Meeting residency obligation questions at Calgary Airport
- Thread starter sham_ip
- Start date
There's always the chance that either CBSA or the PIK (Kiosk, at the airport) will know that they have only been in Canada for ~ 90 days since their current cards were issued. They cannot be denied entry, but could very well be questioned. Just tell them to be prepared.
Since the card is valid, there should be no issues
Noone at the airport would know when you left Canada.
However, it asks you when you left Canada in the declaration form. This is where they may get you.
You need to provide the exact date you left.
I dont remember what exactly the printout says when you fill out the form at the arrival computers for declaration though
If someone recalls can share with us what exactly the printout says would be great.
But again, since the PR card is still valid, there should be no issues. They won't reject you.
Noone at the airport would know when you left Canada.
However, it asks you when you left Canada in the declaration form. This is where they may get you.
You need to provide the exact date you left.
I dont remember what exactly the printout says when you fill out the form at the arrival computers for declaration though
If someone recalls can share with us what exactly the printout says would be great.
But again, since the PR card is still valid, there should be no issues. They won't reject you.
This is not accurate. They are not compliant with the residency obligation, and having a valid PR card does NOT change that.
It is true that those with valid PR cards are much LESS likely to have detailed interviews or get questioned about the residency obligation. But less likely does not mean 'no issues.' The issue remains.
Now, it is true that they WILL be admitted into Canada. No question. But they can be reported under the 44(1) procedure which - make no mistake - starts a process (subject to appeal) that leads to revocation of PR status.
Is it likely? Hard to say. But you wrote 'they won't reject you' and while being reported under 44(1) is not 'rejection', it has potentially extremely significant consequences.
And the 'no-one at the airport would know when you left Canada' is a foolish red herring. CBSA officers have access to records, and they can ... ask questions and inquire further if they so decide. If someone has a passport with an entry stamp to home country from ~five years ago, and no entry stamps to Canada in between, that might be sufficient for them to start to inquire in more detail and check those records. (There are some other factors that might influence whether they inquire further on the travel record, like what passport the individual holds, stamps for other countries, etc.)
They may or may not decide to pursue the residency obligation issue. I don't know how likely. But it's not zero chance.
They will be fine. I dont think they will dig. Their card is valid. They wont be the first PR holders doing what they are doing.
They don't stamp passports at the arrival anymore either.
I always travel for work. There have been many PR holders with the same situation. As you may know, PR holders and citizens line up in the same queue. You can hear CBSA questions and PR holder answers .
They have always been let go.
Probably, usually is not the same as always. We get reports of these situations here from time to time. More often, people are questioned and then let in without the formal steps.
But not always.
You forgot there's another queue before exit (for all travellers including visitors) that someone might be instructed to go to secondary for further examinations and questionings.
Just to follow-up and reinforce the comment by @armoured that there is a big difference between "always" and "usually" . . . especially when extrapolating inferences based on personal observations. The vast, vast majority of PRs applying for entry into Canada at a PoE, whether that is at the airport in Calgary or Montreal or Vancouver, or at a land crossing from the U.S., are in compliance with the Residency Obligation and not otherwise inadmissible. When there is no reason to refer the traveler to Secondary, but for occasional quality control screening a returning Canadian (be that a PR or citizen) will not be referred for Secondary screening.
For a PR who meets the definition of inadmissible (such as a PR who has been outside Canada so long as to be in breach of the RO), the chances of a referral to Secondary go up considerably. More so for a PR who does not have a valid PR card; somewhat more so for a PR who has clearly been outside Canada for three or more years since last being in Canada.