SOFT LANDING- NEED GUIDANCE ON PR CARD

[sameer_mobin]

Hi All,

Since many of you experienced forum member, I have queries for which I need some guidance.

Scenario:- I am doing a first 'soft landing' in Canada in September 2017 for two weeks. After that, I will immediately return to my current job in Middle East. I will move to Canada permanently in 2018.

Queries:-

1. Can I give residential address of my relative to whom CIC can mail my PR Card?
2. Once received by the relative, is it OK if they can courier it to me via DHL or FED EX?
3. Is there any other way I can collect my card being outside of Canada? (for example, I read on forums that people can open a PO Box. But my worry is, will courier companies directly collect it from PO Box and then courier it to me?

Do let me know. Your replies will help me out.

Thanks.

 

[Bs65]

1) yes
2) yes
3) no

Many people opt for (1) and have their card mailed or sent by courier without any issues, either way can be tracked. Not sure whether IRCC will send to a PO box and even less sure a courier will collect from one. For sure IRCC will not mail a card to outside of Canada.

 

[next2015]

I believe what the posters meant on the threads you saw was: renting a box from UPS which is always listed as a street address NOT a P.O. Box address e.g. 000 Canada St., Suite 123 Toronto, ON XYZ 254 - the 'suite 123' would be the box number. I used this for my card, received it without a problem. I like that you get an email notification whenever you have mail. IRCC does not mail P.O. BOX addresses, only to Street addresses. If you have a relative, use their address, instead of paying a box rental fee, unless you're not so comfortable with the relative - happens sometimes

 

[crazymaverick]

I believe what the posters meant on the threads you saw was: renting a box from UPS which is always listed as a street address NOT a P.O. Box address e.g. 000 Canada St., Suite 123 Toronto, ON XYZ 254 - the 'suite 123' would be the box number. I used this for my card, received it without a problem. I like that you get an email notification whenever you have mail. IRCC does not mail P.O. BOX addresses, only to Street addresses. If you have a relative, use their address, instead of paying a box rental fee, unless you're not so comfortable with the relative - happens sometimes

At the time of landing were you asked who's address this was? If yes, what was your response? Is it OK to say that it's a UPS mailbox address?

 

[next2015]

At the time of landing were you asked who's address this was? If yes, what was your response? Is it OK to say that it's a UPS mailbox address?

Apologies for the delayed response.

During my landing, I had no address except for the hotel's. The IO gave me a form which he said I should fill when I get an address and fax. A few days later I got the UPS mailbox and made the change my self online. I later called the CIC contact centre to verify that the address change had been updated on their end, which they confirmed. If you do have a UPS mailbox address, just give it to them, don't say anything else. Its never a good thing to get too chatty with customs and immigration officers in any country. By the way, when I went to customs to process my GTF forms, the officer there advised me to indicate the hotel address on the forms. So, don't worry too much about it. If you don't have an address there's a system in place to allow you update it after you land.

all the best

 

[Baahubali]

Apologies for the delayed response.

During my landing, I had no address except for the hotel's. The IO gave me a form which he said I should fill when I get an address and fax. A few days later I got the UPS mailbox and made the change my self online. I later called the CIC contact centre to verify that the address change had been updated on their end, which they confirmed. If you do have a UPS mailbox address, just give it to them, don't say anything else. Its never a good thing to get too chatty with customs and immigration officers in any country. By the way, when I went to customs to process my GTF forms, the officer there advised me to indicate the hotel address on the forms. So, don't worry too much about it. If you don't have an address there's a system in place to allow you update it after you land.

all the best

Hi, did you also opt for mail forwarding from your UPS mailbox? I live outside Canada and am looking for a rental mail reception and mail forwarding service.
Thanks.

 

[next2015]

Hi, did you also opt for mail forwarding from your UPS mailbox? I live outside Canada and am looking for a rental mail reception and mail forwarding service.
Thanks.

Yes, I did. My kid's card took longer to process as they required a new pic, and we got the request for a new pic after we had left Canada (we had done a soft landing).

When the request was delivered, the UPS store sent me notification via email that I had mail. I called the store manager and asked him to forward it to my address (outside Canada) - paid for the forwarding service by card. I sent the UPS store manager an envelope containing the response to CIC and asked him to mail the envelope to the CIC address I had indicated on the envelope. 2 weeks later, I got notification that I have mail, I called the store manager who confirmed he felt a card inside and I asked him to forward the mail to my address (outside Canada), which he did following my payment for the service.

So, based on my experience, I'd recommend UPS, but confirm the rates for each service as each store has its own rates.

All the best

 

[Baahubali]

Yes, I did. My kid's card took longer to process as they required a new pic, and we got the request for a new pic after we had left Canada (we had done a soft landing).

When the request was delivered, the UPS store sent me notification via email that I had mail. I called the store manager and asked him to forward it to my address (outside Canada) - paid for the forwarding service by card. I sent the UPS store manager an envelope containing the response to CIC and asked him to mail the envelope to the CIC address I had indicated on the envelope. 2 weeks later, I got notification that I have mail, I called the store manager who confirmed he felt a card inside and I asked him to forward the mail to my address (outside Canada), which he did following my payment for the service.

So, based on my experience, I'd recommend UPS, but confirm the rates for each service as each store has its own rates.

All the best

Thank you very much for the quick response. Also it's the only response I ever saw where someone was affirmative about using the UPS service. But I didn't get the above highlighted part. Why did you send an envelope to the store manager to mail it to CIC? Doesn't CIC use its own envelope to mail the card?

