Can PR Card be mailed from Canada to USA

[amiashu]

Hi everyone,

I recently got my PR sponsored by my wife in family category in january.

I am currently on H1 visa in USA and we (me and my wife) havent decided if we are going to settle in US or Canada. so we keep seeing each other at regular times.

I landed in canada as PR on February 12th, 2010 (it is irrelevant info but i did travel to canada 3 times last year on visitor visa till my PR application was pending) and because of my job here in USA i had to come back on Feb 16th without my PR card

2 days before (March 17th 2010) my wife recieved my PR Card (she lives in Canada). now the obvious option is for her to come see me here and also give me the card hand in hand but its tought for her because of her job and her coming here on saturday or sunday just for one day is just too costly.

can she just mail the PR card to me or is it illegal to do so (thats what she heard and thats why she is scared to do so)

and also if i were to have some friend coming from Canada to USA bring me the card, will there be a problem when i go back to Canada during immigration like, "if you did not stay in canada from more than 3 days in Feb, how do you have your PR Card?", what can i answer at that time.

Thanks for the help in advance everyone,
Amit Patel

 

[PMM]

Hi

Hi everyone,

I recently got my PR sponsored by my wife in family category in january.

I am currently on H1 visa in USA and we (me and my wife) havent decided if we are going to settle in US or Canada. so we keep seeing each other at regular times.

I landed in canada as PR on February 12th, 2010 (it is irrelevant info but i did travel to canada 3 times last year on visitor visa till my PR application was pending) and because of my job here in USA i had to come back on Feb 16th without my PR card

2 days before (March 17th 2010) my wife recieved my PR Card (she lives in Canada). now the obvious option is for her to come see me here and also give me the card hand in hand but its tought for her because of her job and her coming here on saturday or sunday just for one day is just too costly.

can she just mail the PR card to me or is it illegal to do so (thats what she heard and thats why she is scared to do so)

and also if i were to have some friend coming from Canada to USA bring me the card, will there be a problem when i go back to Canada during immigration like, "if you did not stay in canada from more than 3 days in Feb, how do you have your PR Card?", what can i answer at that time.

Thanks for the help in advance everyone,
Amit Patel

No it is not illegal to mail PR cards.

PMM

 

[amiashu]

Thanks PMM
i really appreciate it

 

[dr_sarwat]

Is it same for passport too? I mean to say, can I send my passport from Canada to USA, Buffalo for getting the visa (PR sponsored)?

Thanks

 

[PMM]

Hi

Is it same for passport too? I mean to say, can I send my passport from Canada to USA, Buffalo for getting the visa (PR sponsored)?

Thanks

Yes, but I would use a courier.

PMM

 

[Siouxie]

My son mentioned to the Canadian Immigration officer at the airport when landing that he was intending on returning to the UK for a few months and that I was going to fed-ex his PR card to him for his return to Canada.

The Immigration officer told him it was an offence to mail the PR card and that only Citizenhip and Immigration Canada were allowed to mail them. He told my son under no circumstances was I to send the PR card to him and he could either get a traveller permit from London or he could enter on his UK passport and persuade the immigration officer at the port of entry that he was a bonafide Permanant Resident.

That got us so concerned that I am photocopying his PR card and SIN card so he will have proof when he re-enters.

I cannot find anything in legislation or rulings that states that it is an offence, does anyone know if it is? Links would be helpful

 

[dr_sarwat]

Thanks PMM!!!!

 

[PMM]

Hi

My son mentioned to the Canadian Immigration officer at the airport when landing that he was intending on returning to the UK for a few months and that I was going to fed-ex his PR card to him for his return to Canada.

The Immigration officer told him it was an offence to mail the PR card and that only Citizenhip and Immigration Canada were allowed to mail them. He told my son under no circumstances was I to send the PR card to him and he could either get a traveller permit from London or he could enter on his UK passport and persuade the immigration officer at the port of entry that he was a bonafide Permanant Resident.

That got us so concerned that I am photocopying his PR card and SIN card so he will have proof when he re-enters.

I cannot find anything in legislation or rulings that states that it is an offence, does anyone know if it is? Links would be helpful

The IO was full of B**l S**t

PMM

 

[matthewc]

PMM is quite right that the IO was full of sh**, but (aside from the issue of mailing PR cards) there is a second reason why the IO was misleading you: as a UK citizen he doesn't need the PR card at all to enter Canada. Implying that he would somehow need to "persuade" the IO that he was a bona-fide PR is rubbish, as long as he has his passport.

The PR card serves two main purposes:

1. It allows the IO to easily know that you are a PR when you arrive in Canada.
2. It proves to a commercial carrier (e.g. airline) that you will be allowed into Canada when you get there.

The second point is important. If you're not allowed in because of a documentation problem / lack of visa, the airline will usually have to bear the cost of returning you to where you came from. So, if you are from a country where you would need a visa to visit Canada, you have to show them the visa (or PR card) before you can get on the plane. A citizen of a country that doesn't need a visa to visit Canada, e.g. UK, can board the plane with the passport alone just like they would if they were visiting Canada - no need to show the PR card. When you get to Canada, the only requirement for the IO to let you in is to make sure you are a PR. They can either do that by looking at your PR card, or by (very easily) checking your passport and looking you up in the system. It will take you a few minutes longer to get in, as without the PR card they will probably send you to immigration secondary rather than just waiving you through the PIL, but there is absolutely no problem - you will be allowed in.

As a PR, if you can get to the border, you get into Canada. The reason you need the PR card if your nationality would usually mean you need a visa, is so you can get on the plane!

 

[Siouxie]

Thank you PMM and matthew - I thought as much myself but my son said the IO was very convincing!

What a b*st*rd!!

I knew he could enter on his passport alone, but what the IO said threw me for a loop.

Thanks again

 

[PMM]

Hi

PMM is quite right that the IO was full of sh**, but (aside from the issue of mailing PR cards) there is a second reason why the IO was misleading you: as a UK citizen he doesn't need the PR card at all to enter Canada. Implying that he would somehow need to "persuade" the IO that he was a bona-fide PR is rubbish, as long as he has his passport.

The PR card serves two main purposes:

1. It allows the IO to easily know that you are a PR when you arrive in Canada.
2. It proves to a commercial carrier (e.g. airline) that you will be allowed into Canada when you get there.

The second point is important. If you're not allowed in because of a documentation problem / lack of visa, the airline will usually have to bear the cost of returning you to where you came from. So, if you are from a country where you would need a visa to visit Canada, you have to show them the visa (or PR card) before you can get on the plane. A citizen of a country that doesn't need a visa to visit Canada, e.g. UK, can board the plane with the passport alone just like they would if they were visiting Canada - no need to show the PR card. When you get to Canada, the only requirement for the IO to let you in is to make sure you are a PR. They can either do that by looking at your PR card, or by (very easily) checking your passport and looking you up in the system. It will take you a few minutes longer to get in, as without the PR card they will probably send you to immigration secondary rather than just waiving you through the PIL, but there is absolutely no problem - you will be allowed in.

As a PR, if you can get to the border, you get into Canada. The reason you need the PR card if your nationality would usually mean you need a visa, is so you can get on the plane!

1. One addendum if you are from a visa exempt country, without a PR card you may have difficulty boarding a flight to Canada on a one-way ticket.

PMM