What is PR in Canada?
Permanent residence is the right to live, work and study anywhere in Canada indefinitely, with access to public healthcare and most social benefits. It is not citizenship: you keep your Indian passport, you cannot vote, and you must be physically in Canada for 730 days in every five-year period to keep it.
What the status gives you
A permanent resident can live in any province, work for any employer or start a business, study, and use the provincial public health system once the waiting period in that province has passed. Children go to public school. After three years of physical presence within the last five, a permanent resident can apply for citizenship.
What it does not give you
Permanent residents cannot vote or stand for election, cannot hold some jobs that need top-level security clearance, and can lose the status. The residency obligation is the one that catches people: 730 days of physical presence in Canada in every rolling five-year window, counted from the day you land.
How it is proved
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada issues a PR card, valid for five years, which you show when re-entering Canada. The card is proof of the status; the status itself continues as long as the residency obligation is met.
How people from Kerala usually get it
Through Express Entry, the federal points pool for skilled workers, or through a provincial nominee programme, which adds 600 points to an Express Entry profile. Family sponsorship and study-then-work routes are the other common paths. Our eligibility check scores you against the current Express Entry criteria in four minutes.
Sources
Checked against these on by Anu Francis, Head of Sales — Canada Migration. Immigration rules change without notice — if you are reading this much later, check them again.