Just to share my experience, I became Canadian this August, i went to the US on labour day weekend, on my way back in Canada, the border officer said you need to go to immigration, there is a flag, i was annoyed but i went this time, waited there and then an immigration officer called my name, he asked me no question and he just gave me my passport and said good day, then i was like well i’d like to know what’s happening? Is this normal? I noticed that he made a copy of my passport and he said, i promise it wont happen again, you’re Canadian now. I hope that he removed the flag cause i’ve never seen them make a copy of my passport before, he probably made a copy and added it to my file or notes… next time if they ask me to go to immigration, i will not be going, I am a Citizen and do not need to see immigration anymore… next time if someone had an issue, they can come to see me at the border cause enough is enough
I am a Canadian citizen now but I was stopped by immigration at the airport because I previously had a refugee status
- Thread starter champion92_pls
- Start date
-It seems not that uncommon here for new citizens (via naturalization) to be called to secondary inspection (what you're calling immigration).
-In my view, this is relatively easily explained by simple fact of how the CBSA checks your identity and uses computers (whatever database is underlying it): it is quite clear that the first way that they search and 'match' individuals and their database records is NAME and DATE OF BIRTH. (Obviously these are not the only means but these are definitely key fields).
-As a PR, you were certainly in their system - that is, the individual whose NAME and DOB are identical to your own appears there as a permanent resident. Get citizenship recently, get a passport, and then return (especially if the grant of citizenship and passport application were recent), now individual NAME/DOB is likely to still show as a PR (or possibly a PR and citizen). Or possibly there are two separate records (one for PR and one for citizen) bearing your NAME/DOB), again - a 'flag' to take you out of primary to secondary is when two individuals' computer records seem to conflict.
-The computer guys will tell you this would show up as some kind of 'type mismatch': individual NAME/DOB was expected to be a PR, but applying to enter now as a citizen. So they check you at secondary. Keep in mind - primary inspection is only that, they do the first look and if anything out of ordinary, default is to toss it to secondary. Secondary seems to have gone fine - they recognized what the issue was.
-And the officer seems to have gone beyond by both figuring out what's going on (saw the type mismatch, perhaps saw something on file that hinted to him what was going on, perhaps took the extra step and did a supplementary computer search) and THEN taking a photocopy - probably to attach to some note to the database boffins to reconcile these contradictory flags i.e. make sure you appear as a citizen and not a PR (or possibly other steps like put a flag saying 'now a citizen', nothing to see here).
Secondary inspection is not 'immigration' from which citizens are exempt.
I strongly recommend that you do not assert this, refuse to go to secondary, or anything of the sort. Being a citizen absolutely does NOT exempt you from complying with valid orders at a border crossing.
You can complain if you like - either on the spot or afterwards to MP or to CBSA help lines. To be blunt, I would not recommend 'being a jerk about it' (interpret as you wish). CBSA officers most certainly can make things unpleasant for those they believe are being unreasonable - from 'being a jerk' to refusing to comply with valid requests. One such type action they can take would be to put a flag on the file on the basis that the indidivual is being unreasonable.
Hey Champion92_pls are you a Mexican National before you became a Canadian by any chance?
You are so right buddy. Citizen or not you can be referred to secondary that’s just how it is. Citizen of countries also do things and carry things in said country so you can blame the officer for doing is job.
REMINDER: All travelers seeking entry into Canada, including Canadian citizens, MUST make an application for permission to enter Canada and may be subject to very broad examination by border officials, the law enforcement officers charged with screening persons trying to enter Canada. While the manner of making the application for permission to enter Canada may be (and typically is) as simple as showing up at the PIL (Primary Inspection Line) at a PoE (Port-of-Entry), it is nonetheless a strict formality. Entry into Canada without applying for and being granted permission by CBSA is strictly prohibited (with certain exceptions).
And if the passport referenced here is a new Canadian passport, given how recent the oath was taken (barely three weeks earlier), the individual's former status as a refugee, obtaining a new passport by expedited services, and then making an application to enter Canada so soon after obtaining the Canadian passport, yeah, that's almost certain to raise flags. A referral to Secondary immigration should have been anticipated if not outright expected, if for no other reason than to verify the traveler's identity . . . and if despite the incongruities in this account, it is essentially true, it appears that verification of identity may indeed have been the main reason for the Secondary referral, just a second look at the traveler while an officer in Secondary more thoroughly looks at the traveler/client's GCMS records. That is, doing their job.
