Does anyone have any experience in terms of how to contact CBSA to remove a travel enforcement flag?

[keepitsimple12]

I am a recent PR and previously had applied for a Canada visitor visa twice (while being a student in the USA) and because of this, I have a flag. During my last entry to Canada, an agent told me to email CBSA and ask them to remove my travel flag. I am trying to figure out the right way to reach CBSA to request to remove the enforcement flag. Any help or guidance is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[armoured]

Watching ... spouse has one that we'd really like to remove, were told we can't.

Annoying thing is that none of this relates to a refusal or an attempt to do anything untowards - quite the contrary. She was a PR before and didn't remain in Canada, then renounced PR status to get a visitor visa (to travel with me a couple times), and eventually we decided to move and did spousal sponsorship. Followed 'the rules' to the letter. But they want to take her to secondary every time anyway - for not fulfilling residency obligation more than a decade ago on a different PR status. At this point it's almost a joke - but an annoying one.

 

[canuck78]

I am a recent PR and previously had applied for a Canada visitor visa twice (while being a student in the USA) and because of this, I have a flag. During my last entry to Canada, an agent told me to email CBSA and ask them to remove my travel flag. I am trying to figure out the right way to reach CBSA to request to remove the enforcement flag. Any help or guidance is appreciated. Thank you.

Are you sure there isn’t more to the story? Unusual to get flagged for applying for a TRV twice.

 

[keepitsimple12]

Are you sure there isn’t more to the story? Unusual to get flagged for applying for a TRV twice.

That is all. Getting rejected twice for a TRV in a month shows up as a flag.

 

[keepitsimple12]

Watching ... spouse has one that we'd really like to remove, were told we can't.

Annoying thing is that none of this relates to a refusal or an attempt to do anything untowards - quite the contrary. She was a PR before and didn't remain in Canada, then renounced PR status to get a visitor visa (to travel with me a couple times), and eventually we decided to move and did spousal sponsorship. Followed 'the rules' to the letter. But they want to take her to secondary every time anyway - for not fulfilling residency obligation more than a decade ago on a different PR status. At this point it's almost a joke - but an annoying one.

Can you please share you contacted them for a review or appeal? TIA

 

[armoured]

Can you please share you contacted them for a review or appeal? TIA

I did not find any way to contact them for appeal, that's why I'm also interested.

The info we got was only by asking CBSA officer at secondary if there was a way to deal with this. And they basically said no, the note would remain until she became a citizen.

Note, this started before my spouse became a PR, i.e. using a visitor visa (valid and for trips that were not long). She had received the visitor visa after inquiring at the visa office what to do - because she had no intention of entering as a PR more than a decade after last setting foot in Canada. They told her to renounce and apply and that all worked fine. Even in secondary as a visitor it was pretty quick - they'd ask what she was doing and she told the truth and that was it; no major problem and mostly understandable.

But of course, the issue is that sometimes in secondary you can wait an extra hour or two to even get to an officer.

Anyway, I'd naively assumed that this would all stop after becoming a PR, but was wrong.

 

[LTALA]

I am a recent PR and previously had applied for a Canada visitor visa twice (while being a student in the USA) and because of this, I have a flag. During my last entry to Canada, an agent told me to email CBSA and ask them to remove my travel flag. I am trying to figure out the right way to reach CBSA to request to remove the enforcement flag. Any help or guidance is appreciated. Thank you.

Hi did you have any luck? currently going through this. entered as a refugee 10 years ago and I am now a Canadian Citizen and CBSA officer said a flag shows up because of this reason

 

[armoured]

Hi did you have any luck? currently going through this. entered as a refugee 10 years ago and I am now a Canadian Citizen and CBSA officer said a flag shows up because of this reason

Sorry didn't notice this. In some other thread which I can look up if needed I shared our successful experience.

Short form, we contacted our MP who contacted CBSA and we got a nice reply and since then, no secondary.

 

[Beakster]

I'm in the same boat. Got flagged as a PR because I was close to limit on Residency Obligation back in 2015. For 7 years I accepted that every time I got sent to secondary it would stop when I became a citizen.

Now I'm a citizen and I still get sent to secondary for RO which makes no sense and wastes everyone's time.

CBSA told me because flag was added by Immigration, only Immigration can remove it. I have tried to contact CIC through various different channels, so I'll report back if I'm successful.

Involving MP shouldn't be necessary but I will if all else fails.

 

[armoured]

Involving MP shouldn't be necessary but I will if all else fails.

Don't see why you'd approach like this, 'if all else fails' - involving your MP / contacting your MP is your choice and your right.

Not only that, it's good for MPs to know that dumb stuff like this happens, and that it is almost impossible and/or very time consuming and tedious to get it fixed directly. You/we want MPs to pressure immigration to do things better.

 

[Beakster]

Don't see why you'd approach like this, 'if all else fails' - involving your MP / contacting your MP is your choice and your right.

Not only that, it's good for MPs to know that dumb stuff like this happens, and that it is almost impossible and/or very time consuming and tedious to get it fixed directly. You/we want MPs to pressure immigration to do things better.

True but it's an admin issue. Also some MPs can take months to respond to these type of issues.

I believe I have this resolved now. I reached out to CBSA and CIC/IRCC through various channels. I wrote an email stating that I am now a citizen, provided my passport number, citizenship certificate number and UCI/Client ID. I explained that each time I enter Canada I am sent to secondary to assess the PR Residence Obligation, which makes no sense as I'm now a citizen.

