12 Months and not received 1st PR Card, Can I travel to US and return with COPR?

[Radek]

So Last March we got our COPRs and strangely everyone in my family (wife and kids) got their PR cards but it seems mine was lost in mail. We filed a solemn declaration and that processing time has also lapsed and I may have to apply for a fresh PR card.

We want to travel to US to meet Family( we have US visa), I was told that I can use COPR and residency proof to enter Canada, is it true? My COPR document states this

"We realize that you may not be able to send this photo right now due to the COVID-19 situation. Please send this photo to us when it will be possible as per your provincial and/or local authorities’ guidelines. In the meantime, this letter will serve as proof of your permanent resident status in Canada. You can use this letter for one year and it must be accompanied by a travel document or a federal/provincial/territorial identity document. The permanent resident card is required after this one-year period."

Please advise, we are planning to travel by Car. Also will entering like this create any negative record with IRCC?

Thanks

 

[jakklondon]

So Last March we got our COPRs and strangely everyone in my family (wife and kids) got their PR cards but it seems mine was lost in mail. We filed a solemn declaration and that processing time has also lapsed and I may have to apply for a fresh PR card.

We want to travel to US to meet Family( we have US visa), I was told that I can use COPR and residency proof to enter Canada, is it true? My COPR document states this

"We realize that you may not be able to send this photo right now due to the COVID-19 situation. Please send this photo to us when it will be possible as per your provincial and/or local authorities’ guidelines. In the meantime, this letter will serve as proof of your permanent resident status in Canada. You can use this letter for one year and it must be accompanied by a travel document or a federal/provincial/territorial identity document. The permanent resident card is required after this one-year period."

Please advise, we are planning to travel by Car. Also will entering like this create any negative record with IRCC?

Thanks

You don't need PR card to return to Canada from the US by land. You can use your native passport and COPR for that.
It seems like you received a letter allowing you to use it in lieu of PR Card, for the one year from the date it is generated. They give themselves 12 months to print your card (all they really have to do is print your data on a plastic card, like motor vehicle administration does. Since you are a new PR, they don't have to bother with checking your RO. But they won't do it promptly, for whatever reason, and say "use this paper for a year while someone at CIC walks to a PC and pushes a button to print your card".

 

[gear9]

Any recent experiences? I called Border Control and they mentioned it will be up to the discretion of the border agent at time of entry.

 

[Radek]

So here's what I did which I believe helped me get my PR card, I raised a Request for Access to Information form for my PR card, now they have 30 days to respond to your request and in my observation they reply between 29th day to 34th days.

The next thing I know my PR card was received around 30 day from my request and the issue date was 2 days after I raised the request LoL. Looks like they just forgot to send the PR card and no one looked at it until I raised that ticket, so try that if you are in similar situation.

 

[armoured]

Any recent experiences? I called Border Control and they mentioned it will be up to the discretion of the border agent at time of entry.

While it is always technically up to discretion of border agent, a PR who can be identified as such (eg from COPR + photo identification such as foreign passport) will be admitted.

This answer at the call centre is just a standard response that on its own does not mean anything. It allows for cases where the person on the phone does not tell the whole story, or, for example, the border officer cannot determine that the person is a PR (eg does not believe the ID is real).