A permanent resident is a person who has been granted the right to live in a country by the government of that country.
As an immigrant, you will have to get the PR before you can think of applying for citizenship. An immigrant cannot directly apply for citizenship in their country.
The differences between permanent resident and citizenship are:
- Citizens can exercise their voting rights, but permanent residents have no voting rights.
- Permanent residents should have the passport of their originating country, but citizens are legitimate passport holders.
- Citizens cannot be deported, but permanent residents can be deported to their native country under certain circumstances.
- A citizen can run for election, permanent residents cannot.
- A visa quota does not bind citizens to bring their family members to the adopted country. Still, permanent residents have certain restrictions in this regard.