A member planning a soft landing (a brief entry to activate PR status, then returning home) asked whether a friend could receive their PR card by mail on their behalf, after hearing a conflicting account of someone being told at the airport they couldn't leave without the card.
What the thread indicated:- The PR card is normally delivered like any other piece of mail, dropped in a mailbox — several members said this matches their own or others' recent experience, including cards being placed in a landlord's shared mailbox rather than handed to a specific person.
- Canada Post generally isn't strict about who receives non-trackable mail — members noted the courier/postal service doesn't verify identity for regular mail delivery, so a friend or housemate collecting it from a shared mailbox is normal and expected.
- The airport account of being told you can't leave without the card in hand was viewed as unusual and not the general rule — members suspected that was a specific/unusual situation rather than standard IRCC or CBSA policy.
Takeaway: in most members' experience, the PR card simply arrives by mail like any other letter and can be collected by whoever has access to the mailbox — but since delivery details can vary, keep a close eye on your mail-forwarding arrangement and confirm your address is correctly set with IRCC before you leave.