After being approved for immigration, when can I leave??

[Ben11212]

Hello,
Can someone please give me some information on this topic. My partner and I have just been approved for Canadian Family Sponsorship through spouse partnership. We applied expecting it to take 10 months and they ended up taking only 5. We expected to be in Canada by August and they have now said we need to be there by May 11 or we need to re do our whole application.
I have a really well paid job and we both signed a lease expecting it to end on the 1st of August. Is it possible to fly into Canada, get the PR status and fly home for an additional 3-4 months? What's the rules when it comes to how soon you can leave once you arrive?
Please help us someone!

 

[Buletruck]

You can catch the next flight out after you land, if you choose. Getting your PR card might be a pain, but you can complete your landing and exit to clear up unfinished business.

 

[canadianwoman]

Yes, you can land, then leave right away. Don't tell the border agent you are doing this, though. (Unless directly asked, in which case explain you have to go back to tie up some loose ends and will be returning to Canada soon.) Give them an address where they can send your PR card - it can be the address of a friend or relative. The friend or relative can then send it to you.

 

[Ben11212]

Thank you both for the information. Is there a minimum time limit I need to be in canada though? What's the process once we have landed? Would they say something if we then (a few days later) booked a 1 way ticket back to AUS? I'm not sure how long it will take to finalise everything here, roughly 3-4 months

 

[canadianwoman]

You have to be in Canada for 2 years out of every 5, on a rolling basis. If you have Condition 51 on the PR visa, you are supposed to stay with your partner for two years after landing, but you two can be living anywhere, as long as it is together. In any case, a short break is OK.

Once you land, there is no set time you have to stay in Canada. It takes a while to get your PR card, but you can have it sent to an address of someone you know, who can then send it to you.

No one will say anything if you book a flight out of Canada a few days later. Just don't tell the border official when you land that you are doing this. Just make sure your partner can fly on a one-way ticket to Australia (this is up to the airline, really, and Australia.)

 

[Ben11212]

Sorry that last bit confused me.
"Just make sure your partner can fly on a one-way ticket to Australia (this is up to the airline, really, and Australia."
I am duel Canadian and Australian citizen and she is Australian. After we land in Canada and she gets her PR stuff sorted (say 1 week) we would be flying back to AUS to finalise everything for the big move. Would they say something if we only had 1 way tickets back to AUS or should we plan to have return flights booked too?

 

[Hurlabrick]

Sorry that last bit confused me.
"Just make sure your partner can fly on a one-way ticket to Australia (this is up to the airline, really, and Australia."
I am duel Canadian and Australian citizen and she is Australian. After we land in Canada and she gets her PR stuff sorted (say 1 week) we would be flying back to AUS to finalise everything for the big move. Would they say something if we only had 1 way tickets back to AUS or should we plan to have return flights booked too?

I am confused. AIUI you want to 'flagpole / soft landing' from Australia to Canada to activate your PR status then return within a short space of time. That is fine (I am planning to do this too in April, albeit from the UK). As others have said, good idea to give them the home address of a friend in Canada to send the PR card to, they can then courier it on to you in AUS.

Surely for this flagpole trip you would have bought return tickets (which BTW is absolutely fine with CBSA)?

Then when you are ready to finally 'land as a settler / to establish a residence', you can travel on whatever you like, one or two way tickets. I strongly suggest you check the price of one way vs return tickets anyway as very often (but not always) the cost of a one way ticket is more expensive than a return (if so, just don't bother using the return!).

 

[methyl]

Sorry that last bit confused me.
"Just make sure your partner can fly on a one-way ticket to Australia (this is up to the airline, really, and Australia."
I am duel Canadian and Australian citizen and she is Australian. After we land in Canada and she gets her PR stuff sorted (say 1 week) we would be flying back to AUS to finalise everything for the big move. Would they say something if we only had 1 way tickets back to AUS or should we plan to have return flights booked too?

Since both of you are Australian citizens nobody will say anything about one-way tickets to Australia- nobody will even ask whether you do.
There is no requirement to stay in Canada for any minimum time after she lands, you can literally not even leave the airport and take a plane back in 2 hours - and she doesn't need to hide this from the immigration officer because once again, there is no regulation that forces you to stay for any length of time, outside of the mentioned 2 years out of 5. Once you land you are free to do whatever you like, the only concern would be if you have a Condition 51, where you should be living apart from each other except for short trips. You could send your partner on a return trip to Canada and back by herself, it's not an issue.

