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Does my US pregnant wife need Permanent Residence Travel Docs to come back?

ja7toronto

Member
Jul 7, 2015
17
0
Hi guys,

My wife who is American received her COPR and landed on April 7, 2016. However, she went back to Chicago 3 days later to go bac to work. The reason she came landed and did not stay was because we found that she is pregnant and wanted to get a head start on our health card and social insurance. Anyways, I have not received her PR card yet and I plan to fly to Chicago and drive back to Canada with her along with some of her belongings(furniture, etc) on May 23, 2016.

Now I have been reading different posts regarding entering back to Canada without a PR card, some people say we need PRTD and some say a US passport is fine can someone clarify this for me?

Thank You!
 

Gary_87

Champion Member
Jan 10, 2013
1,472
55
Victoria, BC
VISA ISSUED...
21-11-2016
LANDED..........
03-04-2017
ja7toronto said:
Hi guys,

My wife who is American received her COPR and landed on April 7, 2016. However, she went back to Chicago 3 days later to go bac to work. The reason she came landed and did not stay was because we found that she is pregnant and wanted to get a head start on our health card and social insurance. Anyways, I have not received her PR card yet and I plan to fly to Chicago and drive back to Canada with her along with some of her belongings(furniture, etc) on May 23, 2016.

Now I have been reading different posts regarding entering back to Canada without a PR card, some people say we need PRTD and some say a US passport is fine can someone clarify this for me?

Thank You!
I cant give you a definitive answer, but responding so this can get a bump.

I actually think a passport will be fine on entry. I think a PR card is mainly required for visa exempt places but I cant be certain.

There are a couple of PR card threads floating around that may be able to answer you better.
 

Decoy24601

Champion Member
Aug 13, 2015
1,511
52
Vancouver, BC
Category........
Visa Office......
Ottawa
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
06-04-2016
AOR Received.
28-04-2016
File Transfer...
SA 27-05-2016
Med's Done....
23-03-2016 Upfront
Interview........
Waived
VISA ISSUED...
07-06-2016
LANDED..........
06-07-2016
Since your wife is from the US and has a visa-exempt passport, using her passport as a travel document should be fine. You can show the CBSA officer both the passport and COPR and that should be fine.
 

CDNPR2014

VIP Member
Mar 1, 2016
3,180
187
Category........
Visa Office......
Ottawa
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
LANDED..........
2014
as Decoy said, your wife does not need a PRTD. that is specifically for those FLYING to canada who need a visa to travel to canada. the PRTD is basically proof for the AIRLINE that the person has the right to travel to canada (this helps prevents the person being denied entry and the airline having to pay for them to go back home).

I would recommend being careful about what advice you follow for your wife unless the advice comes from knowledgeable people on this forum or it is being given by someone who applied for spousal sponsorship as a us citizen (or other visa exempt country). remember, there are different rules for each stream of immigration as well as different rules for those require visas and those who are visa exempt. not everything that other people need to do is relavant to your wife.

US citizens do not need a visa to travel to canada, all they need is their passport to get on a plane. Once you are at immigration, the COPR will prove her status. Since you're driving, it's easier to get through with just the passport and COPR. you won't have any issues with those two documents.
 

carr1

Hero Member
Sep 1, 2014
231
10
Category........
Visa Office......
Ottawa
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
11-08-2015
Doc's Request.
16-02-16 FBI check
AOR Received.
16-09-2015
File Transfer...
27-10-2015
Med's Request
Upfront
Med's Done....
29-05-2015
Passport Req..
2-4-16 DM
VISA ISSUED...
8-4-16 COPR Arrived
LANDED..........
10-4-16 Landed
I landed on April 11 but have crossed the border by car twice since then with no issues. I flew to Mexico and back with no issues.
At the border they just look at my US passport with my COPR stapled in it and let me through with no extra questions or issues.
 

jomz

Hero Member
May 3, 2011
723
52
ja7toronto said:
Hi guys,

My wife who is American received her COPR and landed on April 7, 2016. However, she went back to Chicago 3 days later to go bac to work. The reason she came landed and did not stay was because we found that she is pregnant and wanted to get a head start on our health card and social insurance. Anyways, I have not received her PR card yet and I plan to fly to Chicago and drive back to Canada with her along with some of her belongings(furniture, etc) on May 23, 2016.

Now I have been reading different posts regarding entering back to Canada without a PR card, some people say we need PRTD and some say a US passport is fine can someone clarify this for me?

Thank You!
Based on the fact that she is/will be absent from Ontario for more than 30 days in the initial residency requirement it is likely She will not get Ohip coverage after 3 months counting from April 7th. Not sure how much they check before issuing. When I was applying for Ohip after living in another province they required that I prove that I was in Ontario during the waiting period (this was back in 2010) maybe they don't check now. Not sure.

Anyways, here's the link. See around middle of page for residency requirement.

http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/public/publications/ohip/ohip_eligibility.aspx