Do they still stamp the passport on arrival

[NSBoy902]

REcently, they did not stamp my passport. Good thing I realized it. I told the officer to stamp it so he did.

 

[Suin]

Dude i just provided you full details "IN WRITING ONLY"

In written form - you mean to send it to them by mail or fax?

 

[OKK]

In written form - you mean to send it to them by mail or fax?

BY MAIL ONLY

 

[OKK]

And before you ask where the address is already provided on the top of the sample letter

 

[tintinto]

I noticed recently that they have stopped stamping my passport since those machines came in. Last time I came through
Pearson I decided to go back to the officers and ask for the stamp. They basically refused and said its no longer required and that its all electronically tracked now. This makes sense since newer applications also have the option to allow cic to check the cbsa record directly, however, I don't recall if my application had that option when I applied so I am a bit concerned. I guess I should request the report myself just in case.

 

[Mona_Barca]

BY MAIL ONLY

OKK

Actually, what you have said is incorrect; you can make the request by email. I did mine on June 10, 2013 by email and I have received it few days ago. I sent an email first to CBSA asking them about the process of the request and below is their response with respect to mailing or emailing the request.

"Please send it to the following address.
Canada Border Services AgencyAccess to Information and Privacy Coordinator
410 Laurier Avenue West,
10th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0L8

You may also send your request electronically by e-mailing a scanned copy of the signed form to this address as per the instructions above.

Please note we do NOT track exit information from Canada."

Please use the following email to send your request: ATIP.AIPRP2@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca

Thanks

 

[Mona_Barca]

Thank you so much , can I request it online like the ATIP/ GCMS ?

Yes, you can!

 

[OKK]

Thank You for correcting me i was told otherwise and that was by CBSA too.

 

[asbereth]

Is there really no way at all to track exits from Canada?

How about people who have to report to CBSA if they are given less than six months upon entry as a visitor? I heard that these people would have to tell the CBSA at the day they're leaving. Do these people get their passports stamped? Couldn't the PR's have done the same thing (reporting to CBSA at the date of departure)?

Also, I've been thinking a bit on ways to prove residence. What if, say, I entered Canada two years ago (which will be recorded on their system), and use a health card, say, today.

If there had been no entry in between these two times, wouldn't it mean I have stayed continuously in Canada for two years?

I mean, if I use my health card today, then it has to mean that I am in Canada today, and if there had been no entry within the past two years, then I couldn't have left, right?

The question is this then, if I use (or swipe) my health card, shouldn't that be a definite proof that I stay in Canada between the date of the entry and the day I use my health card?

 

[OKK]

Is there really no way at all to track exits from Canada?

How about people who have to report to CBSA if they are given less than six months upon entry as a visitor? I heard that these people would have to tell the CBSA at the day they're leaving. Do these people get their passports stamped? Couldn't the PR's have done the same thing (reporting to CBSA at the date of departure)?

Also, I've been thinking a bit on ways to prove residence. What if, say, I entered Canada two years ago (which will be recorded on their system), and use a health card, say, today.

If there had been no entry in between these two times, wouldn't it mean I have stayed continuously in Canada for two years?

I mean, if I use my health card today, then it has to mean that I am in Canada today, and if there had been no entry within the past two years, then I couldn't have left, right?

The question is this then, if I use (or swipe) my health card, shouldn't that be a definite proof that I stay in Canada between the date of the entry and the day I use my health card?

The flight manifesto is provided to CBSA from all the airlines so YES they do know who is exiting that goes for everyone not just visitors however the people with conditional entries like you indicated YES they have notify CBSA. FYI NO PASSPORTS GET STAMPED UPON EXIT IN CANADA, as the country you are traveling to will stamp your entry so that proves your exit out of here however there are plenty of countries who do stamp exit and entry but NOT CANADA but that doesn't mean that CBSA have no record of people who are exiting. As i mentioned earlier all the flight manifesto are provided to CBSA regardless the flight is inbound or out bound but CBSA will never provide you with the exit history as your passport entry stamps from another country proves your exit.
Same like its very common for CBSA not to stamp your passport on arrival (that had happened to me) again its nothing to worry about its a very common mistake. As long as your record is in their systems its not a problem more over your exit stamps from other countries proves your entry.
Now you health card idea. Whenever a RQ is issued by CIC the primary two things they ask for is PCH (PERSONAL CLAIM HISTORY) from health Canada and your CBSA traveler history. According to new application forms you don't have to provide CBSA traveler history as they have access to it now after you giving them permissions but you still have to provide PCH. That was the reason this RQ came into place for people who have no record of living if thats the case then you will be providing them with phone bills, credit card bills, bank statements, pay stubs, notice of assessments from revenue Canada etc etc for the entire period.
It surely is possible that a healthy person had no need to visit a doctor in 2 years (which to me is kind of strange you must be a super human) however you must have other proof of your residence in Canada.

 

[asbereth]

The flight manifesto is provided to CBSA from all the airlines so YES they do know who is exiting that goes for everyone not just visitors however the people with conditional entries like you indicated YES they have notify CBSA. FYI NO PASSPORTS GET STAMPED UPON EXIT IN CANADA, as the country you are traveling to will stamp your entry so that proves your exit out of here however there are plenty of countries who do stamp exit and entry but NOT CANADA but that doesn't mean that CBSA have no record of people who are exiting. As i mentioned earlier all the flight manifesto are provided to CBSA regardless the flight is inbound or out bound but CBSA will never provide you with the exit history as your passport entry stamps from another country proves your exit.
Same like its very common for CBSA not to stamp your passport on arrival (that had happened to me) again its nothing to worry about its a very common mistake. As long as your record is in their systems its not a problem more over your exit stamps from other countries proves your entry.
Now you health card idea. Whenever a RQ is issued by CIC the primary two things they ask for is PCH (PERSONAL CLAIM HISTORY) from health Canada and your CBSA traveler history. According to new application forms you don't have to provide CBSA traveler history as they have access to it now after you giving them permissions but you still have to provide PCH. That was the reason this RQ came into place for people who have no record of living if thats the case then you will be providing them with phone bills, credit card bills, bank statements, pay stubs, notice of assessments from revenue Canada etc etc for the entire period.
It surely is possible that a healthy person had no need to visit a doctor in 2 years (which to me is kind of strange you must be a super human) however you must have other proof of your residence in Canada.

