A Canadian resident desperate to get home has been stranded in the U.K. for a week after being denied boarding for not having a permanent residency card.

Margaret Petersen from Waterloo, Ont., has lived in Canada for more than 60 years.

Although PR cards have been around since 2002 it only become mandatory to carry the card while travelling in the past two years.

“We really need her home,” said her daughter Kathy Petersen. “My dad has Parkinson’s and she’s his caregiver.”

“She means everything to my family, she’s like our rock. I just want my mum to come home.”

Petersen and her sister Kathy Stilwell were returning from a vacation in London, England when security denied them boarding and the airline allegedly told Peterson she did not have the right documentation.

Petersen was carrying her British passport and original immigration papers.

“They said they had never seen anything like it before,” Stilwell told CTV News Kitchener.

“It wasn’t valid and we couldn’t go. She has a SIN card, a driver’s licence, a health card… everything you need.”

But Waterloo immigration consultant Chris Daw confirmed Peterson is missing one important piece of identification.

“She does not have a valid permanent resident card which is the requirement she’s supposed to have to re-enter Canada as a permanent resident,” he said.

“If you find yourself abroad without a card they will not let you come back and you need to get a permanent resident travel document.”

The document costs $50 and processing times vary, the Government of Canada website shows.

The paperwork is normally only valid for a single entry and residents should apply for a new PR card on return to Canada.

Petersen and her sister are staying at a hotel where expenses are piling up, while they wait for the document from the Canadian High Commission.

“It’s costing me a fortune that I don’t have,” Petersen said. “All I want to do is go home. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Although born in the U.K., Petersen’s family moved to Canada when she was seven years old.

Petersen told CTV New Kitchener she’s been in contact with Kitchener-Conestoga MP Harold Albrecht who has confirmed that her travel document has been approved.

The sisters hope to return home this Canada Day long weekend.

--- With files from CTV News Kitchener