This thread covers a common situation: someone landed and became a PR, left Canada before the PR card arrived, and now has a Canadian job offer.
- Understand what each document does. The COPR gets you into Canada only on the first landing. If you leave afterwards without a PR card, you need a PRTD to board a flight back. The PR card itself is a travel document — it is not required to work.
- Check your PRTD type before booking travel. PRTDs can be single-entry or multiple-entry. If yours is single-entry and you might travel again before the PR card arrives, plan around that or apply for a new PRTD.
- You can start working without a PR card. Members confirmed that once you are a permanent resident, your status — not the physical card — is what authorizes you to work. Employers verify status via your SIN and COPR; no PR card is needed for a job or a job offer.
- Track the PR card application from abroad. Link the application to your GCKey account so you can watch for updates; the thread's applicant saw no movement for months, which members treated as unusual but not disqualifying.
In short: enter on the PRTD, start the job, and let the PR card catch up with you.