COPR and coronavirus
- Thread starter zeus89
- Start date
This is SO helpful given so many of us are planning our travel to Canada. Your post couldn't come at a better time, thank you for being so detailed! And congrats!Hi All,
Long post alert !!
Sharing my experience on landing in Toronto ,Canada first time- CoPR holder from USA.
PR received before 18 March 2020.
Route- Chicago - Toronto
We were not able to get the boarding pass online so we did it at the airport and the staff asked us our purpose of travel to Canada and why are we travelling two days prior to the expiry of the PR. We just said we are landing for the first time and we have a valid PR and we showed the mail from IRCC which stated we are eligible to travel. But still she was not very convinced and took around 20 mins to go through various rules on her system. She asked our travel plans back to US and we said we do not have plans to return and then after some 10 mins she gave us the boarding pass. Before boarding the flight a form with general health questions was given and need to be filled and handed over to the airline agent before boarding.
We landed in Toronto by noon.
Immigration :
1) As soon as we enter the terminal we were asked to fill a form with our name,purpose of visit, date of landing and airbnb address ( quarantine address) details for the next 14 days. We were asked to give this form at the immigration counter.
2) Then we went to the kiosk and filled our details and answered basic questions on purpose of visit,security protocol questions etc. and scanned our passports and declared food items and fruits that we had. A receipt with our photo was generated with all the mentioned details.
3) Next stop was a counter where an officer asked what kind of food items we carry, purpose of visit and quarantine plan.She checked our COPR,the kiosk receipt, our passport and wrote a code on the receipt and asked us to go to the immigration counter. Before entering the counter we were asked to drop the form (point 1) in a box.
4) There were 5 people before us and when our turn came we gave the kiosk receipt, COPR, passport to the IO. She asked us the below ques:
a) Purpose of visit - New PR holders Landing for first time.
b) Quarantine plan - Have booked a private airbnb basement with private entrance, kitchen and restroom. No part of the house is shared.
c) Plan for food and medicines - We have some basic food with us and we have ordered grocery delivery to the airbnb address as well. For medicines we have basic medicine with us and in case if we need we will order it online as well.
d) Plan after quarantine - We have some house visits scheduled to rent and we will start applying for jobs as well post quarantine.
e) Any other dependents - No.
f) Address to which PR card need to be sent - We filled our friend's address on the IRCC copy of the COPR.
The IO asked us to be seated and after five mins she called us and asked us to sign the COPR ( both copy) and stamped the passports and congratulated us on becoming the PR of Canada and she signed the COPR ( both copy ) as well. She took the IRCC copy which had our photos on it and gave us the client copy.
Informed PR card will take four months to be delivered and we can apply for SIN online and health card once the service canada opens and we need to wait for 3 months before applying for health card. Asked us to be on quarantine for next 14 days and informed that if we leave the country then we need PR card to enter else we need to apply for PRTD visa. She asked us if we plan to leave Canada and we said nope we are settling in and we have goods to follow list with us. She directed us to the Customs dept.
Customs :
1) I had four copy each for Goods accompanying and goods to follow and pics of Gold jewels as well.
2) The officer stamped the forms and the pics and checked the line item of gold jewels and verified it with attached pics.
3) Gave us a printed bill with the total value of goods to follow and asked us to give a copy of that to the transport company when they cross the land border with our goods.
If you have everything ready then its a simple process. You can have a normal handwritten copy or you can take a print of the form online and fill the columns with the goods and the value. I did both to be on a safer side and the officer was curious to know why I did that
Quarantine :
We booked Uber to the airbnb address and did not stop anywhere on the way. The owner of airbnb left us some grocery, a small bag of rice and ready to eat stuff as well near our entrance
Linking PR application to CIC Profile :
Was able to link my PR application with the CIC profile but was unable to do it for my husband (dependent) though we gave all the details properly. Have raised a webform so will keep updated if there are any improvements.
Phone Number :
We ordered Koodo Prepaid SIM and took the basic plan since we needed a local number.
Post - Quarantine :
Opened two bank accounts with credit card - One for me (Scotia Bank) and one for my husband (CIBC) for address proof purpose for SIN. In Scotia they asked me if I have any Canada address proof and I showed my Friend's bank statement and they asked us if we have one in our name. It was not logical since we were in quarantine for 14 days but we had the billing address of Koodo mobile in our name and it had my friend's Canada address. So we showed that and he accepted that. In CIBC no address proof was asked but they asked us the current address alone ( Gave the friend's address).
SIN Application :
Applied SIN for both of us with COPR, Passport and Bank statement which had our name and Canada address.
Thank u all for helping me in this process.
In these evolving times one must travel to settle in Canada or delay the travelling. We are not sure what would be next updates from IRCC if they noticed that people are travelling for short durations. Things can go either way in your favour or against you. You can do any job there at Best Buy, Wallmart, Esso, Costco etc. for sustaining yourself till the time you don't find a job related to your skillset.
