| CBSA | Canada Border Services Agency: a federal law enforcement agency in charge of enforcing immigration regulations and policing the border. |
| CBSA Travel History Report | A document you can request from the CBSA that shows your entries and exits into and out of the country. It can take 30 or more days to produce, so apply early to obtain it in time for your OAS pension. |
| COPR | Confirmation of Permanent Residence: an immigration document for new permanent residents of Canada that you receive just before going to Canada as a permanent resident or that you receive when you arrive in the country as a new permanent resident. Your COPR will either be IMM 5292 or IMM 5688. |
| Confirmation of Permanent Residence | The formal unabbreviated way of saying COPR – see directly above for more information. |
| Expiration of COPR | If you are overseas when you receive your COPR, you generally have 1 year to land in Canada as a new permanent resident. If you don’t travel to Canada within 1 year, you’ll have to apply for a new COPR. |
| GIS Guaranteed Income Supplement | An extra pension paid to people who receive OAS but with incomes that remain below a prescribed level. |
| IMM 1000 | A Record of Landing. This was used from the 1970s until 2002 to record your personal information on the date you landed in Canada as a permanent resident. You often need your IMM 1000 for things like OAS or to prove you are eligible for a job in Canada. |
| IMM 1436 | This form is only used to amend personal information on your COPR. Do NOT use it to replace your COPR, instead you have to apply for a VOS document using form IMM 5009. |
| IMM 5292 | Your COPR is an immigration form and this is the formal name of the document. There are two variations (very similar with only a few differences) of COPR documents. Form IMM 5292 is one of them. |
| IMM 5688 | The other type of COPR document. Both IMM 5688 and IMM 5292 are Confirmations of Permanent Residence. |
| IMM 5476 | The form you must fill out if you hire a paid representative to represent you in any immigration process/application. If you hire a paid representative, make sure you fill out this form and send it to the government. |
| Legal Status | Legal status means you can enter and remain in Canada as a temporary resident (visitor, work, or study) or as a permanent resident (permanent resident status) under the Immigration & Refugee Protection Act, or IRPA. It also means you have a right to enter and remain in Canada as a Canadian citizen under the Citizenship Act or as a Registered Indian under the Indian Act. Legal status can expire for temporary residents or be lost for permanent residents or even occasionally for citizens. |
| Alpha-Numeric code associated with immigration category | This is printed on your COPR and gives the type of immigration category you came to Canada under. Some examples are: CG – Caring for Children program; LC – In-Canada live-in Caregiver; SW1-FED – Federal Skilled Worker. Go here for more information. |
| Numeric code indicating your highest level of schooling achieved | This number shows what level of education you have achieved. For example, secondary, post-secondary, post-graduate. |
| OAS | Old Age Security: a senior benefit for Canadians 65 or older that is paid out monthly like a pension. It is NOT part of your Canada Pension Plan and is a separate payment. |
| ODSP Ontario Disability Support Program | A financial assistance program in Ontario for people with low incomes who are also dealing with a medical condition. |
| Ontario Works | A financial assistance program run by the government of Ontario that provides low-income people in need with support payments, depending on your other sources of income (pensions, income, etc.). |
| Permanent Residence Portal | This is a new IRCC website that will send you an email when you land in Canada as a new permanent resident. You reply to their email and you will be given an account at the portal (which is not the same as your IRCC Secure Account) and you give your personal information and then receive your PR Card in a couple of weeks. |
| Permanent Residence Status | It means that you are a permanent resident who has legally landed in Canada with a PR visa and who has a Record of Landing or COPR and you can live, work. and/or study in Canada. As long as you meet the residency requirements, there is no expiry date, but you can lose your permanent resident status if you fail to comply with IRPA or other Canadian laws. Once you have completed the required physical presence in Canada, you are eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship. |
| Record of Landing/IMM 1000 | An immigration document recording your personal information and date of landing that was used until 2002 for new permanent residents. Used to provide proof of your permanent resident status, to apply or renew a PR card, as well as to apply for OAS. |
| Record of Landing number | This unique number assigned to you is like the file number for your landing in Canada. It allows IRCC to quickly reference your Record of Landing. It is not the same as your UCI (see below), although both numbers are unique to you. |
| Travel Document | If your PR Card has expired you sometimes have to apply for a Permanent Resident Travel Document, or PRTD, in order to return to Canada. As well, people who do not have a passport and have to urgently travel may have to apply for a travel document in order to leave and/or enter Canada. |
| Urgent Processing | You may be eligible for urgent processing to replace your COPR or Record of Landing. IRCC maintains strict guidelines but 2 common reasons for urgent processing being granted are needing a VOS for OAS applications, or your employer needing your VOS for your job. |
| UCI | Unique Client Identifier: your client number located at the top of your COPR document. |
| VOS | Verification of Status: a replacement document used to verify historical immigration information contained in immigration documents like a Record of Landing (IMM 1000) or a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR); used when you have lost your Record of Landing or COPR or when you need to replace other immigration documents. |
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