 

[next2015]

Thank you very much for the quick response. Also it's the only response I ever saw where someone was affirmative about using the UPS service. But I didn't get the above highlighted part. Why did you send an envelope to the store manager to mail it to CIC? Doesn't CIC use its own envelope to mail the card?

The mail I sent the store manager was in response to CIC's request for new pics - they don't provide return envelopes so I used a regular envelope.I wasn't sure how CIC would handle the case if the pics were sent from outside Canada. I decided to play it safe and have the UPS store send the mail to CIC - create the impression its from within Canada. Hope this clarifies

One more thing you need to check is if the law in your home country allows mailing of travel docs. I've seen posts here where members indicated the customs in their country wouldn't process mail containing a PR card because its a travel document.

 

[Mumbai_Indians]

Yes, I did. My kid's card took longer to process as they required a new pic, and we got the request for a new pic after we had left Canada (we had done a soft landing).

When the request was delivered, the UPS store sent me notification via email that I had mail. I called the store manager and asked him to forward it to my address (outside Canada) - paid for the forwarding service by card. I sent the UPS store manager an envelope containing the response to CIC and asked him to mail the envelope to the CIC address I had indicated on the envelope. 2 weeks later, I got notification that I have mail, I called the store manager who confirmed he felt a card inside and I asked him to forward the mail to my address (outside Canada), which he did following my payment for the service.

So, based on my experience, I'd recommend UPS, but confirm the rates for each service as each store has its own rates.

All the best

So you got the PR cards of your family couriered to outside Canada by UPS? Did it not cause any problem at Canada customs or in transit to your country of residence?

 

[ijaz_ch84]

I believe what the posters meant on the threads you saw was: renting a box from UPS which is always listed as a street address NOT a P.O. Box address e.g. 000 Canada St., Suite 123 Toronto, ON XYZ 254 - the 'suite 123' would be the box number. I used this for my card, received it without a problem. I like that you get an email notification whenever you have mail. IRCC does not mail P.O. BOX addresses, only to Street addresses. If you have a relative, use their address, instead of paying a box rental fee, unless you're not so comfortable with the relative - happens sometimes

Hello,

I was looking for similar information - were you able to apply for UPS mailbox even from outside canada? i mean to say can i have this signed up before landing to Canada and give this address on the port of entry?

 

[ijaz_ch84]

Yes, I did. My kid's card took longer to process as they required a new pic, and we got the request for a new pic after we had left Canada (we had done a soft landing).

When the request was delivered, the UPS store sent me notification via email that I had mail. I called the store manager and asked him to forward it to my address (outside Canada) - paid for the forwarding service by card. I sent the UPS store manager an envelope containing the response to CIC and asked him to mail the envelope to the CIC address I had indicated on the envelope. 2 weeks later, I got notification that I have mail, I called the store manager who confirmed he felt a card inside and I asked him to forward the mail to my address (outside Canada), which he did following my payment for the service.

So, based on my experience, I'd recommend UPS, but confirm the rates for each service as each store has its own rates.

All the best

awesome!!!

when did you do soft landing?

If i may ask how many days did you spent in Canada and did you open bank account as well?

 

[ijaz_ch84]

Hi All,

Since many of you experienced forum member, I have queries for which I need some guidance.

Scenario:- I am doing a first 'soft landing' in Canada in September 2017 for two weeks. After that, I will immediately return to my current job in Middle East. I will move to Canada permanently in 2018.

Queries:-

1. Can I give residential address of my relative to whom CIC can mail my PR Card?
2. Once received by the relative, is it OK if they can courier it to me via DHL or FED EX?
3. Is there any other way I can collect my card being outside of Canada? (for example, I read on forums that people can open a PO Box. But my worry is, will courier companies directly collect it from PO Box and then courier it to me?

Do let me know. Your replies will help me out.

Thanks.

Hello,

Hope you have made your soft landing?
how was the experience is is better than middle east i am thinking to do a soft landing in 2018 and then move in 2019 from Middle east

 

[Meylis]

Hi next2015,

I read somewhere that in order to get a PR card after you first land in Canada, you physically have to be in Canada for the period until you receive your PR card, and you cannot leave Canada (by flight) while that waiting period. In this case, it means that I and my family will have to stay in Canada for at least 3-4 months (approximate time of receiving the PR card) until we receive PR cards.

As I understood from the posts here, this information is not true, and I can easily leave Canada by flight as soon as I have applied for PR card and provided the Canadian address to where my card will be delivered. Correct? Won't there be any issues after I re-enter Canada?

Thank you.

Meylis

I believe what the posters meant on the threads you saw was: renting a box from UPS which is always listed as a street address NOT a P.O. Box address e.g. 000 Canada St., Suite 123 Toronto, ON XYZ 254 - the 'suite 123' would be the box number. I used this for my card, received it without a problem. I like that you get an email notification whenever you have mail. IRCC does not mail P.O. BOX addresses, only to Street addresses. If you have a relative, use their address, instead of paying a box rental fee, unless you're not so comfortable with the relative - happens sometimes

 

[next2015]

@Meylis Correct, you can leave before you receive the cards. And yes, if you do not have the card on re-entry, you’ll have problems. In fact, you won’t even board the flight to leave your country of origin as it’s required since you’ll have no visa.

You have to figure out a way of having the cards sent to you to ensure your re-entry into Canada. If the address you provide is a friend’s or a relative, they should be able to send them to you. If it’s a UPS store, they should be able to forward all your mail to which ever address you give them.

All the best.