We got mails like 3-4 mails from the Canada govt and health Dept. I guess the checks are random. We drop the address with quarantine details in a box before going into the immigration counter so I guess they pick from that box (just my guess not sure if they have any systematic tracking). But some ppl said they had random checks to their place and they received phone calls. We didn’t have a local number so we didn’t get any calls.
To add to my response the airbnb we stayed had street view cam and door front cam and most of the houses or hotels will have them (went to a friends place after 14 days and most of the houses had them ) ... so even if someone books airbnb for 14 days and then checkouts after one week they can be tracked easily.The place we stayed had zero COVID cases so for instance there is an increase in cases of COVID in a particular place or a sudden spike of new cases the Govt can see ppl have moved recently then it’s easy to track them.
Everything can be ordered online and delivered to your place. The airbnb owner we had was very accommodating and asked us to let them know if we need anything.
So why take unnecessary risk? Binge watched two series on Netflix and completed a story book too in the 14 days
People who recently traveled to Canada to settle permanently, but had to travel out of country for a short duration for any reason before PR card was delivered, what are their options? Are they arranging for some relative/friend to receive the PR card and post it to them? Can anyone respond please?
Thanks for sharing, quick reference for ppl planning travel in next couple of days!!Hi All,
Long post alert !!
Sharing my experience on landing in Toronto ,Canada first time- CoPR holder from USA.
PR received before 18 March 2020.
Route- Chicago - Toronto
We were not able to get the boarding pass online so we did it at the airport and the staff asked us our purpose of travel to Canada and why are we travelling two days prior to the expiry of the PR. We just said we are landing for the first time and we have a valid PR and we showed the mail from IRCC which stated we are eligible to travel. But still she was not very convinced and took around 20 mins to go through various rules on her system. She asked our travel plans back to US and we said we do not have plans to return and then after some 10 mins she gave us the boarding pass. Before boarding the flight a form with general health questions was given and need to be filled and handed over to the airline agent before boarding.
We landed in Toronto by noon.
Immigration :
1) As soon as we enter the terminal we were asked to fill a form with our name,purpose of visit, date of landing and airbnb address ( quarantine address) details for the next 14 days. We were asked to give this form at the immigration counter.
2) Then we went to the kiosk and filled our details and answered basic questions on purpose of visit,security protocol questions etc. and scanned our passports and declared food items and fruits that we had. A receipt with our photo was generated with all the mentioned details.
3) Next stop was a counter where an officer asked what kind of food items we carry, purpose of visit and quarantine plan.She checked our COPR,the kiosk receipt, our passport and wrote a code on the receipt and asked us to go to the immigration counter. Before entering the counter we were asked to drop the form (point 1) in a box.
4) There were 5 people before us and when our turn came we gave the kiosk receipt, COPR, passport to the IO. She asked us the below ques:
a) Purpose of visit - New PR holders Landing for first time.
b) Quarantine plan - Have booked a private airbnb basement with private entrance, kitchen and restroom. No part of the house is shared.
c) Plan for food and medicines - We have some basic food with us and we have ordered grocery delivery to the airbnb address as well. For medicines we have basic medicine with us and in case if we need we will order it online as well.
d) Plan after quarantine - We have some house visits scheduled to rent and we will start applying for jobs as well post quarantine.
e) Any other dependents - No.
f) Address to which PR card need to be sent - We filled our friend's address on the IRCC copy of the COPR.
The IO asked us to be seated and after five mins she called us and asked us to sign the COPR ( both copy) and stamped the passports and congratulated us on becoming the PR of Canada and she signed the COPR ( both copy ) as well. She took the IRCC copy which had our photos on it and gave us the client copy.
Informed PR card will take four months to be delivered and we can apply for SIN online and health card once the service canada opens and we need to wait for 3 months before applying for health card. Asked us to be on quarantine for next 14 days and informed that if we leave the country then we need PR card to enter else we need to apply for PRTD visa. She asked us if we plan to leave Canada and we said nope we are settling in and we have goods to follow list with us. She directed us to the Customs dept.
Customs :
1) I had four copy each for Goods accompanying and goods to follow and pics of Gold jewels as well.
2) The officer stamped the forms and the pics and checked the line item of gold jewels and verified it with attached pics.
3) Gave us a printed bill with the total value of goods to follow and asked us to give a copy of that to the transport company when they cross the land border with our goods.
If you have everything ready then its a simple process. You can have a normal handwritten copy or you can take a print of the form online and fill the columns with the goods and the value. I did both to be on a safer side and the officer was curious to know why I did that
Quarantine :
We booked Uber to the airbnb address and did not stop anywhere on the way. The owner of airbnb left us some grocery, a small bag of rice and ready to eat stuff as well near our entrance
Linking PR application to CIC Profile :
Was able to link my PR application with the CIC profile but was unable to do it for my husband (dependent) though we gave all the details properly. Have raised a webform so will keep updated if there are any improvements.
