Lawful Permanent Resident

Permanent residency refers to a person's resident status in a country where he/she is not a citizen. The person is allowed to reside indefinitely within a country of which he or she is not a citizen. A person with such status is known as a permanent resident.

Permanent residency itself should be distinguished to right of abode, which waives the immigration control for such persons. Persons having permanent residency still require immigration control if such persons do not hold a right of abode. However, a right of abode automatically grants persons a permanent residency. This status also gives permission to work in most cases.

Not every country necessarily has a facility for someone to be a 'permanent resident'. Rights and application may vary widely.

All European Union countries have a facility for someone to become a permanent resident, as EU legislation allows an EU national who moves to another EU country to attain permanent resident status after residing there for five years. The European Union also sets out permanent residency rights for long-term resident third country nationals under directive (2003/109/EC). A novel approach was the granting of rights across the national borders of states adhering to the directive.

Other countries have varying forms of such residency and relationships with other countries with regards to permanent residency status.

The countries that have some type of permanent resident status include:

Depending on the country, permanent residents usually have the same rights as citizens except for the following:

Permanent residents may be required to fulfill specific residence obligations to maintain their status. In some cases, permanent residency may be conditional on a certain type of employment or maintenance of a business.

Many countries have compulsory military service for citizens. Some countries, such as Singapore, extend this to permanent residents. However, in Singapore, most first generation permanent residents are exempted, and only their sons are held liable for NS.

In a similar approach, the United States has Selective Service, a compulsory registration for military service, which is required of all male citizens and permanent residents ages 18 to 26; this requirement theoretically applies even to those residing in the country illegally. Applications for citizenship may be denied or otherwise impeded if the applicant cannot prove having complied with this requirement.

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Wikipedia