Of course stuff happens. I cannot say this or that happened or did not happen attendant processing this particular individual's application to enter Canada. So, sure, it is possible this account is accurate as described.
However, once the application has been made (which is done by just showing up at the PIL), travelers (again, including Canadian citizens) are not free to leave the PoE until CBSA gives permission, whether that is permission to enter Canada, or at a land border PoE permission to return to the U.S. Travelers referred to Secondary have no right to decline examination in Secondary, and can be detained pending resolution of any issues identified by the examining officials. And, again, this includes Canadian citizens.
@armoured addressed approaches the traveler might pursue to facilitate being granted permission to enter Canada. That said, frankly the best approach is to simply cooperate, remain polite, reasonably respond to questions, and if need be, exercise much patience. If there is no actual cause to detain the traveler further, the odds are very high that CBSA will complete the Secondary examination expeditiously. Sure, there are exceptions. And it appears that former refugees tend to encounter more screening than other new citizens.
And definitely, many Canadians (including PRs as well as citizens) feel that CBSA has too broad authority, too much discretion, in how it screens returning Canadians at a PoE. But current law, including case law (the way the court's have interpreted and applied the statutes and regulations), for sure allows CBSA very broad, extensive authority in regards to the manner in which it screens travelers coming into Canada.
The bottom-line is that any traveler, including Canadian citizens, should anticipate the possibility of a referral for Secondary immigration screening when applying for permission to enter Canada.
While I concur with most of the observations offered by @armoured, it warrants noting there are some incongruities in this account, in addition to the unrealistic expectations reflected in describing this "experience." It warrants noting, for example, that obviously if the "passport" here is a Canadian passport, it was obtained through an application for expedited service based on representations of need not likely supported by a Labour Day weekend trip to the U.S.
And if the passport referenced here is a new Canadian passport, given how recent the oath was taken (barely three weeks earlier), the individual's former status as a refugee, obtaining a new passport by expedited services, and then making an application to enter Canada so soon after obtaining the Canadian passport, yeah, that's almost certain to raise flags. A referral to Secondary immigration should have been anticipated if not outright expected, if for no other reason than to verify the traveler's identity . . . and if despite the incongruities in this account, it is essentially true, it appears that verification of identity may indeed have been the main reason for the Secondary referral, just a second look at the traveler while an officer in Secondary more thoroughly looks at the traveler/client's GCMS records. That is, doing their job.
Of course stuff happens. I cannot say this or that happened or did not happen attendant processing this particular individual's application to enter Canada. So, sure, it is possible this account is accurate as described.
Any traveler, including Canadian citizens, are free to withdraw their application for permission to enter Canada. If this occurs at the U.S. border, generally the traveler (again, including Canadian citizens) will be allowed to return to the U.S. Generally it is the traveler's choice, whether to return to the U.S. or to proceed with the application to enter Canada.
However, once the application has been made (which is done by just showing up at the PIL), travelers (again, including Canadian citizens) are not free to leave the PoE until CBSA gives permission, whether that is permission to enter Canada, or at a land border PoE permission to return to the U.S. Travelers referred to Secondary have no right to decline examination in Secondary, and can be detained pending resolution of any issues identified by the examining officials. And, again, this includes Canadian citizens.
@armoured addressed approaches the traveler might pursue to facilitate being granted permission to enter Canada. That said, frankly the best approach is to simply cooperate, remain polite, reasonably respond to questions, and if need be, exercise much patience. If there is no actual cause to detain the traveler further, the odds are very high that CBSA will complete the Secondary examination expeditiously. Sure, there are exceptions. And it appears that former refugees tend to encounter more screening than other new citizens.
And definitely, many Canadians (including PRs as well as citizens) feel that CBSA has too broad authority, too much discretion, in how it screens returning Canadians at a PoE. But current law, including case law (the way the court's have interpreted and applied the statutes and regulations), for sure allows CBSA very broad, extensive authority in regards to the manner in which it screens travelers coming into Canada.
