Does acquiring citizenship end harassment in foreign airports?

[EndRacism2018]

Some background here: I am a permanent resident in good standing and have a passport from a large developing nation. I have dark skin. I travel frequently out of the country for business reasons to the European Union. On flights back to Canada on Canadian carriers, I am almost always "randomly selected" by airline personnel at the boarding gate with my passport and PR card inspected with a magnifying glass for several minutes. I also get interrogated as to where I live in Canada, and what I was doing in the EU. This is despite the fact that I pass through Exit Immigration in the EU with no problems whatsoever (EU immigration officers have never taken a magnifying glass to my passport). Similarly, CBSA staff at the port of entry in Canada never question me. It appears to me that airline personnel are stepping out of bounds here.

I have two theories here:

1. I am profiled because of my skin colour.
2. I am profiled because of my citizenship, which means the airline personnel employed by a Canadian carrier don't "trust" the Canadian PR card.

Dark-skinned people who have acquired citizenship and traveled - did it completely eliminate harassment by airlines upon your return to Canada? Just wondering.

 

[robinhood_1984]

Airlines are scared of getting in to trouble for allowing a person to fly to Canada that shouldn't. I'm from England and get quizzed quite a lot each and every time I fly back to Canada from England by the people on the Air Canada check in desk. I suppose a passport will eliminate that unless they are actually targeting you because of your race, in which case the passport will not make a difference.
Having said that, the people questioning me in London about my status in Canada are more often than not South Asians themselves and not fellow white English people so who can say. My guess is that its like I said at the beginning. The airline is liable if they don't do their due diligence and allow someone to fly in to Canada that doesn't have the right to do so so they're being cautious, perhaps over cautious.

 

[deerestlovelybear]

it is a combination of all, change in citizenship does not change perception and racist views from some people. In fact I experienced the same problem everytime I am crossing the borders and even after becoming Canadian citizens, thing is not improved. I have even been asked “how long I lived in Canada” even when they see my Canadian passport, some agents even interogating as if I am using a faked passport!

 

[scorph]

Some background here: I am a permanent resident in good standing and have a passport from a large developing nation. I have dark skin. I travel frequently out of the country for business reasons to the European Union. On flights back to Canada on Canadian carriers, I am almost always "randomly selected" by airline personnel at the boarding gate with my passport and PR card inspected with a magnifying glass for several minutes. I also get interrogated as to where I live in Canada, and what I was doing in the EU. This is despite the fact that I pass through Exit Immigration in the EU with no problems whatsoever (EU immigration officers have never taken a magnifying glass to my passport). Similarly, CBSA staff at the port of entry in Canada never question me. It appears to me that airline personnel are stepping out of bounds here.

I have two theories here:

1. I am profiled because of my skin colour.
2. I am profiled because of my citizenship, which means the airline personnel employed by a Canadian carrier don't "trust" the Canadian PR card.

Dark-skinned people who have acquired citizenship and traveled - did it completely eliminate harassment by airlines upon your return to Canada? Just wondering.

I totally agree with you.
Carrying a passport from an developing country as well, I recall having my PR scrutinized further by Air Canada crew after having passed immigration control. This happened to me 2 times at London Heathrow .
I was wondering why Air Canada crew behaved like that.
Thank you for raising this issue.
I will certainly try to use foreign airline companies next time I’m traveling.

 

[EndRacism2018]

I
Having said that, the people questioning me in London about my status in Canada are more often than not South Asians themselves and not fellow white English people so who can say.

That sucks. Maybe it's a form of revenge racism on their part - who knows. I have to say that some of the most aggressive airline personnel I have met have NOT been white people, although I clearly felt targeted. Maybe it's a power trip for them, or maybe they hate those who look like them, I don't know.

 

[EndRacism2018]

i I have even been asked “how long I lived in Canada” even when they see my Canadian passport, some agents even interogating as if I am using a faked passport!

Wow. That is clearly racism on their part. After all, unless you microchip someone, it is impossible to 100% prove that a person is linked to their passport. They should be equally suspicious of everyone in that case.

 

[robinhood_1984]

That sucks. Maybe it's a form of revenge racism on their part - who knows. I have to say that some of the most aggressive airline personnel I have met have NOT been white people, although I clearly felt targeted. Maybe it's a power trip for them, or maybe they hate those who look like them, I don't know.

Generally speaking, I find people who work in airports, especially Heathrow in London to be very unfriendly and really quite arrogant.

