COPR and coronavirus

[tagarzain555]

This question has been asked before on this forum and a poster was going to ask CBSA specifically. The issue is that once you complete immigration/customs formalities you exit into the arrivals hall and then have to go the departures level to checkin for your return flight so in effect you are entering the country. Unlike a connecting flight where you could stay airside in your case the return is a completely separate flight.

Canadian government has also implemented an essential travel poilcy and whilst immigration is on the list of exemptions not clear how they will react to same day or one day soft landings as far as the quarantine rule is concerned. Common sense says it should not be an issue same day but the trouble is that you will always have an individual who says they will checkin straight away but then has time for an excursion outside of the airport so not so easy to police.

Not sure anyone has an answer or of course whether the 14 day rule would be relaxed by May.

As for airlines still running as you may be aware they are, BA for example, parking more and more planes ,potentially laying off pilots/crew so who knows what flights will be flying over next few months if simply not viable load wise. IRCC have published various guidance for people with travel issues but as often usual with IRCC the language often vague as opposed to outright saying anyone with COPR expiring next 3 months do not worry

Not anytime sooner since cases are increasing day by day. And would increase in upcoming days, 14 days isolation policy wont be taken back unless Covid is completely eliminated. This is quite obvious and one shouldn't have second thoughts about it.

 

[Bs65]

Just land, no one who except those who specifically cannot land because of a travel ban in their country of origin will get an extension.

I did it recently, it's not so bad.

Guess that will apply to just about every country in world then as well as those countries whose airlines are no longer flying due to lack of demand. Granted there will be those who have let their COPrs expire for other reasons but doubt IRCC will spend a lot of time looking for those even though people might expect them to. Then again everything is speculation on what IRCC may or may not do.

 

[Bs65]

Not anytime sooner since cases are increasing day by day. And would increase in upcoming days, 14 days isolation policy wont be taken back unless Covid is completely eliminated. This is quite obvious and one shouldn't have second thoughts about it.

Do not disagree but this comes back to lack of clarity from IRCC re COPRs that expire between now and end June hence daily posts on here from people that are not convinced they will get an extension or at least have no issues through end June , the current emergency order expiry date which could be extended anyway

So people like the OP are still insisting on a soft landing either same day or less then 14 days but having trouble in understanding moment leave the customs hall you are in the country therefore taking the guidelines literally subject to mandatory quarantine as they should be.

 

[Soph971]

If you are planning your initial PR landing you should assume you will need to allow at least 3 hours at Toronto Your first POE where you must complete immigration formalities.. Even 1 hour without completing a PR landing is likely a challenge to get through immigration and customs.

Given not many people may be travelling over next few months process at POE may be shorter but no way to predict .

Ok - thanks for getting back to me. I have managed to change my flight and extended the transit to 3 hours. Hopefully this will help in worst case scenario .. I will miss the flight and need to figure out next steps from then.

 

[Bellwells]

Hi, my COPR was issued on 17 march 2020. It previously stated only COPR issued 16 March and earlier are exempt but in this update it says 18 march. Can I confirm that if I wanted to (unlikely soon), I am able to land? Any help appreciated https://www.canada.ca/.../corona.../permanent-residents.html

 

[Sweta_mahi]

As an fyi some folks who filled the web form requesting extension have heard back from IRCC. However I only received an acknowledgement from them, stating that my request is under processing and an officer will let me know. I had written on 11 March, while the acknowledgement was sent on 17 March. My Mom's PRV expires mid-May..so still have some time.

I would want to avoid going through medicals again...firstly the the process might be about 6 moths or so and moreover, we dont know how safe it will be to engage in medical services back there.

Hi
my parents copr will expire on mid may. And i dont want them to travel at this pointof time it will be risk.

ReProcessing of medicals and all it is time taking process more than 6 months.
Did you request for couple of months copr extension?
please let me know if you hear back
Thanks

 

[Bs65]

Ok - thanks for getting back to me. I have managed to change my flight and extended the transit to 3 hours. Hopefully this will help in worst case scenario .. I will miss the flight and need to figure out next steps from then.

