Hi there!
My girlfriend (a US citizen) is currently living with me in Canada on her second Visitor Record. She came as a visitor in April 2023, applied and was approved for a 1-year visitor record to extend her stay in October 2023, and applied for a new 1-year visitor record in October 2024. That second Visitor Record has now been approved (expires October 2025 - we have the In-Canada Approval Letter on the website, but we have not received the physical Visitor Record yet because of the Canada Post strike - we do have the old expired one). With her having lived here for over a year, we are now common-law partners, but she has not yet applied for Permanent Residence, which she intends to (we have completed the application package, but are waiting on Canada Post to resume service in order to get the background check from the US).
She wants to visit family in the United States for the holidays, but wants to return here shortly after (probably after a week or so), so we'd be coming back across the border shortly after. This page claims that "[a visitor record] doesn’t guarantee that you can leave and then re-enter Canada", but then says that "If you plan to travel outside Canada or the United States, you must meet our entry requirements to return to Canada". We would not be entering any country other than the United States or Canada.
Does this mean that, if we traveled to the United States, the visitor record DOES allow my girlfriend to reenter Canada? Having been here for a year and half as a visitor (and not yet a permanent resident), I could see the border being skeptical, but does "outside Canada or the United states" here mean that you ARE likely to be allowed back if you've only been to the United States?
My girlfriend (a US citizen) is currently living with me in Canada on her second Visitor Record. She came as a visitor in April 2023, applied and was approved for a 1-year visitor record to extend her stay in October 2023, and applied for a new 1-year visitor record in October 2024. That second Visitor Record has now been approved (expires October 2025 - we have the In-Canada Approval Letter on the website, but we have not received the physical Visitor Record yet because of the Canada Post strike - we do have the old expired one). With her having lived here for over a year, we are now common-law partners, but she has not yet applied for Permanent Residence, which she intends to (we have completed the application package, but are waiting on Canada Post to resume service in order to get the background check from the US).
She wants to visit family in the United States for the holidays, but wants to return here shortly after (probably after a week or so), so we'd be coming back across the border shortly after. This page claims that "[a visitor record] doesn’t guarantee that you can leave and then re-enter Canada", but then says that "If you plan to travel outside Canada or the United States, you must meet our entry requirements to return to Canada". We would not be entering any country other than the United States or Canada.
Does this mean that, if we traveled to the United States, the visitor record DOES allow my girlfriend to reenter Canada? Having been here for a year and half as a visitor (and not yet a permanent resident), I could see the border being skeptical, but does "outside Canada or the United states" here mean that you ARE likely to be allowed back if you've only been to the United States?