I've crossed in and out of Canada 273 times in the past 5 years, I know this because I've just finished filling in the physical presence forms for citizenship and I've had loads of incidents of obnoxious border officials etc. I've had a US border guard suggest that I wasn't really a truck driver, my load of frozen carrots going to New Jersey from Nova Scotia wasn't real and I was in fact a terrorist. He was white, I am white and the suggestion was ridiculous but some people in positions of authority abuse it.
I've also had some pretty odd and unfriendly questions on returning to Canada too, but usually its fine. The worse for me is arriving by air in to Toronto, after you go through the kiosks where you scan your PR card and landing card and the guy standing there tells you to either exit straight away or go to passport control, some of those guys speak/shout at you like scum and these are often not white people but I don't really take it as racism towards me, I think it's more a case of them hating their job, having no people skills and abusing the power that their position gives them to make them feel superior to us cattle passing through. I'm sure they would talk to you just as badly as me etc.

 

[robinhood_1984]

Wow. That is clearly racism on their part. After all, unless you microchip someone, it is impossible to 100% prove that a person is linked to their passport. They should be equally suspicious of everyone in that case.

My friend is a Canadian citizen, but from England like myself and he always gets asked how long he has been in Canada for or how long a citizen or "where are you from?" etc due to his obvious accent. He gets this all the time when re-entering Canada at the border in his truck. People are sometimes just curious, it doesn't necessarily mean there's anything sinister behind their asking.

 

[deerestlovelybear]

That sucks. Maybe it's a form of revenge racism on their part - who knows. I have to say that some of the most aggressive airline personnel I have met have NOT been white people, although I clearly felt targeted. Maybe it's a power trip for them, or maybe they hate those who look like them, I don't know.

I think it is true that racism sometimes coming from people with same background discriminating each other. For example some of the most vocal homophobia people turned out to be closet gay. The fact that one become Canadian citizen does not seem to change people perception on that person. In Canada I also experience discrimination from immigrants who settled earlier

 

[jsm0085]

I’m Scottish and since the rules changed re PR cards I can say it’s a process coming back to Canada from anywhere - UK, US, Mexico - you make it. It’s a relatively new system that doesn’t seem to be problem free, and it’s a major issue for the airline if they admit someone they aren’t supposed to.

 

[qorax]

I frequently travel. At least every 6-months to maintain my Dubai visa. I've never been asked anything out-of-the-ordinary either while being a PR, or later with my Canadian passport. I'm brown too btw.

 

[Katayoon]

This year was my first time travelling with Canadian passport and I could feel the difference right away. All the excessively curious questions, condescending/puzzled looks etc. - all of that was gone.
But during my PR "youth" years I had my fair share of interrogations, usually at a transit airport overseas, although I am light skinned. These are questions I would get from airline agents every time I connect in Istanbul:
- What is your exact address in Ottawa (and they would actually type it in)
- What is your job
- Why do you also have a UK visa (!) (am I supposed to be a prisoner here?)
- Why are you flying to Montreal if you live in Ottawa (!!!) (give me a parachute and drop me off over Ottawa, man!)

All of these accompanied by overly condescending look as if I was the last person on earth to deserve Canada's PR.

I always enter Canada through Montreal and never had any unpleasant experience with CBSA agents, but once I entered via Ottawa and, boy, did that South East Asian man (obviously, an ethnic minority, like myself) get on my nerves! I was coming from vacation in Carribean and the man asked me these:
- Are you coming alone? (I say: with a friend)
- is it he or she?
- How long have you known him?
- How did you meet?

Not sure how all of these are a matter of National security.

After that interrogation, I swore to myself I would never ever enter Canada via Ottawa.
At the end, the "friend" (who happens to be black) was taken to a separate line with other blacks and south east asians for a separate 2-hour unpleasant experience where another agent (this time a woman) expressed doubts about the legitimacy of his PR card in a quite rude manner.

Well, glad it is over now.

 

[canvis2006]

Avoid flying through/from London Heathrow.
Try via Frankfurt, Munich, Lisbon etc its much better.
And fly European carriers instead of north-american carriers. Also fly directly if possible rather than changing airports.
At some airports they ask questions regardless of passport

 

[jamie hito]

I’m Asian from the land of rising sun.
At YYC, whenever I leave fpr abroad, they always happen to do random checks. I’m always the lucky sob to be chosen randomly. As if I’m carrying drugs in my person because every time they send me to the xray machine. Last time I went through there I was sweaty, so the machine registered blots. Hence the infamous pat down and sniffer box. Or course my clothes suggested I’m gangster. Running pants and sweater.

I don’t think it’s racism. But profiling. Because if my clothes are decent, I get a pass. LOL!

 

[irnbru16]

This is a very complicated topic.