I'll detail what worked for me and also what I tried that didn't work in the hope that it can help someone else.

What worked:

On the 12th of April I emailed IRCC.CitizenshipConvocation-ConvocationCitoyennete.IRCC@cic.gc.ca, I got this email address from my request to appear for an interview prior to being granted citizenship. They responded to me on the 8th of May, the email came directly from an agent, not a group mail box and said:

"This is to confirm that the alerts in your file have been expired and you should no longer have similar issues.​

However, should you continue experiencing problems, you can complete the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Feedback Form:​

Submit your feedback to the Canada Border Services Agency (cbsa-asfc.gc.ca)"​

​

I also contacts CBSA via their web form https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/contact/com-eng.html and submitted a complaint on the 6th of April. They responded on the 9th of May and said:

"This is in response to your message of April 6, 2023, regarding secondary referrals you have been experiencing upon entry to Canada.​

The Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) mandate is to ensure that only admissible people and goods enter Canada.​

The CBSA has reviewed your file and identified the cause of these referrals. We are pleased to confirm that the information that caused the referrals has now been removed. There are no current flags associated to your name.​

While secondary processing may seem an inconvenience to travellers, it is an important part of the normal border process to ensure the safety of all Canadians. As such, all travellers may be subject to examination any time they enter Canada.​

Thank you for contacting the Canada Border Services Agency."​

​

I suspect only the first item was required and when CBSA looked at their request they saw that IRCC had already fixed it.

What did not work:

I tried calling CIC/IRCC many times. It took 5 minutes to get through the phone menus only to be told they were too busy to take my call. I even tried this as soon as they opened and at various times of the day. Total waste of time.​

​

I contacted an internal mailbox that CBSA agents can use when someone at the border complains about flags on their file. I found them email address in the CBSA manual here: https://meurrensonimmigration.com/removing-flags-at-the-port-of-entry/. I got a prompt reply saying this email box was for internal use only and I should submit a query via the CBSA web form.

I emailed CIC-CITOY-CONVO@cic.gc.ca and received a prompt email telling me this mail box is only for queries relating to the virtual Citizenship Ceremony, and then a few days later an email telling me to phone CIC.​

​

I filled out the IRCC contact form on the 12th of April, I got the following response on the 7th of May:​

"Since your question is related to a subject for which we are unable to assist you, we invite you to communicate with the appropriate department in order to obtain the answers to your questions.​

Further, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) ensures Canada's security and prosperity by facilitating and overseeing international travel and trade across Canada's border.​

For more information, we invite you to visit their website."​

The other thing I was planning to do was to print out my GCMS notes which shows the alert, and also print out the section of the CBSA manual above to show to CBSA next time I was sent to secondary screening.

I have yet to test this out by making an entry, but the two messages from CBSA and CIC saying its resolved gives me confidence. Hope that helps someone else.

 

[armoured]

True but it's an admin issue. Also some MPs can take months to respond to these type of issues.

I believe I have this resolved now. I reached out to CBSA and CIC/IRCC through various channels. I wrote an email stating that I am now a citizen, provided my passport number, citizenship certificate number and UCI/Client ID. I explained that each time I enter Canada I am sent to secondary to assess the PR Residence Obligation, which makes no sense as I'm now a citizen.
...
I have yet to test this out by making an entry, but the two messages from CBSA and CIC saying its resolved gives me confidence. Hope that helps someone else.

Congratulations and glad it worked for you.

Just for comparison: we contacted our MP and it was resolved with response in about two or three weeks (I forget to be honest, think it was < 2). A few emails, not long, one permission form to fill out, and a document of less than one page (written by me) explaining the situation.

Now, I may be lucky in terms of our MP - or more specifically the MP's office staff, who are demonstrably competent and helpful - but I had a lot more confidence in the process compared to sending emails to government 'mass inboxes' where you're never sure if it's been dealt with.

Although to be fair, those have often worked for me, too, just over periods of minimum six weeks, often months.

Anyway I can't of course guarantee an MP's office will work. Or be as helpful. But I'd still encourage anyone who has an issue to try them.

 

[battylife]

Sorry didn't notice this. In some other thread which I can look up if needed I shared our successful experience.

Short form, we contacted our MP who contacted CBSA and we got a nice reply and since then, no secondary.

Do you know whether your MP contacted CBSA by phone, email or some internal back channel? I'd like to have my MP look into my security screening progress at CBSA.

 

[armoured]

Do you know whether your MP contacted CBSA by phone, email or some internal back channel? I'd like to have my MP look into my security screening progress at CBSA.

I do not know but believe it was in writing (email). To my knowledge some departments and agencies have established ways for mps to contact (ircc for one), and would guess CBSA does too. That might be special way or just established people (eg Minister's staff to help direct requests).

But - let the MP and staff do their thing. You don't need to know how the fuel injector works, just press the pedal.

 

[battylife]

I do not know but believe it was in writing (email). To my knowledge some departments and agencies have established ways for mps to contact (ircc for one), and would guess CBSA does too. That might be special way or just established people (eg Minister's staff to help direct requests).

But - let the MP and staff do their thing. You don't need to know how the fuel injector works, just press the pedal.

My MP is eager to help but doesn't know how - she has never heard of anyone contacting IRCC or CBSA for immigration issues