 

[zardoz]

Since both of you are Australian citizens nobody will say anything about one-way tickets to Australia- nobody will even ask whether you do.
There is no requirement to stay in Canada for any minimum time after she lands, you can literally not even leave the airport and take a plane back in 2 hours - and she doesn't need to hide this from the immigration officer because once again, there is no regulation that forces you to stay for any length of time, outside of the mentioned 2 years out of 5. Once you land you are free to do whatever you like, the only concern would be if you have a Condition 51, where you should be living apart from each other except for short trips. You could send your partner on a return trip to Canada and back by herself, it's not an issue.

It is possible that if the CBSA officer is told that you are immediately going back to your own country, they *may* decline to order the PR card at that time, requesting that you order it yourself when you return to Canada. We have seen reports of this happening.

 

[canadianwoman]

There is no requirement to stay in Canada for any minimum time after she lands, you can literally not even leave the airport and take a plane back in 2 hours - and she doesn't need to hide this from the immigration officer because once again, there is no regulation that forces you to stay for any length of time, outside of the mentioned 2 years out of 5.

If the border agent asks about this, don't lie, but otherwise do not tell them you are flying right back to Australia. The point of getting a PR is to live in Canada. If CIC feels the applicant does not plan to live in Canada, the PR visa can be refused. The border agent would likely do nothing if he or she found out you were going to leave right away, but they might and could. Better to not even bring it up.

You can use one-way tickets since you both have status in Australia. Sorry, I was thinking of a situation where one of you had to prove you were going to be leaving Australia, hence the need for a return ticket.

 

[mr-moose]

We expected to be in Canada by August and they have now said we need to be there by May 11 or we need to re do our whole application.

Hi Ben,

Do you know what criteria they use to determine the last possible date you can enter by? Does the 11th May correlate to when you did your medical exams?

We've just applied at the end of last year, and are now trying to get things organised here to ensure we are able to move when we get notification. I'd love to know if there are any clearly defined time lines around how long you have to get to Canada once the application is approved.

I have heard 12 months since your medicals, but am wondering if there are any other factors taken I to consideration.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I have heard 12 months since your medicals, but am wondering if there are any other factors taken I to consideration.

The COPR will be valid for approximately 12 months from the medical or passport expiry, whichever is first.

 

[mr-moose]

The COPR will be valid for approximately 12 months from the medical or passport expiry, whichever is first.

Great. Our medicals were performed in December, so we should expect that if approved, that'll be the date we are expected to enter by.

Thanks!

 

[Ben11212]

Hi Ben,

Do you know what criteria they use to determine the last possible date you can enter by? Does the 11th May correlate to when you did your medical exams?

We've just applied at the end of last year, and are now trying to get things organised here to ensure we are able to move when we get notification. I'd love to know if there are any clearly defined time lines around how long you have to get to Canada once the application is approved.

I have heard 12 months since your medicals, but am wondering if there are any other factors taken I to consideration.

Thanks,
Chris

Hi Chris,

Our whole application took 5 months to be approved and they didn't require an interview or say anything about a condition 51 rule. We got the medical as one of the first things we did in our application process and it runs out on the 11th of May. It also stated in the paperwork they do not give extensions to the date you need to land in canada and if we aren't there before that date we need to re apply, submit all our papers and pay the fees again.....

I think the best option is to get a 1 way ticket there, keeping my mouth shut about the intention to go back and cut all our ties and just get the PR card posted to us once it arrives. 3 months just isn't long enough to completely end 24 years in Australia and start over.

Thanks everyone for your help

 

[mr-moose]

Hi Chris,

Our whole application took 5 months to be approved and they didn't require an interview or say anything about a condition 51 rule. We got the medical as one of the first things we did in our application process and it runs out on the 11th of May. It also stated in the paperwork they do not give extensions to the date you need to land in canada and if we aren't there before that date we need to re apply, submit all our papers and pay the fees again.....

I think the best option is to get a 1 way ticket there, keeping my mouth shut about the intention to go back and cut all our ties and just get the PR card posted to us once it arrives. 3 months just isn't long enough to completely end 24 years in Australia and start over.

Thanks everyone for your help

Sounds like a good plan. Thanks for the information. We'll keep preparing here as though our application will be successful at some point in the future.