Phone Number :
We ordered Koodo Prepaid SIM and took the basic plan since we needed a local number.
Post - Quarantine :
Opened two bank accounts with credit card - One for me (Scotia Bank) and one for my husband (CIBC) for address proof purpose for SIN. In Scotia they asked me if I have any Canada address proof and I showed my Friend's bank statement and they asked us if we have one in our name. It was not logical since we were in quarantine for 14 days but we had the billing address of Koodo mobile in our name and it had my friend's Canada address. So we showed that and he accepted that. In CIBC no address proof was asked but they asked us the current address alone ( Gave the friend's address).
SIN Application :
Applied SIN for both of us with COPR, Passport and Bank statement which had our name and Canada address.
Thank u all for helping me in this process.
Yes, if you have arrangements in Montreal
True. I also hope for the same.
If u are leaving the country without PR then u can ask your relatives or friends to send it to u by post. PR card takes four months to be delivered to the address which we give during the immigration process. If you need to enter the country without PR card then u have to make use of PRTD visa.
Edit - the below applies for returning to Canada by flight at any Canadian Airport:
(for driving in from USA to Canada by road, CoPR or PR Card suffices )
For any landed Permanent Residents returning to Canada, a PR Card is mandatory. Alternative is PRTD (Permanent Residence Travel Document).
Application for PRTD needs to be made in the Consulate General in the local country - e.g. Delhi India for someone living in India. (PRTD is issued in leiu of PR Card being lost stolen etc)
Obviously this implies a processing of PRTD Card, with forms, questions of reasons why the PR is not in possession of the same etc. This can be time consuming (not complicated but simply time consuming), specially during these times of COVID-19 and priority processing with limited staff.
In case the PR Card is received and dispatched internationally by courier / mail, please be mindful that Canada Post does not accept Passports or PR Cards for registered mail or international courier, in my experience. Some folks suggest to send it undeclared but that is unlikely correct as far as rules are concerned. Descretion is highly advised = no need to panic, just take informed decision is all!
Links for PRTD are below:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/application-permanent-resident-travel-document.html
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/coronavirus-covid19/permanent-residents.html
Quoted below from the Official Government Canada.ca website:
If you’re outside Canada and don’t have a valid PR Card
You must apply for Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD) to return to Canada. Normally, you apply for a PRTD at a visa application centre (VAC).
Due to COVID-19, most VACs are closed. Check if your VAC is open and accepts PRTD applications before you apply.
If your VAC is open
If your VAC accepts applications, find out how to apply for a PRTD.
If your VAC is closed or unable to accept PRTD applications
If your VAC is closed, you can submit your application for a PRTD by email.
Follow these steps:
- Read the instruction guide to make sure you prepare a complete application.
- Make electronic copies (scans) of the required documents listed in the Document Checklist (PDF, 1.5 MB)
- Complete and scan the Application for a Permanent Resident Travel Document (IMM 5524) form
- Pay your fees and provide a copy of the receipt.
- If you have it, provide your confirmed flight ticket or itinerary for your travel to Canada that clearly shows:
- your flight number,
- date of travel
- arrival airport in Canada.
- Send the scannedcopy of your application package by email:
- In the subject line, put: “PRTD application: (your name)”
- Send to: IRCC.COVIDPRTD-TVRPCOVID.IRCC@cic.gc.ca
- Find out what to do if your documents are too large
- process applications normally
- provide accurate processing times
You need a valid PR card to return to Canada by plane, train, bus or boat. If you know your card will expire when you’re travelling, renew it before you leave. You can only renew your card in Canada.
You may be eligible for urgent processing.
If you don’t get your new PR card in time
- apply for PRTD once you’re outside Canada
- renew your PR card when you return to Canada
If we approved your permanent residence application on or before March 18, 2020, but you haven’t landed yet, you’re also exempt from the travel restrictions and allowed to come to Canada.
You must have a plan to quarantine for 14 days when you arrive in Canada. This is mandatory, even if you have no symptoms. If you don’t have a plan, you should not travel to Canada.
Find out what to do for your landing appointment or if you have a confirmation of permanent residence (COPR) that’s about to expire.
Last edited:
You are 100% correct! What I mentioned above was for arrival by flight! For arrival into Canada by road from USA, CoPR alongwith a valid passport suffices in absence of a PR Card.
Thanks to your prompt, added an edit to the above!
For PRTD person needs supporting documents as per form imm5627e (document checklist). This could be risky situation if person could not find such documents. No wonder why people choose to send PR card over courier from a known person in Canada.