neorol said:
Many new PR's need to travel before they get their PR cards mailed. Since getting a PRTD is really time consuming, these travels cause a lot of headaches. When does CIC invalidate pre existing ETAs?
PRs who landed recently (1-3 months ago), could you please check your ETA's current status?
Thanks a lot!
neorol said:
Thank you for the information!
However, collecting some information about ETA's status could be still interesting. For example, in my country last time they had no idea about Canadian rules. The lady has never seen a work permit, and asked me what that document was. I assume if ETA is still valid, many would be able to board the flight. Of course, there is no guarantee for that.
I agree it would be useful to know whether a new PR can still use a visa-exempt passport, to board a flight to Canada, if
prior to becoming a PR that individual obtained eTA using that visa-exempt passport.
My guess is yes. However, this is just a guess.
There is an online tool for checking eTA status. This can be reached by a link at:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1192&top=16
The user can select "I have an approved eTA. I want to consult my file."
It is only practical to make a query for someone who has been granted eTA or who has an application for eTA pending.
I do not know what the output looks like. My guess is that there is simply a confirmation eTA is valid, or is not valid, for the query: "I have an approved eTA. I want to consult my file."
I also suppose that making the query may in itself trigger revalidation, which could result in the cancellation of eTA for someone who has, since obtaining eTA, acquired PR status.
For a PR who obtained eTA prior to landing, this could resolve the question . . . and of course, if anyone does use this tool, please share the results with us here.
Otherwise, this can be
partially tested by any PR who obtained eTA
prior to becoming a PR and who is still using the same visa-exempt passport. In particular, for a PR who has already obtained a PR card, such a PR could present his or her eTA approved visa-exempt passport to an airline when checking-in for a flight to Canada. Again, my guess is this person will be issued a boarding pass.
If in contrast, however, the airline responds indicating there is a problem, that PR could then produce his or her PR card, saying something like
"do I need to show my [PR card]?"
Of course a few anecdotal reports will not definitively answer the question, but it would offer some indication. (Except in the most straight-forward transactions, what can be discerned from anecdotal reports is severely hampered by how few there are, and thus how much they may not be representative, and the fact that most of the anecdotal reports suffer from vagueness or confusion, including many in this context which tend to be reports about the identity document check just before boarding rather than the more important interaction attendant check-in and being issued a boarding pass.)
In addition to what I have previously discussed about this, in some depth here:
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/waiting-for-pr-travelling-into-canada-t474477.0.html
there is further discussion including additional references and links here:
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/any-new-prs-flown-to-canada-with-eta-but-no-pr-card-t475436.0.html
andrews65 said:
I'm not sure the airline can see eTA status at checkin, or even necessarily know what an eTA is. From what I have read it seems that CBSA's IAPI system simply returns a board/no board indicator to the airline's check in system. How IAPI determines which to send is not clear.
I agree. Discussed in your other topic. But yes, the IAPI system gives a
Board or No-board response. The IAPI system is screening almost all passengers for advance authorization to enter Canada, not just visa-exempt passengers with eTA. The IAPI system is based on recognizing, as having authorization to enter Canada, the
combination of the traveler's personal information (API: name, DoB, nationality, gender) and the id number for the specific Travel Document with which that individual obtained authorization to enter Canada.
In reviewing scores of sources (many linked in your other topic), I have found no indication that the IAPI system will respond other than "Board or No-board."
That said, there are procedures for CBSA to send a follow-up message to the airline which can override the board or no-board message sent by IAPI. My guess is these are almost always to override a board message based on an adverse information alert in the system. But those messages can, obviously, be more detailed, perhaps even as to status.
Note: it warrants noting that many seem to conflate, even confuse, important distinctions between eTA and IAPI, as well as blurring distinctions between check-in clearance (which determines if a boarding pass will be issued) and final pre-boarding screening (which verifies the passenger is the same person who checked-in, was issued the boarding pass, and is still carrying the Travel Document used for check-in), noting that in particular the latter often gets confused in anecdotal reports about personal experience, making it rather difficult to sort reliable information about airline clearance procedures from those accounts.
