Can I travel back to Canada on visitor visa after obtaining Canadian citizenship?

[Anujbatta10]

Hello,
I need advice on my situation:
I had my virtual Oath Ceremony for citizenship on January 11th, 2023 which I attended when I was in Toronto. I traveled to USA on Jan 21st without getting the Canadian Passport as my citizenship certificate had not arrived. My wife has applied for my Canadian passport now from within Canada and has been told that she will receive it by February 23rd.
Ofcourse my PR card was cut during the Oath ceremony but I do have a Canadian visitor visa valid until 2026 on my Indian passport.
My question is Can I fly back to Canada from USA using this visitor visa on my Indian passport and without the Canadian Passport?
Thank you!

 

[Naturgrl]

Hello,
I need advice on my situation:
I had my virtual Oath Ceremony for citizenship on January 11th, 2023 which I attended when I was in Toronto. I traveled to USA on Jan 21st without getting the Canadian Passport as my citizenship certificate had not arrived. My wife has applied for my Canadian passport now from within Canada and has been told that she will receive it by February 23rd.
Ofcourse my PR card was cut during the Oath ceremony but I do have a Canadian visitor visa valid until 2026 on my Indian passport.
My question is Can I fly back to Canada from USA using this visitor visa on my Indian passport and without the Canadian Passport?
Thank you!

You are a citizen now so your your TRV is no longer valid. So you need your passport to enter Canada. You could fly to the US, and enter at a land border.

 

[steaky]

Hello,
I need advice on my situation:
I had my virtual Oath Ceremony for citizenship on January 11th, 2023 which I attended when I was in Toronto. I traveled to USA on Jan 21st without getting the Canadian Passport as my citizenship certificate had not arrived. My wife has applied for my Canadian passport now from within Canada and has been told that she will receive it by February 23rd.
Ofcourse my PR card was cut during the Oath ceremony but I do have a Canadian visitor visa valid until 2026 on my Indian passport.
My question is Can I fly back to Canada from USA using this visitor visa on my Indian passport and without the Canadian Passport?
Thank you!

You can't fly directly to Canada without Canadian passport.

 

[Anujbatta10]

Thank you for your response. @Naturgrl I am in the USA. How can I enter at the land border? I mean based on which status/visa?

Also still I am not able to understand why can't I use my Indian passport and Canadian TRV to enter the USA.

 

[smash1984]

Thank you for your response. @Naturgrl I am in the USA. How can I enter at the land border? I mean based on which status/visa?

Also still I am not able to understand why can't I use my Indian passport and Canadian TRV to enter the USA.

You can enter at the land border with a copy of your PR card. You will probably face some secondary inspection but should still be able to go through. By law, Canadian citizens cannot be stopped from entering. You can tell them that you are awaiting your passport and that they can use your PR card copy to confirm that you are a citizen.

there was a recent thread on this as well you can check that out.

No airline will allow you to board without a passport, hence drive to the Canadian border.

You can't use your Indian passport because TRV is valid only for non-residents of Canada, not for PR holders or citizens.

 

[shiremag]

Thank you for your response. @Naturgrl I am in the USA. How can I enter at the land border? I mean based on which status/visa?

Also still I am not able to understand why can't I use my Indian passport and Canadian TRV to enter the USA.

Indian Citizenship Act (1955) provides for automatic loss of citizenship on voluntarily acquiring foreign citizenship. By law, your Indian citizenship is automatically lost once you are done taking your Canadian oath of citizenship. This technically invalidates your Indian passport immediately after oath and you are required to surrender it as soon as possible to the nearest High Commission. This would also mean invalidating all of your visas in your passport... Also, using your Indian passport for travel after automatic loss of citizenship may incur penalties

As others have mentioned - Canada requires you to present a Canadian passport when entering Canada by air. At the land border (in a private vehicle) you my present a copy of your PR Card/COPR/eCOPR along with and you will be allowed to enter after a secondary inspection

 

[myscanada]

Indian Citizenship Act (1955) provides for automatic loss of citizenship on voluntarily acquiring foreign citizenship. By law, your Indian citizenship is automatically lost once you are done taking your Canadian oath of citizenship. This technically invalidates your Indian passport immediately after oath and you are required to surrender it as soon as possible to the nearest High Commission. This would also mean invalidating all of your visas in your passport... Using your passport for travel may incur penalties

As others have mentioned - Canada requires you to present a Canadian passport when entering Canada by air. At the land border (in a private vehicle) you my present a copy of your PR Card/COPR/eCOPR along with and you will be allowed to enter after a secondary inspection

You can apply for Canadian passport in US, you should have never travelled without a Canadian Passport in the first place. it can get urgent, but thats how the Canadian system works.

Apply for a Canadian Passport in US, you can apply once you get the passport in Hand, then travel o Canada,

 

[abbas.pasha]

Thank you for your response. @Naturgrl I am in the USA. How can I enter at the land border? I mean based on which status/visa?

Also still I am not able to understand why can't I use my Indian passport and Canadian TRV to enter the USA.

You can use Indian passport up to 3 months only..
Not sure what you mean by your post above in particular "why can't I use my Indian passport and Canadian TRV to enter the USA"
When you apply for Canadian TRV, what will you mention in the Citizenship field ?
You cannot mention that you are Indian citizen any longer since you acquired Canadian citizenship and being a Canadian citizen you cannot get Canadian visit visa either

 

[Anujbatta10]

Thanks everyone! I understand now I can't enter Canada based on my Indian passport and Canadian TRV.
@abbas.pasha I already have a Canadian TRV. I got my Canadian TRV on my Indian passport in 2017 which was valid until 2026. I got my Canadian PR in 2018 and now citizenship in Jan 2023. I understand now that even though the Canadian TRV is still there on my Indian passport and was not crossed out like the one time visa we get when we receive our PR, the TRV is no longer valid as it automatically gets invalidated once we become PR at the time of landing.

Thank you again everyone!