The bottom-line is that any traveler, including Canadian citizens, should anticipate the possibility of a referral for Secondary immigration screening when applying for permission to enter Canada.
doing a secondary inspection is very different than being told go to immigration and wait for nothing, for an officer to just look at you and tell you to go, it is a very obvious formality, the officer didnt even engage with me gave me the passport and said good day, i had to ask whats the problem. There is obviously no problem, it’s just them unable to remove a flag from your file. Its just humiliating when other Canadians pass through normal and you for no reason get sent to immigration office for no reason whatsoever. I dont see what I as a citizen need to do in an Immigration office???
That is precisely what secondary inspection is. It's not 'immigration', it is secondary inspection for those applying to enter Canada. That includes Canadians.
They do not see it as an humiliation and will emphasize that ANY traveller can be asked to go to secondary.
And at any rate: in your case - they SEEM to have made some effort to remove the flag. To quote you: "he said, i promise it wont happen again, you’re Canadian now."
So what's the problem? The officer recognized the issue and went out of his way to help you (seemingly).
From experience I can say that usually officers will not take that time, and usually won't comment on their being a flag at all. (And of course, the system is not perfect - not defending that, there are things that should be better.)
Let us know what happens next time you travel.
[I've described elsewhere in this thread that those who think they are UNFAIRLY being sent to secondary due to a pointless flag can and should attempt to get it resolved. Through their MP's office, for example.
Side note: I don't mean 'fairness' as some big or deep moral position here - which I am emphasizing because you won't get anywhere (generally) by complaining about 'fairness.' For govt, there is generally only 'for a valid reason' or not. So don't say 'unfair', put it in terms of a flag that no longer serves any purpose (as an xample, somebody who had a flag due to non-compliance with RO and is now a citizen. Someone whose flag was related to something about their PR status and is now already a citizen. Etc.) IRCC/CBSA may disagree about whether the flags still serve a purpose.
But I can say that talking about it as an humiliation won't get any traction, and neither will complaining that your imaginary rights as a Canadian are being violated by being sent to secondary - Canadians are also subject to sceondary when needed. What SEEMS to work, sometimes, is focussing on the fact that the flag is no longer relevant and it being a waste of government time and resources that should be devoted to better things, like security (one of main tasks of CBSA).
And of course - some may have flags that were put there for reasons that are still valid.]
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Perhaps to prove you are who you are, and that who you are is a citizen of Canada, so your application to enter Canada can be granted. Burden of proof is on the traveler.
For border officials to determine. For travelers, including Canadian citizens (like myself) to comply.
For clarification: Secondary referrals can be for immigration or customs, and it can vary whether the particular Port-of-Entry has distinct officers handling immigration matters (who is applying for entry into Canada and what is their status), others handling customs (what is being brought into Canada). Often there are separate counters or office spaces. In some, though, there is only one Secondary area. And, importantly, no matter what the referral from the PIL is initially, and no matter which kind of officer the referral is to (immigration or customs), the subsequent examination can be about both, or even end up just being about the other.
Meanwhile, yeah, @Ghess23 is whining for naught, howling at the moon . . . unless and until a traveler applying for permission to enter Canada has satisfied border officials they are who they are, and that who they are has status in Canada (such as citizenship), as far as border officials are concerned, the individual is just a traveler making an application to enter Canada, and subject to examination.
As noted before, Canadian citizens, like all other travelers, cannot legally enter Canada unless they make an application for entry and that application is granted by the proper authorities . . . which it will be once the citizen's status is determined, which can involve a referral to Secondary, to immigration.
Edit to Add Comment Acknowledging Legitimate Concerns Re Scope of Border Officers' Discretion:
Many express concern about the scope of powers border officials have. And there is some question about how much oversight there should be.
I am sympathetic to some of those concerns and questions. No advanced degrees in political science or law enforcement needed to recognize that the more unfettered power is, the more those with such powers are prone to abuse them.
Apart from isolated credible reports in this forum, occasionally in public media, which are to be expected in the best of circumstances, there is very little indication of systemic, systematic, or even much at all common abuse of power or discretion by CBSA officers.