If you are on the same airline or with a through ticket generally airlines will rebook the connection even more likely given the current situation, assuming they maintain a schedule that is . Just there was no point in starting off with a transit time impossible to make an often failing in airline booking systems despite them also often quoting minimum connection times on their websites.

Contact the airline anyway just so that you get some reassurance.

Good luck

 

[Islander216]

Guess that will apply to just about every country in world then as well as those countries whose airlines are no longer flying due to lack of demand. Granted there will be those who have let their COPrs expire for other reasons but doubt IRCC will spend a lot of time looking for those even though people might expect them to. Then again everything is speculation on what IRCC may or may not do.

iRCC will ensure you have a valid reason to ask for an extension. The only valid reason is that you cannot travel because of travel restrictions in your own country, not because of the travel ban in Canada, because most people who need to land soon will be exempt.

This needs to be very clear in people’s minds, you cannot ask for an extension simply because you don’t want to travel. You must have a verifiable travel ban in place in your home country preventing you from travelling, only then will they consider an extension for you. So for example, as there is a travel ban in my home country until 30 April, which was my date of expiry for my docs, i could have requested an extension but i would have had to state that explicitly in the webform..

This is why the person in the US got refused an extension, they know according to the rules that they can land in Canada, and have been able to land for a while now.

People need to be careful, they should not assume they will automatically get an extension because of the situation. It must be because they really cannot travel to Canada.

 

[SWB]

iRCC will ensure you have a valid reason to ask for an extension. The only valid reason is that you cannot travel because of travel restrictions in your own country, not because there of the travel ban in Canada, because most people who need to land soon will be exempt.

This needs to be very clear in people’s minds, you cannot ask for an extension simply because you don’t want to travel. You must have a verifiable travel ban in place in your home country preventing you from travelling, only then will they consider an extension for you. So for example, as there is a travel ban in my home country until 30 April, which was my date of expiry for my docs, i could have requested an extension but i would have had to state thst explicitly in the webform..

This is why the person in the US got refused an extension, they know according to the rules that they can land in Canada, and have been able to land for a while now.

My COPR expires on April 26,2020.our country implemented travel ban on 22 March 2020 till 14 April 2020 as of now.as a result my confirmed air tickets of air Canada on 04 April 2020 have been cancelled .further my Airbnb was also cancelled.now what I want to ask is that since I don't know if travel ban will be lifted I can't get tickets done right now , air Canada has suspended all its flights from Delhi to Toronto for April.no direct connections available, tickets via transit are unsafe plus have transit Visa requirements which is again not possible.Air India is almost 2000 dollars for one side fare per person . I have no family in Canada.self isolation and stocking up essentials before arrival, not using public transportation and chosing a neighborhood without elderly people and vulnerae population are challenges I am facing. Plus risk of infection of travelling with a 5 year old at this time.so that's why I need an extension. Looking forward to some inputs

 

[Soph971]

To add to what you mentioned about insufficient time gap of an hour for the next flight to Ottawa - cannot imagine this being feasible.

But: something else just occurred to me...considering she would have already completed her landing and then proceed to checking for the Toronto Ottawa domestic sector, is there any likelihood of being asked if "have you traveled overseas in the last 14 days" - answer would be yes. Hence isolation applies? which restricts "public space access"?

@Soph971 Please do not let me put you in panic while more experienced members (I am not) might revert. I am only voicing a thought that crossed my mind - I have neither heard this from anyone else, nor do I say that it will happen. I wish you the very best!

By any chance did your airline offer to check your checkin luggage through to Ottawa direct? Finally as Bs65 points out the connection time is short. Very. Suggest amending.

That is a good point. If anyone knows for sure how I should be approahing this please let me know. If I need to self isolate in Toronto before reaching Ottawa I will need to arrange accommodation in Toronto not Ottawa ...I cannot take the risk to only wait to finding out once I land in Toronto...as per the recommendation of Highlander the best is to demonstrate that you have everything thoroughly thought through and arranged at the time you speak to the immigration officer

If you are on the same airline or with a through ticket generally airlines will rebook the connection even more likely given the current situation, assuming they maintain a schedule that is . Just there was no point in starting off with a transit time impossible to make an often failing in airline booking systems despite them also often quoting minimum connection times on their websites.

