After Landing, can we travel out of country without PR card?

[vinodram]

Guys,

Please let me know, after landing can we immediately travel out of country and return back to Canada without PR card?


Thanks

 

[pziegler1986]

By vehicle yes, by air it depends whether you're from a visa exempt country or not.

Visa exempt country - Yes
Visa required country - No

 

[Phil89]

By vehicle yes, by air it depends whether you're from a visa exempt country or not.

Visa exempt country - Yes
Visa required country - No

I laughed... Any official source to back it up or you just made it up?

 

[ntwkengg]

Guys,

Please let me know, after landing can we immediately travel out of country and return back to Canada without PR card?


Thanks

i have same question... so if you want to return without pr card then you need travel document issued from the canadian embassy in that country where you have travelled.....

so i want to visit my home country for 3 weeks but my pr card wont arrive until then so does anyone knows how much time it takes to get a travel document is it possible to get in 3 weeks time?

 

[pziegler1986]

I laughed... Any official source to back it up or you just made it up?

Yeah good one - I just made it up, muppet.

I should have qualified with 'private vehicle'. You'll just need to show your COPR. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?q=064&t=10

I've also spoken to a CBSA officer and CIC agent who have both confirmed this to me verbally. They are not going to turn you away if you re-enter by private vehicle so long as you have your stamped COPR.

 

[pziegler1986]

i have same question... so if you want to return without pr card then you need travel document issued from the canadian embassy in that country where you have travelled.....

so i want to visit my home country for 3 weeks but my pr card wont arrive until then so does anyone knows how much time it takes to get a travel document is it possible to get in 3 weeks time?

The quickest way would be visiting the embassy in your home country I believe.

Try navigating through this area of CIC to get more information - http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/travel.asp

 

[AshesNdust]

Yes you can, but there are some caveats. Here's the basic run down:

1. If you are traveling by private car, all you need to show at the border is your CoPR.
2. If you traveling by commerical vehicle, such as, airplane, boat, bus, or train, you will have to have a travel document.

However, if you are from a visa-exempt country, you can *usually* get away with traveling with only your CoPR if you are using commerical transportation. Most of the time this will work because legally you are a PR of Canada regardless of having a pr card. The card is just a form of id verification, it's not something that decides your status. For example, if you lose your pr card, you are still a permanent resident.
Here's where it gets a bit tricky. When you travel on commerical transportation, they are suppose to check your documents and status before you board. So, if you are a PR, they are supposed to ask for id to confirm this. Commerical transportation companies are only supposed to accept pr cards as ID. Thus, the whole, without the pr card they shouldn't let you on. However, if you are from a visa exempt country, they will almost never ask you about your immigration status and will simply ask for you passport just to confirm your ID, not your immigration status. Now the border guards at the Canadian border ARE allowed to accept the CoPR as an ID for immigration status. So, once you get to Canada you shouldn't have any issues.
Please be aware that this is actually supposed to be changing this year and they are going to start to enforce the checking of the pr cards:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/about-pr.asp

Now, my recent experience, about two weeks ago, was exactly the what I described above. I'm from a visa exempt country and flew back there. The airline didn't bother to check my immigration status and only looked at my passport for my regular id. When I got to YVR, I had to go through secondary customs. There, the border officer asked me my immigration status. When I replied PR, he asked me where my pr card was. I explained I did my landing a month earlier and was still waiting for my card. I then said I have my CoPR and he asked to see that. He took a look and then passed me through.
If you are going to be leaving Canada for more than a few weeks, you should probably get the travel document. That shouldn't be a problem because it's only supposed to take about 1-2 weeks to get it. The reason people have trouble with the travel documents is that you can't get one inside of Canada, you can only apply for one outside of Canada. So, if you are going to be out of Canada for only a week, you won't have enough time to get the travel document before you want to return to Canada. It's not the best setup.

 

[pziegler1986]

Excellent summary @AshesNDust

 

[vinodram]

Yes you can, but there are some caveats. Here's the basic run down:

1. If you are traveling by private car, all you need to show at the border is your CoPR.
2. If you traveling by commerical vehicle, such as, airplane, boat, bus, or train, you will have to have a travel document.

However, if you are froma visa-exempt country, you can *usually* get away with traveling with only your CoPR if you are using commerical transportation. Most of the time this will work because legally you are a PR of Canada regardless of having a pr card. The card is just a form of id verification, it's not something that decides your status. For example, if you lose your pr card, you are still a permanent resident.
Here's were it gets a bit tricky. When you travel on commerical transportation, they are suppose to check your documents and status before you board. So, if you are a PR, they are supposed to ask for id to confirm this. Commerical transportation companies are only supposed to accept pr cards as ID. Thus, the whole, without the pr card they shouldn't let you on. However, if you are from a visa exempt country the will almost never ask you about your immigration status and will simply as for you passport just to confirm your ID not your immigratiin status. Now the border guards at the Canadian border ARE allowed to accept the CoPR as an ID for immigration status. So, once you get to Canada you shouldn't have any issues.
Please be aware that this is actually supposed to be changing this year and they are going to start to enforce the checking of the pr cards:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/about-pr.asp

Now, my recent experience, about two weeks ago, was exactly the what I described above. I'm from a visa exempt country and flew back there. The airline didn't bother to check my immigration status and only looked at my passport for my regular id. When I got to YVR, I had to go through secondary customs. There, the border officer asked me my immigration status. When I replied PR, he asked me where my pr card was. I explained I did my landing a month earlier and was still waiting for my card. I then said I have my CoPR and he asked to see that. He took a look and then passed me through.
If you are going to be leaving Canada for more than a few weeks, you should probably get the travel document. That shouldn't be a problem because it's only supposed to take about 1-2 weeks to get it. The reason people have trouble with the travel documents is that you can't get one inside of Canada you can only apply for one outside of Canada. So, if you are going to be out of Canada for only a week, you won't have enough time to get the travel document before you want to return to Canada. It's not the best setup.

+1 thanks Buddy

 

[kateg]

I laughed... Any official source to back it up or you just made it up?

Is doing it yesterday official enough? As an experiment, I handed my BC license and CoPR when driving across the border last night. No issues. I've done it with a NEXUS, Passport, Passport Card, etc. I've done these with and without study permits, with and without work permits, with and without CoPR present, by air and land. The border agents are very consistent.

Private vehicles are different from commercial transit. For private vehicles, the CoPR is all that is (sort-of) needed. I do not have a PR card, and have done it dozens of times since landing. Technically, you can do it without the CoPR, but it's more of a pain.

For commercial flights (which include air), you technically need a card or a PR travel document. Pragmatically, if you are from a visa waiver country, you can probably tell the airline you are Visa waivering, and they will most likely let you fly. That changes in March.

If you are not from a visa waiver country, the airline can't let you fly without a visa, PR card, or PR travel document, and you can't get a visa if you are a PR.

 

[kateg]

Excellent summary @AshesNDust

Indeed.

 

[JK_CAD]

1. Go to US in car
2. Take a flight from there to any location you want to go
3. Come back to US
4. Travel back to Canada in car

How about that

 

[Anish_M]

1. Go to US in car
2. Take a flight from there to any location you want to go
3. Come back to US
4. Travel back to Canada in car

How about that

will this work