Unlike and compared to my experiences in U.S. border Secondary, what I have observed and what I have personally experienced, what I have seen and experienced in Canadian secondary (spent some time there for, well, let's say multiple occasions, mostly before I became a Canadian, generally my bad), all the officers typically seemed focused on doing their job effectively, efficiently, at least matter-of-factly if not overtly polite, largely going by the book, generally sympathetic. But I am aware of the scope of powers they are afforded under the applicable law, and based on experience in other contexts, other places, I am aware of how much that will facilitate severe abuses.
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Seems like the officer was just telling me what i want to hear so i can leave cause 2 days ago i flew into Canada and was sent again to immigration automatically! great!
You dont seem to get it, AS I SAID, an officer determining that i need secondary is completely fine, the issue is the AUTOMATED send off to immigration, they dont need to verify my identity lol the guy at immigration literally looked at my passport and was like byeee, where is the verification??? The guy at the border was like well we dont know why the paper says to send you to immigration, we have no idea why… this is an issue with the system where they dont remove that tag, it has nothing to do with verifications or needing proof or more info
I doubt this was just telling you what you want to hear, simply his/her attempt at getting the flag removed was either unsuccessful or is taking longer than anticipated.
Pursue your other options: ask your MP for assistance, write to ministers of immigration and public safety (resp for CBSA), to head of CBSA, etc.
As I've said: I found the point to be effective, or persuasive, that doing so was not just an inconvenience for us (spouse/family/me) but a waste of important resources at CBSA that could be devoted to more important tasks (like Keeping Canadians Safe - which I capitalize because it's a cliché but saying it makes them pay attention).
You can and should also emphasize that you have had CBSA officers examine and all they do is look at your passport and one or two have acknowledged the flag is no longer relevant and one even said he/she would try to fix it.
I sympathize because we have been through it: yes, they have a system where removing the flag is difficult and time consuming, and nobody has strong incentives to do so except you (and maybe your MP), even when it no longer seems to serve any commensurate purpose.
Okay, we agree. Yep, it can suck.
Now, hassle the people who might be able to do something about it.
This happens to every refugee become citizen I know personally
You have to call immigration to remove the association between cbsa and immigration file there is literally a big red flag
you have to call them many times my friend it like 10 times for 2 month
You have to call immigration to remove the association between cbsa and immigration file there is literally a big red flag
you have to call them many times my friend it like 10 times for 2 month
extra references:
* https://www.settler.ca/english/removing-an-enforcement-flag-border-crossing-issues/
* https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/does-anyone-have-any-experience-in-terms-of-how-to-contact-cbsa-to-remove-a-travel-enforcement-flag.771099/
* https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/h-c-humanitarian-ground-with-or-without-failed-refugee-claim.550176/page-1845#post-10698344
* https://canadian-visa-lawyer.com/overcoming-immigration-flags-at-the-border/
"As a Vancouver immigration lawyer, I was recently approached by a Canadian permanent resident to request the removal of an enforcement flag with the CBSA who had concerns about whether she met the residency obligation of living in Canada for two years in the past five years to maintain her permanent resident status. As a person who had spent considerable time in her country of citizenship in the first years after obtaining Canadian permanent resident status, she found herself subject to secondary examinations on all her recent return trips to Canada. "
* https://www.settler.ca/english/removing-an-enforcement-flag-border-crossing-issues/
- Finalizing your PR application and validating your COPR
- Reviewing your documents to issue a work permit or a study permit at a port of entry
- Initiating the processing of your refugee claim
- They further investigate your identity or the reasons for your travel to Canada.
- Exploring if you are inadmissible to Canada
* https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/does-anyone-have-any-experience-in-terms-of-how-to-contact-cbsa-to-remove-a-travel-enforcement-flag.771099/
* https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/h-c-humanitarian-ground-with-or-without-failed-refugee-claim.550176/page-1845#post-10698344
* https://canadian-visa-lawyer.com/overcoming-immigration-flags-at-the-border/
"As a Vancouver immigration lawyer, I was recently approached by a Canadian permanent resident to request the removal of an enforcement flag with the CBSA who had concerns about whether she met the residency obligation of living in Canada for two years in the past five years to maintain her permanent resident status. As a person who had spent considerable time in her country of citizenship in the first years after obtaining Canadian permanent resident status, she found herself subject to secondary examinations on all her recent return trips to Canada. "
You're still referring to it as immigration when it is, in fact, secondary inspection. Everyone goes through immigration inspection, and most are waived through in the primary phase. As you are well aware by now, you have a note/flag/asterisk in your profile that directs you to secondary every time. It's as frustrating as it is annoying, I'm sure. It is not, however, an indignity being inflicted on you or an attempt to disrespect or downgrade you as a citizen of Canada. So, while you work on getting it removed, all you can do is persevere through it and politely ask/remind the secondary inspection officer about it.
