Permanent residence is status of visa of a person. When permanent resident status is granted, a person is allowed to live infinitely without any hassle in that country for the time being he is granted this status. Permanent resident does not mean dual citizenship but when a person attains permanent residence status, he/she achieves some rights like right to adobe and right to livelihood however right to vote or right to hold public offices is not conferred to any permanent resident. Rules of permanent residence are subject to the rules of that country as generally permanent residency is subject to a period of time. Infinite permanent residency cannot be provided in most countries because to become citizen of a country, the individual should be permanent resident there first; however Ghana provides provision for permanent residency for infinite duration. Usually before filling for naturalization an individual has to be permanent resident there for 5 years and hence after that certificate of naturalization has to be obtained and then filling for citizenship takes place. Major objective to obtain this status of permanent resident is to exempt oneself from the immigration control.
All countries do not have provision of permanent resident status notable of which is India. India does not give any permanent resident status however a person from foreign can get adobe rights in India by registering in the Superintendent of the police office or in the Indian Consulate. There is provision of resident permit in India through which a foreign national can achieve right to work legally in India, PAN card is necessary to file for resident permit.
This trend of status of permanent residence was established in European Union as people tend to move within the countries of the union and work there, and hence for hazel free work they obtain permanent residency.
Some countries stamp proof of permanent residence on the passport, some on the visa. Ghana stamps a sticker on the passport of that person, USA provides a card which is proof that card is known as Green Card, so proof of residency is always required and is different in every country.
There are certain limitations that a permanent resident has to endure as he cannot perform in political activities i.e. voting or contesting elections. He also cannot be a part of Military or any force in charge with national security, passport of the country where he is a permanent citizen is not issued to him. Consular protection or protection by the embassy is also not provided to permanent resident, only Australia provides for such type of protection. A permanent resident may have in some countries right to own real estates but all the countries providing this status does not provide this right.
Permanent Resident Status can be even rejected after granting it as it is status of Visa and country giving that particular status has full right to revert it. However different grounds may lead to dismissal or suspension or in some countries even penalty. Probable grounds for dismissal are:
- In permanent resident status there is restriction on Individual for leaving country, there is stipulated time as for which the country can be left and time period for which it can be left. Non-compliance of the rules of that particular country will lead to dismissal
- If the person becomes threat to national security he can be stripped of this status
- If he commits some crime and hence is striped of this status and is deported back
Countries with Provision of Permanent Resident Status:
- Argentina
- Australia
- Bahrain
- Barbuda
- Belize
- Brazil
- Brunei Darussalam
- Canada
- Chile
- Costa Rica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- China
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Ghana
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovak Republic
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- United Kingdom
- Guatemala
- Iran
- Israel
- Japan
- Macedonia
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Nicaragua
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Panama
- Peru
- Philippines
- Russia
- Singapore
- South Africa
- South Korea
- St Kitts and Nevis
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Trinidad and Tobago
- United States
- Ukraine
So, if an individual intends to travel to a foreign country and obtain permanent residence then he has to very carefully go through every detail about the rules and procedures of that particular country because immigration rules of every country are separate and have to be studied thoroughly, as this procedure is very complex and has to be done with utmost care.