Yeah, but I believe a lot of countries, too, do not stamp entry to their own citizens, so just relying on exit and entry stamps of different countries may not be enough (since your own country may not even give you entry stamp much less exit, and CBSA would definitely not have any access to their systems).

I was thinking more about more definite absolute proof of your residence in Canada, since passport stamps alone cannot be relied upon. The health card idea comes about due to the fact that, when you swipe the card, it has to be you yourself and you have to be present in Canada. Credit card and telephone bills are not strong enough as proof since you can easily have your relatives or friends use them on your behalf; even lease agreement, electricity and utilities bills, full-time attendance of schools, library memberships would not be definite proofs of your residence in Canada. If you work full-time, that could too be a definite proof, though you probably need to convince immigration that your employer won't allow you to work from home.

It doesn't have to be a single swipe, any swipe of health card would definitely prove that you are in the country from the date of last entry to the time it is swiped. For example, if your last record of entry happenned on January 2012, and the last time you swiped your health card was back on June 2013, then if there had been no record of entry between January 2012 and June 2013, shouldn't it prove, beyond any doubt, that you have been residing in Canada from Jan 2012 to June 2013 continuously without break (if you have left and come back, then there must be a record of entry in between)?

 

[EasyRider]

Yeah, but I believe a lot of countries, too, do not stamp entry to their own citizens, so just relying on exit and entry stamps of different countries may not be enough (since your own country may not even give you entry stamp much less exit, and CBSA would definitely not have any access to their systems).

I was thinking more about more definite absolute proof of your residence in Canada, since passport stamps alone cannot be relied upon. The health card idea comes about due to the fact that, when you swipe the card, it has to be you yourself and you have to be present in Canada. Credit card and telephone bills are not strong enough as proof since you can easily have your relatives or friends use them on your behalf; even lease agreement, electricity and utilities bills, full-time attendance of schools, library memberships would not be definite proofs of your residence in Canada. If you work full-time, that could too be a definite proof, though you probably need to convince immigration that your employer won't allow you to work from home.

It doesn't have to be a single swipe, any swipe of health card would definitely prove that you are in the country from the date of last entry to the time it is swiped. For example, if your last record of entry happenned on January 2012, and the last time you swiped your health card was back on June 2013, then if there had been no record of entry between January 2012 and June 2013, shouldn't it prove, beyond any doubt, that you have been residing in Canada from Jan 2012 to June 2013 continuously without break (if you have left and come back, then there must be a record of entry in between)?

That's why RQ has so many documents and response is assessed in a story context as a whole on balance of probabilities. Unfortunately, there's no easy way around it and it gives CIC powers to steer interpretation sometimes.

Not everybody is doctor goer.

 

[asbereth]

That's why RQ has so many documents and response is assessed in a story context as a whole on balance of probabilities. Unfortunately, there's no easy way around it and it gives CIC powers to steer interpretation sometimes.

Not everybody is doctor goer.

Ya, I suppose now everybody should go to the doctor after (and before) a long trip abroad, as some sort of a trick to prove definite residency

And while applying for citizenship, it's probably not a bad idea either to provide PCH and CBSA travel history, even if one is not requested RQ. If only Canada has exit checks, these things would never be a problem, and citizenship applications can be handled in matter of weeks rather than years the way they are handled now (since all they have to do is just review the entry and exit history of the applicant).

I sometimes think that the Canadian government is purposefully making citizenship applications really long to make sure that PR's stay and establish ties in the country, but not having exit checks has led to thousands of fraudulent citizenship applications and residency claims.

 

[andriy155]

Ya, I suppose now everybody should go to the doctor after (and before) a long trip abroad, as some sort of a trick to prove definite residency

And while applying for citizenship, it's probably not a bad idea either to provide PCH and CBSA travel history, even if one is not requested RQ. If only Canada has exit checks, these things would never be a problem, and citizenship applications can be handled in matter of weeks rather than years the way they are handled now.

I sometimes think that the Canadian government is purposefully making citizenship applications really long to make sure that PR's stay and establish ties in the country, but not having exit checks has led to thousands of fraudulent citizenship applications and residency claims.

Hmm, I have been living in Canada for 11 years now. Have been to a doctor three times. For the reference period of my citizenship application, I have been to a doctor only once last year. I am sure, not everyone visits doctor frequently.

 

[asbereth]

Hmm, I have been living in Canada for 11 years now. Have been to a doctor three times. For the reference period of my citizenship application, I have been to a doctor only once last year. I am sure, not everyone visits doctor frequently.

Yeah. I too have been in Canada for 4 years, and can count the number of times I visited medical doctors with just one hand. I got my OHIP card last October, and have never used it.

I have just been thinking of a way to definitely prove residency (besides having a full-time job with rigid 9-6 schedule), and it seems to me that, every time you swipe your health card, you prove a continuous residency from the last time you entered Canada (since it was recorded), and the time your health card was swiped or used.