Learn about giving up your status

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) or Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) might decide that you:

• have not met your residency obligation, and
• should lose your status as a permanent resident.

And they may ask if you want to give up your status as a permanent resident. This is called “voluntary renunciation”.

You could decide to give up your status after you’ve been told that you:

• can’t enter Canada as a permanent resident, or
• can’t get a Permanent Resident Travel Document.

Then, IRCC or CBSA may let you enter Canada with a temporary status, for example, as a visitor.

If you’re already in Canada, you’ll be able to stay here for 6 months as a temporary resident.

You can’t give up your permanent resident status unless you have citizenship or permanent resident status in another country.

Before you decide to give up your status

If you choose to give up your permanent resident status, you can’t change your mind and appeal the decision.

So before you decide to give up your status, it’s important to get legal help.

If you already gave up your status and want to know if there’s anything you can do to get it back, you need to get legal help.