A common point of confusion after landing as a new permanent resident: the visa stamped in your passport, and even your COPR, stop being useful for re-entry once you've officially landed.
What group members explained:- The visa in your passport is single-use. It gets you into Canada once, at the port of entry. Once an officer lands you as a PR, that visa is spent — it will not let you re-enter the country again.
- Your PR card becomes your travel document going forward. After landing, IRCC typically mails the physical PR card to your address within a few months (members reported 3–4 months in their case). From then on, that card — plus your passport — is what you use to fly back into Canada.
- If you need to leave before the PR card arrives, you cannot simply re-enter on the strength of your old visa or COPR. You'll need to apply for a PR Travel Document (PRTD) from IRCC — effectively a new, one-time single-entry authorization to fly back into Canada as a PR.
Practical takeaway: if your PR card hasn't arrived yet and travel is unavoidable, plan ahead — a PRTD application takes time to process, so don't book international travel assuming you can simply walk back in on your old documents.