There is now a process in place for post-March 18 COPR holders with expired documents.
The federal government has released details on the process for allowing approved permanent residents to travel to Canada if their documents have expired.Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) have released instructions to expired Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) holders on how they can renew their documents so that they can travel.
Canada does not accept expired documents at the border, this has been true since before the pandemic. Coronavirus-related travel restrictions forced many COPR holders to have to wait for the border to reopen to them, which happened on June 21. During the wait, many saw the expiry date on their documents pass by. IRCC has now come out with instructions for these people.
A COPR is a document that is issued to candidates who were approved to immigrate to Canada as permanent residents. This means that the candidate must have met the program criteria, paid their fees, and passed health, security and criminality screenings. Without a COPR, candidates are unable to immigrate to Canada as permanent residents.