Entering Canada for the first time with unsigned COPR by land

[danyalejandro]

Hello, we are a couple of permanent residents traveling from South America to Canada vía the US with our 2 year old daughter (the 3 of us have EEUU tourism visas).

We noticed it would be much cheaper for our family to fly to Seattle and drive to Vancouver than to fly directly to Canada. However, our daughter just got her COPR and this would be her first time entering Canada (we are both landed PRs but our daughter was born in South America).

Can we enter Canada by driving from Seattle to Vancouver and get our daughter's COPR signed at the port of entry? Or is this something we are expected to do only at an airport?

 

[armoured]

Can we enter Canada by driving from Seattle to Vancouver and get our daughter's COPR signed at the port of entry? Or is this something we are expected to do only at an airport?

You can do this at most ports of entry, but hours may be limited at smaller ones/limited for some services

You can check here:
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/do-rb/services/hwyb-autof-eng.html

Click the port of entry there and it provides information and hours for the services, you're interested in 'travellers.'

The language there is strange, but my understanding is that 'travellers office hours' is what you need for each port of entry. Eg at Abbottsford it is 24 hours, at Aldergrove it is 8 am to midnight. Some are 9 to 5.

The paragraph at some ports of entry about "Hours for processing ... applications for individuals that reside in Canada and travel to the United States for the sole purpose of returning to Canada" should, I think, be ignored - this is not about travellers coming from abroad, but for those leaving Canada in order to return immediately - i.e. just for the adminsitrative 'stamp', sometimes called flagpoling - and CBSA/IRCC is trying to discourage that.

If in doubt, you can try contacting them.

 

[canuck78]

Hello, we are a couple of permanent residents traveling from South America to Canada vía the US with our 2 year old daughter (the 3 of us have EEUU tourism visas).

We noticed it would be much cheaper for our family to fly to Seattle and drive to Vancouver than to fly directly to Canada. However, our daughter just got her COPR and this would be her first time entering Canada (we are both landed PRs but our daughter was born in South America).

Can we enter Canada by driving from Seattle to Vancouver and get our daughter's COPR signed at the port of entry? Or is this something we are expected to do only at an airport?

Unless you returned to your home country briefly on vacation as a PR you had to live in Canada to sponsor your child. Were you living in Canada when you sponsored your child? This issue could be brought up at the border. Are you compliant with your RO?