Good luck.
These references are good sources and appreciated. And are especially instructive in regards to approaching CBSA with a request to remove alerts or flags that result in repeated referrals to Secondary.
Only caveat is that these are about immigration enforcement flags. Which will have minimal (but not necessarily zero) import for individuals after they become a Canadian citizen. Which in turn should mean, for a citizen, that the alert/flag should be removed upon reasonable request.
I am not well-informed about internal CBSA operations, and of course many aspects of their investigatory role are confidential (not public information), but in general terms travelers can be flagged for various other reasons, ranging from suspected criminal activity to security concerns, which may involve alerts derived from customs officers, RCMP or NSSD officials, or even CSIS.
It is not clear precisely what kind of alert has flagged @Ghess23, and of course if it is law enforcement or CSIS related (rather than an immigration enforcement flag), obviously that would be confidential and border officials would not truthfully reveal why the flag or what in particular they are monitoring.
One thing is very clear, however, and that is that a Canadian citizen does NOT have the right to skip a Secondary referral attendant their application for entry into Canada.
There is a great deal I do not get, and I freely acknowledge this. I repeat, frequently and often with much emphasis, I am NO expert. This is no mere pro forma expression of modesty.
But I do get a few things (and try to share what I hope can be helpful). For example, I get it that CBSA has very broad discretion in exercising its extensive authority to examine international travelers applying for entry into Canada, and this allows for Secondary referrals including immigration screening at a Port-of-Entry without any need to show cause. And this applies to returning Canadian citizens as wells as other Canadians (PRs) and Foreign Nationals (FNs). That is, Canadian citizens do NOT have a right to skip immigration screening at a PoE.
I also get that in addition to those who currently have refugee status, former refugees are often (but not always) subject to more PoE screening than most other Canadians (including PRs). And that this can be due to an "alert" (commonly referred to as a "flag") in the client's GCMS records (and more particularly, in what populates the information that automatically pops up in the Primary Inspection Line, in what the sources referenced by @hemeda2 refer to as IPIL, an integrated database for the PIL).
It is not possible to "remove the association between cbsa and immigration file" as suggested by @hemeda2, since a client's GCMS records necessarily contain any retained immigration file for that individual, and the client's GCMS records are a primary source of information employed in screening international travelers, and a source of what is included in the IPIL. But if I understand @hemeda2 correctly, the point being made is that alerts based on immigration-related enforcement can be removed or at least have a notation that will eliminate automatic referrals to Secondary. See references posted by @hemeda2 for more discussion about ways to go about that.
Among the many things I do not get is . . .
But . . .
What happened when you refused to go to Secondary?
Or . . . maybe I do get it. As I think I have mentioned before:
Travelers referred to Secondary have no right to decline examination in Secondary, and can be detained pending resolution of any issues identified by the examining officials. And, again, this includes Canadian citizens.
You don't say so particularly, but my guess is that you did not refuse to go to Secondary, and that at the very least an officer looked at your passport and at you, so at the least verified your identity before granting your application to enter Canada.
I cannot guess what other observations about you officers made, what notations were added to your file. I can speculate that the many suggestions here about how to clear or remove the flag will probably, at least eventually, work. So it would be a good idea, if these referrals to Secondary so badly irritate you, to make the effort to follow through that way. However, this comes with a caution that if you are the subject of law enforcement or security concerns, if the RCMP, NSSD, or CSIS has put a flag on your file, it could be difficult to get it removed and even very difficult to learn who put it there, or why it is there, or what it is about you they are monitoring. I doubt this is the case, since it is more likely this is a holdover from an alert related to your status as a refugee; and since you are no longer a refugee, it is more likely an alert that should be removed upon reasonable request, and sooner or later even without request.