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Re-entering Canada Before Replacement PR Card Arrives

comox1987

Newbie
Aug 22, 2024
4
0
I have recently applied for my PR Card renewal. My existing card is now expired (and also lost). I have a trip to the US planned for October, and I doubt I will receive my new card in time. Can I leave the country and return without this PR card? My only other forms of ID are my current Australian passport, marriage certificate and a credit card. I will be returning via car, either border crossing (Peace Arch) or via a drive-on ferry from Washington State to Vancouver Island, BC.
 

steaky

VIP Member
Nov 11, 2008
14,533
1,687
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I have recently applied for my PR Card renewal. My existing card is now expired (and also lost). I have a trip to the US planned for October, and I doubt I will receive my new card in time. Can I leave the country and return without this PR card? My only other forms of ID are my current Australian passport, marriage certificate and a credit card. I will be returning via car, either border crossing (Peace Arch) or via a drive-on ferry from Washington State to Vancouver Island, BC.
Yes you can.
 

comox1987

Newbie
Aug 22, 2024
4
0
Thanks. Will there be additional questioning/issues as I cross the border? I'm sure they'll need to see that I do have a PR Card application in process.
 

steaky

VIP Member
Nov 11, 2008
14,533
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Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
Thanks. Will there be additional questioning/issues as I cross the border? I'm sure they'll need to see that I do have a PR Card application in process.
No, they would probably ask if you have sent your renewal application. In addition to normal questions such as how long you were away, etc.
 

comox1987

Newbie
Aug 22, 2024
4
0
No, they would probably ask if you have sent your renewal application. In addition to normal questions such as how long you were away, etc.
Ok that's good news. Government of Canada notes "If you are outside of Canada without a valid Permanent Resident Card, you will need a Travel document to return to Canada.". Is this only for those arriving by commercial plane, bus etc? So I am exempt as I'm traveling with a personal vehicle?
 

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
16,680
8,510
Is this only for those arriving by commercial plane, bus etc? So I am exempt as I'm traveling with a personal vehicle?
Basically yes.

It's not that you're 'exempt,' it's just that there's no carrier to which the rules governing commercial carriers apply.
 

comox1987

Newbie
Aug 22, 2024
4
0
Basically yes.

It's not that you're 'exempt,' it's just that there's no carrier to which the rules governing commercial carriers apply.
Thanks, glad to hear it. If I take the vehicle ferry (Black Ball ferry from Port Angeles, WA to Victoria, BC), do you know if that is still considered arriving by personal vehicle? Or is that a 'commercial vehicle'? I could also cross by land border but it is slightly less convenient.
 

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
16,680
8,510
Thanks, glad to hear it. If I take the vehicle ferry (Black Ball ferry from Port Angeles, WA to Victoria, BC), do you know if that is still considered arriving by personal vehicle? Or is that a 'commercial vehicle'? I could also cross by land border but it is slightly less convenient.
I do not know.
 

Ponga

VIP Member
Oct 22, 2013
10,358
1,438
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Thanks, glad to hear it. If I take the vehicle ferry (Black Ball ferry from Port Angeles, WA to Victoria, BC), do you know if that is still considered arriving by personal vehicle? Or is that a 'commercial vehicle'? I could also cross by land border but it is slightly less convenient.
Contact them to find out. I suspect that it is a commercial carrier simply because it enters Canadian waters.