between approval and your COPR. Our PR process timeline lays out every stage, and our processing times page tracks the IRCC figures for the whole application.

How does your COPR lead to your first PR card?

You do not normally apply for your first PR card: IRCC mails it automatically, free of charge, if you give it your Canadian mailing address and a photo within 180 days of becoming a permanent resident (canada.ca, checked 5 October 2026).

IRCC shows 34 days to process a first PR card (processing-times tool, updated 1 October 2026) and says it can take up to 6 weeks beyond that. There is no way to track an automatically mailed first card. If the card does not arrive, IRCC's page lists a solemn declaration for waits of 6 weeks but less than 180 days and a new application for waits of 180 days or more (canada.ca, checked 5 October 2026).

While you wait, you can use your COPR or eCOPR to prove your status and to apply for government services such as a social insurance number. Service Canada accepts a COPR for a social insurance number within 1 year. IRCC says to keep your COPR in a safe place even after the card arrives, because you might need it to update the information on the card or to support other applications. Our PR card guide covers the card itself, and the PR card renewal guide covers renewing or replacing it.

Can you travel before your PR card arrives?

You can leave Canada, but to return by plane, train, bus or boat without a valid PR card you must apply for a permanent resident travel document from outside Canada (canada.ca, checked 5 October 2026).

IRCC says a permanent resident travel document is normally valid for a single entry and that you should apply for a new PR card as soon as you return. If you have not yet confirmed your status, IRCC says it cannot confirm it while you are outside Canada. Think about your residency obligation too: IRCC says you must have been in Canada for at least 730 days in the last five years to keep your status.

Can you live somewhere other than the city of destination on your COPR?

Yes, IRCC says a permanent resident has the right to live, work or study anywhere in Canada, although a provincial nominee was chosen by their province to bring skills to that province (IRCC help centre, checked 5 October 2026).

That is the whole of IRCC's answer. If your permanent residence came through a provincial nominee program, our provincial nominee program guides and our Alberta immigration guide explain how each program works.

What does the immigration category on your COPR mean?

The immigration category is a code printed on your COPR, and IRCC publishes a reference list that explains each code (IRCC help centre and canada.ca, checked 5 October 2026).

When is it worth talking to a licensed RCIC about your COPR?

Talk to a licensed RCIC if your COPR is close to expiring, a passport or medical exam has lapsed, the details on it are wrong, or you are unsure whether to leave Canada before IRCC confirms your status; most other steps you can do yourself.

• Close to expiry: IRCC cannot extend a COPR, so a late landing needs a plan before the date passes.
• Lapsed documents: IRCC ties a COPR's validity to your passport and medical exam, so a lapse in either affects your deadline.
• Mistakes: IRCC corrects only its own recording errors, so a name or date of birth that does not match your passport has to be shown to be IRCC's mistake.
• Travel before confirmation: IRCC cannot confirm your status while you are outside Canada, so tell IRCC before you leave.
• Representation: IRCC says a representative cannot sign in to your portal account or declare that you are in Canada, so the portal steps stay with you.

Working under a licensed RCIC (CICC #R706497), our team advises clients entirely online, by video call and secure document sharing, and never guarantees an immigration outcome. We are not part of IRCC or the Government of Canada, and IRCC decides every application. See our fees for what working with us costs.