Hello, Can anyone please guide me, my father wants to travel to Pakistan but his PR card is expiring soon, is it ok if he apply for renewal PR card before he leaves and when the card arrives i can send him by courier or i can bring his card to pakistan as i have to go also later on, so when he will be back to canada he have his renewed card as the old one is expired, Is there any issue on arrival by CBSA if i send him his card by courier? Or as long as he has his renewed PR card, he should be good on arrival?
Generally, overall, there should be NO problem. However,
there is NO guarantee a new PR card will be mailed to a PR who is outside Canada.
If a new PR card is mailed to an address in Canada where a trusted family member or friend can take it and in turn courier it (or carry it) to the PR outside Canada, that is usually OK. Almost always OK . . . with slight caveat as addressed in longer observations below, part II.
Longer Observations, Part I:
Again, generally there is no problem if a new PR card is mailed and received by a trusted family member, or friend, who can then courier or carry it to the PR outside Canada.
Even if the PR encounters a more probing examination upon return to Canada, as long as there were no shenanigans in the process (no misrepresentations, for example, and in particular the PR was actually IN Canada when the PR card application was made) there should be no
*problem*, at least none other than the problem of having to truthfully answer questions. Remember, Canadians, including Canadian PRs, have a right of entry into Canada, so there should not be any problem that results in being denied entry. (Even if border officials have reason to believe the PR is inadmissible, such as for RO breach or misrepresentation.)
But, again, there is
NO guarantee that a new PR card will be issued, let alone mailed to a PR who is outside Canada. So a PR who is outside Canada without a valid PR card, and who is unable to travel via the U.S., should be prepared to apply for a PR Travel Document, which will require detailed information and supporting documents to show compliance with the Residency Obligation.
Thus, a big consideration is RO compliance, and for someone traveling to a country like Pakistan for which Canada visa office services can be slow, and more skeptical (or so it seems anyway),
being very clearly in compliance with the RO can be an important factor in how long it could take to apply for and obtain a PR Travel Document. Best to make the PR TD application as soon as the PR can,
after the current PR card has expired, and then as soon as the PR can in the country where they will make the PR TD application.
Are you looking for a different answer than in this thread where you got answers?
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/renew-pr-card-then-travel-before-it-arrives.838897/#post-10770880
Or is your goal to explicitly waste everyone else's time?
Harsh. Unduly harsh. Were we a bit on the cranky side this morning?
Since the responses in the other thread were incomplete and, frankly, somewhat cryptic, and in some respects misleading if not incorrect, it was entirely appropriate to pose the query here . . . after all, this is the far more appropriate forum and thread for posing this question.
In contrast, the query was totally off topic in the other thread, which is a forum for those moving to Canada from the U.S. to become Canadian PRs . . . which appears to have nothing at all to do this query about a Canadian PR who does not have any status in the U.S. (and in addition to already being a Canadian PR, is possibly applying for citizenship), who will be traveling outside Canada without a valid PR card (that is, who will be outside Canada after current PR card expires).
I realize many forum participants graze a far wider range of discussions than some, like me, who focus on more specific aspects of Canadian immigration. It is disappointing, though, to see that what appears to be a genuinely posed query, albeit misplaced, be so poorly answered with no suggestion the OP pose the question in a more appropriate forum where there will likely be more relevant responses. A focus on providing guidance more than criticism is generally the better approach . . . recognizing, however, yeah, sometimes criticism is called for.
Leading to some further observations in response to the queries posed by
@ahmedraza01 . . .
Longer Observations, Part II:
I was worried because someone told me that he will have problem by CBSA on arrival as he left the country with old PR card but on arrival he has his new card, how did you get your renewed PR card while you’re out of Canada. He is said you cannot send his PR card by someone else, this is illegal
CBSA will have questions about it, is it true??
As I noted in response to
@armoured above, the responses you got in the forum about moving to Canada from the U.S. were incomplete, somewhat cryptic, and in some respects misleading if not incorrect.
For example: In response to the above quoted post,
@steaky posted (in its entirety) "
No it's not illegal." Apart from being incomplete and cryptic, this response is also misleading if not outright incorrect. Whether someone can legally import a document like a PR card into another country depends on the laws in the country they are bringing the PR card into. Technically a PR card is not a "
Travel Document," but rather it is a status document. So, despite how commonly there are laws in many countries which prohibit (make it illegal) to carry any Travel Document other than the traveler's own Travel Documents, it is PROBABLY not illegal for someone to carry another person's PR card to deliver to them in another country. HOWEVER, this depends on the particular laws of the specific country involved. In some countries it may indeed be illegal to import (bring into the country) such documents if they were not issued to the traveler; importation laws governing official documents vary widely from country to country.
It is possible that
@steaky knows the laws governing importation of official documents into Pakistan, and was specifically referencing that, but apart from the response being far too cryptic to conclude that, it was otherwise not responsive to your question about whether Canadian border officials might have questions related to how a PR abroad came into possession of a newly issued PR card. They might. But as I mentioned above, as long as there were no shenanigans in the process, and the PR simply truthfully answers the questions, there should be no problem.
In regards to a friend or family member carrying a PR card internationally, to deliver it to the PR, it is clear that this is done with impunity, without fear of running afoul of the law or border officials. Foremost because it is most likely not illegal, but even where it might be illegal, it does not appear to be subject to enforcement and, in any event, it is very easy to not declare such an item and get away with carrying it into a country where it might be illegal to do so.
So, as a practical matter, many can and will say, with a fairly high degree of confidence, "
It is OK to carry a PR card to deliver to a friend or family member outside Canada." That is,
UNLESS the person asked and answering is a Canadian official, either CBSA or IRCC. Not sure how most of them would respond, but my sense is many will say differently, "
No, it's not OK."
NOTE: It is, of course, a criminal offence to possess a PR card, or to export a PR card (as in send one outside Canada), "
in order to contravene" the provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. See Section 122(1) IRPA. It is a serious offence. Exporting, in particular, is serious enough to meet the definition of serious criminality (it is punishable by a term of imprisonment for up to 14 years) in regards to PR admissibility. What constitutes "
in order to contravene" IRPA? This is mostly about engaging in fraud of one sort or another, so should NOT apply to simply mailing (sending by courier) or personally carrying to deliver a valid PR card (one not fraudulently obtained) to the rightful PR.
Leading to . . .
At the Port-of-Entry Upon Returning to Canada:
It is difficult to say to what extent PoE officials will question a PR returning to Canada with a newly issued PR card, clearly issued AFTER the PR was already outside Canada. As long as the PR is legitimate, no shenanigans (no fraud, no misrepresentations, and so on) involved, the PR should have NO reason to worry. Worst case scenario is being asked questions which the PR only needs to truthfully answer.
Of course CBSA officials can question a returning PR about a wide range of matters related to their travels, their PR status, their documents, and so on. It can be important to understand there is no need to hide anything about traveling outside Canada after making the PR card application and having the new PR card sent or delivered by a family member. Even if the questions seem tough, even accusatory, no need to worry let alone panic. Just explain things honestly. What matters is that the traveler is the PR, the person they claim to be, and the PR card is valid, and there was no misrepresentations made in applying for the PR card.