Contact the airline anyway just so that you get some reassurance.

Good luck

I agree and hope that the 3 hours will be enough to do my POE landing (and if not that it would still be possible to board a later flight on the same day of my arrival in Toronto). I also confirm that I should not need to do the checking of my luggages again for the second flight (from Toronto to Ottawa). This should be done directly by the airlline "Air Canada" . My understanding is that I will land in Toronto Terminal 1 and I would only need to get on time to the gate for the second flight to Ottawa in (Toronto Terminal 1 too).

I cannot recall if it was you but I also saw another comment suggesting that I may not be able to board the second flight from Toronto to Ottawa on that same day. The very valid point raised was that after landing in Toronto from London on that day, I could be considered as being in the case of boarding a Canadian inland flight while having been in an international country within less than 14 days (which I is currently prohibited).

FYI, initially, I had purchased a direct flight London, UK to Ottawa but this was since amended by air canada and led to having the flight itinary requiring a stop and transit in Toronto (but without the need for me to do the re-checking of my luggages although I would be changing plane).

In such scenario, should I indeed expect to do the 14 days isolation in Toronto or would I be allowed to board my second flight to Ottawa and do my isolation in Ottawa?

Could you or/and anyone else confirm their thoughts/ recommendation?

Thank you so much again for your kind support and wishes. I am so glad that such forums exist

 

[Fazzio]

I’ve just received an e-mail from the consulate of Canada in Brazil, which I will share in a moment

 

[Fazzio]

I sent this e-mail to the consulate of Canada in Brazil:


Dear Immigration Officer,

I am writing again to ask if in my case, I could ask for an extension of my COPR. My COPR is going to expire on April 21.

The first time I asked, I received the response that now I am allowed to fly to Canada due to the new exemptions that were announced on March 20 and are now in place. However, traveling right now seems to be unsafe for me and I would not like to put my husband and me at risk unless is the only option to keep our visa status.

Please advise me about what should I do...there is nothing on the CIC website that explain the situation of those who are still able to fly but would not like to take the risk of getting the COVID-19 while in transit to Canada.

I hope to hear from you soon.

——————-
They’ve just replied me:

There will not be any penalty for not being able to travel at the moment. Please submit your further requests or inquiries via Webform: https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/contacts/web-form.asp

Please be advised that depending on the situation, you may need to redo your medical exams. Panel physicians are currently not completing the medical exams, but this won’t impact your

PR application in the long run.



Regards,

Immigration Section/Section d’immigration (01545)

Consulate General of Canada/ Consulat general du Canada

 

[DaChui]

Anyone tried to flagpole recently?

 

[Fazzio]

iRCC will ensure you have a valid reason to ask for an extension. The only valid reason is that you cannot travel because of travel restrictions in your own country, not because of the travel ban in Canada, because most people who need to land soon will be exempt.

This needs to be very clear in people’s minds, you cannot ask for an extension simply because you don’t want to travel. You must have a verifiable travel ban in place in your home country preventing you from travelling, only then will they consider an extension for you. So for example, as there is a travel ban in my home country until 30 April, which was my date of expiry for my docs, i could have requested an extension but i would have had to state that explicitly in the webform..

This is why the person in the US got refused an extension, they know according to the rules that they can land in Canada, and have been able to land for a while now.

People need to be careful, they should not assume they will automatically get an extension because of the situation. It must be because they really cannot travel to Canada.

I’ve just received an e-mail from the consulate and they told me there won’t be any penalty for not being able to fly. I stated that my reason was that I would not like to take the risk of getting the COVID-19 while in transit to Canada.

 

[ryeCatcher]

This is why the person in the US got refused an extension, they know according to the rules that they can land in Canada, and have been able to land for a while now.

Could you please share who get denied an extension? Was that someone who posted here on this forum?