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About the interview upon arrival at the port of entry

J

junketsu

Full Member
Mar 23, 2015
36
1
Hello, my Startup Visa has been approved and now I got the visa in my passport. I am outside Canada and I will be arriving sometime next week. It is my understanding that I will be interviewed upon arrival. I have a few questions, if any of you have done this before:

  • Do I need to bring proof of funds again? I already sent mine when I was applying and they approved it. The reason I ask this is because it is pretty inconvenient for me to provide this proof again because my bank statements for the last 6 months are pretty long and I imagine I need to translate them from spanish to english (which is fairly expensive over here).
  • It appears they will ask for my mailing address in Canada. Well, I don't have a place to live in a permanent manner yet (I have not rented or purchased a house/apartment/etc). A friend will help me find a place to live upon my arrival. I **do** have the address for my business' office. Would that serve the purpose?
  • What sort of questions will they ask me? What other documents may I need? I am bringing my passport with visa and also the confirmation of permanent residence. I do not have a Canadian tourist visa.
  • How long would that interview take? I believe I have a connecting flight one hour after I arrive.
 
Remember that when you are entering a country, CBSA officer must make sure you still meet the eligibility requirements. So,

1) Yes! You must bring proof of funds, however it's under discretionary of that officer to demand proof. In most cases, they just ask how much you are carrying with yourself. Anything above CAD$10,000/person (or equivalent in any currency) must be declared on declaration card. You will get one inside plane. You are not suppose to show 6 months of bank statements at the airport. You only need to show that you are carrying enough funds per person with you. It can be in form of cash, bankers’ drafts, cheques, travellers’ cheques or money orders. It also depends on how many members of family are accompanying you. Check this => http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/funds.asp

2) No, it must be a residential address. They need to know that your residency is in Canada now, therefore they will send you PR cards. Sending PR cards to business addresses can cause unnecessary issues. I would suggest that you use any of your friend's or family's address or get UPS mailbox. They are treated as private residential addresses. (link).

3) You only need to bring Passport (with stamped immigrant visas), CoPR and proof of funds. Just go through the following link : Startup Visa - Prepare for your arrival. It won't be an interview. It's like CBSA officer just verifying basic facts that you are bringing money and not carrying prohibited items or cash not more than the limit.

4) THIS was my experience. Hope this may help!

Cheers!
 
Why thank you, that was rather helpful! I will review my options and let you know of any updates.

By the way, I got two identical CoPR both with a watermark "NOT VALID FOR TRAVEL" - is that supposed to be like that?

Again, thanks for the help!
 
You're certainly most welcome.

Yes. CBSA Officer will take both copies of COPR and return only one (with their signature and date on it). Commercial vehicles require PR cards or Visa stamped on your passport. If you are from a country where visa is waived for entering canada, you only need to show COPR. COPR is not a valid travel document. Airlines do not accept it as a travel document. Your passport and stamped visa is a valid travel document.

If you're coming by your own plane or ship, you don't need to show PR card or Visa.
 
Tomorrow I'll be leaving for Canada - and I think I got a proper mailing address now. I've been thinking about it, and when I sent my application they did ask me for a Canadian mailing address and I gave them one from a relative in Vancouver.

I do *not* want them to send the PR cards to my relative - I just used his address as a placeholder. Now that I got a real address, I suppose I could just mention it to the officer and he will update it for me? Or is this something I should have notified the CIC beforehand?

By the way, just in case you reply before I leave: how did you provide your proof of funds? I in particular decided to make a cheque to myself.

EDIT: After your interview, how long did it take them to send you your PR card? Perhaps I can update my mailing address AFTER I am interviewed if given enough time. Not sure if I can do that online though.

EDIT: Actually, is the officer going to use the mailing address they got recorded of me, or is he going to ask for my mailing address again?
 
Whatever address you will give at the port of entry, that's the address your PR cards will arrive at. The rest is history

PR Card Processing time : http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/index.asp
Currently, it's 87 processing days + six weeks of mailing time

Have a pleasant journey and welcome to Canada 8)
 
@junketsu:

Do you know what the code was on your PR travel document? Do you know how long it was valid for?
 
junketsu said:
EDIT: After your interview, how long did it take them to send you your PR card? Perhaps I can update my mailing address AFTER I am interviewed if given enough time. Not sure if I can do that online though.

EDIT: Actually, is the officer going to use the mailing address they got recorded of me, or is he going to ask for my mailing address again?
Click to expand...

I changed my postal address once (a month after landing) and CIC still posted my cards at the old address (the same one I had given at the time of landing). But, many have got their PR cards at the changed addresses. So, you never know ... it's immigration ... and it was under Conservatives' rule when I landed.
 
XpressEnterprise said:
So, you never know ... it's immigration ... and it was under Conservatives' rule when I landed.
Click to expand...

Which is likely why you landed recently, instead of 8+ years from now.
 
kateg said:
Which is likely why you landed recently, instead of 8+ years from now.
Click to expand...

I didn't mean to touch your 'soft spot' out here ... but it took my case almost 7 years
 
XpressEnterprise said:
I didn't mean to touch your 'soft spot' out here ... but it took my case almost 7 years
Click to expand...

Hence the "likely". If it took you 7 years, I would imagine you were under the old program?
 
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