Background: Applied through PEQ after CSQ. Currently on a closed work permit in quebec with my current employer valid till late 2021, still awaiting my AOR.
Can I leave the country for a trip and return on my work permit? I have had conflicting information about whether I am permitted to do this from immigration officers. I understand my current work permit does not GUARANTEE readmission at the border, but does this mean in reality I cannot leave without forfeiting my status. Or unless there are strange circumstances is it often in practise permitted as my permit would be valid way beyond my return date?
Obviously with the current health pandemic I have had no plans to travel but there's an important family event coming within the next year and I wondered whether being able to attend was at all a possibility, covid-19 permitting.
Just wanted to see if anyone in here had any relevent experiences or advice! Many thanks.
Is the question about not being able to re-enter due to COVID? Or about work permits and re-entry more generally? As you mentioned, work permits do not authorize entry into Canada even under normal circumstances. So if your passport is from a country that requires a visa and/or ETA, it is my understanding that that is still the case even with a work permit. I do not have personal experience with this as I'm from the US, but a friend from Pakistan on a work permit told me he was not going to leave Canada because he would need a visa to come back.
If the question is about being denied re-entry due to COVID-related travel restrictions, I DO have personal experience with this situation, including the conflicting information from immigration people. I came to Canada in mid-March right before the US border closed, so I didn't have any problem getting in at that point. But then in mid-April, I needed to return to the US to move out of my apartment there (my lease was ending in April) and bring my stuff back to Canada. We called CBSA several times to figure out if we would be allowed back in, and some of the agents seemed very hung up on whether our trip
into the US was essential or not (we even said I needed to get medications refilled in the US and I did not have health insurance in Canada and the agent said that is not essential, wtf). However, it is my understanding from the text of the travel restrictions that admissibility to Canada depends on your reason
for entering Canada, not why you were out of the country in the first place.
So in the end, we decided to go to the US (by car). When we came back to the border, the agent seemed agitated that we were traveling during the pandemic, and he did not seem to think that needing to move out of an apartment (to avoid losing thousands of dollars in deposits and possessions) constituted essential travel. But ultimately he was most concerned with where we lived, and since we said we lived in Canada and held valid study and work permits, we were let back in. We just had to go straight home and quarantine for 14 days.
I'm not sure if the guidelines on letting people into Canada have changed since mid-April, but it was my understanding that if you have a valid study or work permit and live in Canada, you are supposed to be allowed back into Canada (however, it is always up to the individual agent, so there is no guarantee). My advice would be to remain calm and pleasant and heavily emphasize that you live in Canada (maybe take proof with you, like your lease or recent utility bills). If the agent asks why you left Canada, try to make it sound semi-essential (don't say to attend grandma's 90th b-day party).