I'll try to make this as un-confusing as possible...
I am a US citizen from Seattle, and I travel often. I just returned to Seattle last night from two months in South America, and happily found my CoPR waiting in my stack of mail.
My expiration date is April 26.
Because I had no idea when I might hear back from CIC, I had already made some additional travel plans for the coming months. Next week I will head to France - The trip which was originally envisioned to last until the end of April, but now I will probably come back around mid April, so that I have time to get organized before my April 26 deadline to "land" as a PR. As crazy as it may sound (and certainly it must sound sacrilegious on this forum), I'm not actually 100% sure that I will follow through with immigrating to Canada (my girlfriend and I broke up since I submitted my application), so I plan to give myself these 6 weeks in France to think about it a lot and make a final decision. For that reason, I plan to "land" as a PR between April 15 and April 26, rather than during this next week. However, I'm hoping to fly to Europe from YVR rather than from Seattle, both to visit friends in Squamish briefly, and also because airline tickets are currently cheaper from YVR than from SEA. So, that leads me to my first specific question:
1) If I travel to Canada via a land border right now, having already received my CoPR, but not having yet "landed" as a PR, can I cross the border just as a normal US tourist, or is it somehow complicated by the fact that my CoPR has already been issued? Similarly, when I land back in YVR after 6 weeks in France, can I enter Canada as a normal US tourist, despite the fact that I've already been issued a CoPR?
Next, I also already have plans to travel to Alaska for the month of May. If I follow through with landing as a PR between April 15 and April 26, I'm concerned that immediately leaving Canada for a month might complicate things somehow. My understanding is that the process of sending me a permanent resident card starts when I "land" as a PR, and looking online just now, it seems that average processing time is currently 39 days. I've read that if re-entering Canada on a commercial vehicle I need my permanent resident card with me, but obviously I wouldn't have it before departing for Alaska. However, I would probably drive from Squamish to Seattle, and fly to Alaska out of Seattle (cheapest flights, and it's a short drive), so I would be re-entering Canada in my own vehicle at a land border. So, to make my question as clear as possible:
2) If I re-enter Canada in my own vehicle at a land border having already landed as a PR, but not yet having received my PR card, would there be any problems?
Lastly, rather than import my current vehicle into Canada (it's a junker), I think it makes more sense to sell my US vehicle and buy one in Canada. However, I might not have to deal with selling and buying a vehicle right when I'm "landing" as a PR. So, my question is:
3) If I "land" as a PR at a land border in my own vehicle, is it necessary to import my vehicle right then, or can I tell the border agents that I'll be driving the car back into the US shortly, and not importing it? Do you think they would have any problems with that?
P.S. Don't worry, I know about the residency requirements for maintaining permanent residency... I'll cut back on the travel if I follow through with all this!
Thanks a whole bunch to whoever might have solid answers to these questions - I appreciate it!
Colin
I am a US citizen from Seattle, and I travel often. I just returned to Seattle last night from two months in South America, and happily found my CoPR waiting in my stack of mail.
My expiration date is April 26.Because I had no idea when I might hear back from CIC, I had already made some additional travel plans for the coming months. Next week I will head to France - The trip which was originally envisioned to last until the end of April, but now I will probably come back around mid April, so that I have time to get organized before my April 26 deadline to "land" as a PR. As crazy as it may sound (and certainly it must sound sacrilegious on this forum), I'm not actually 100% sure that I will follow through with immigrating to Canada (my girlfriend and I broke up since I submitted my application), so I plan to give myself these 6 weeks in France to think about it a lot and make a final decision. For that reason, I plan to "land" as a PR between April 15 and April 26, rather than during this next week. However, I'm hoping to fly to Europe from YVR rather than from Seattle, both to visit friends in Squamish briefly, and also because airline tickets are currently cheaper from YVR than from SEA. So, that leads me to my first specific question:
1) If I travel to Canada via a land border right now, having already received my CoPR, but not having yet "landed" as a PR, can I cross the border just as a normal US tourist, or is it somehow complicated by the fact that my CoPR has already been issued? Similarly, when I land back in YVR after 6 weeks in France, can I enter Canada as a normal US tourist, despite the fact that I've already been issued a CoPR?
Next, I also already have plans to travel to Alaska for the month of May. If I follow through with landing as a PR between April 15 and April 26, I'm concerned that immediately leaving Canada for a month might complicate things somehow. My understanding is that the process of sending me a permanent resident card starts when I "land" as a PR, and looking online just now, it seems that average processing time is currently 39 days. I've read that if re-entering Canada on a commercial vehicle I need my permanent resident card with me, but obviously I wouldn't have it before departing for Alaska. However, I would probably drive from Squamish to Seattle, and fly to Alaska out of Seattle (cheapest flights, and it's a short drive), so I would be re-entering Canada in my own vehicle at a land border. So, to make my question as clear as possible:
2) If I re-enter Canada in my own vehicle at a land border having already landed as a PR, but not yet having received my PR card, would there be any problems?
Lastly, rather than import my current vehicle into Canada (it's a junker), I think it makes more sense to sell my US vehicle and buy one in Canada. However, I might not have to deal with selling and buying a vehicle right when I'm "landing" as a PR. So, my question is:
3) If I "land" as a PR at a land border in my own vehicle, is it necessary to import my vehicle right then, or can I tell the border agents that I'll be driving the car back into the US shortly, and not importing it? Do you think they would have any problems with that?
P.S. Don't worry, I know about the residency requirements for maintaining permanent residency... I'll cut back on the travel if I follow through with all this!
Thanks a whole bunch to whoever might have solid answers to these questions - I appreciate it!
Colin
