In this regard, remember that an entry stamp to a country other than Canada does not conclusively prove when an individual exited Canada (even though in fact that day, or the day before, was when the individual exited Canada) unless there is something to show the individual just came from Canada.
I am wondering if this a generic statement. When a person crosses in U.S. from Canada by road or at any of the pre-clearance airport in Canada, isn't is a given that the person was in Canada? I can understand this reasoning when person travels directly to another country not via U.S. Sorry, I am asking this because, I am trying to understand if this how IRCC also interpret it?
A Canadian PR's entry into the U.S. when exiting Canada is captured and stored by U.S. authorities, and ordinarily this is a record which CBSA and IRCC can either directly access, or at least readily access with minimal effort (which is soon to become true even for Canadian citizens), through a shared data program between the countries. This is effectively a record of exiting Canada. U.S. likewise utilizes entries into Canada from the U.S. as a record of exits from the U.S.
No passport stamp necessary or even involved.
Otherwise, the observation I made refers to the
FACT that a passport stamp for an entry into another country typically does
NOT show anything about where the traveler was prior to arrival in that country, let alone prove which country the PR left or when. This is not about how a CBSA or IRCC officer will interpret any particular stamp in a PR's passport. This is not about government policy. It is about the fact that an entry stamp does
NOT so much as indicate, let alone purport to show, let alone prove, which country the traveler came from. Let alone the date the PR left Canada.
Nonetheless, many PRs tend to rely on entry stamps in other countries to document the date they left Canada.
This does not ignore the role such entry stamps may have as
evidence of travel dates. This alludes to a key part of my observation, which in effect distinguishes what might be inferred from the evidence of such a stamp, versus the clear fact that
an entry stamp does "NOT conclusively prove" when an individual left Canada.
In terms of weighing what evidence will be sufficient to prove when an applicant left Canada, that involves considering other information and evidence, weighing this or that particular part in context with all the other information. Thus, while an entry stamp does not prove the date of exit from Canada, it is nonetheless evidence which in combination with other evidence may tend to document and ultimately prove the date of exit from Canada.
It is important, for those
on-the-cusp or
cutting-it-close, those who have a higher risk for elevated scrutiny and facing a potentially skeptical officer, to be aware that what almost always suffices in the easy case might not necessarily be enough in a close case, in a tougher case.
In any event, of course IRCC and CBSA will (should) generally conclude that what a stamp shows is true (at least in the absence of fraud or such). But typically the entry stamp shows no more than entry into that country. Any inferences beyond that will necessarily depend on a lot of other information.
NOTE: recent reports suggest that if a PoE officer in Secondary is concerned about a PR's admissibility, relative to compliance with the PR RO, these days it appears likely the PR/traveler will be asked to complete a
Residency Questionnaire, which means the PR will provide answers in writing about address and work history as well as travel dates, while there in the PoE. It is not clear to what extent the PR is then questioned about the details in the questionnaire. In this scenario, a bare date of exit based on an entry stamp into another country, without other corroborating information, is at risk for being questioned or even outright challenged. And of course even assuming the PR left Canada on that date, that does not necessarily document how long the PR was in Canada before that. (See other discussions about when or why a PR might not get the benefit of an inference he or she was in Canada from the last reported date of entry into Canada until the next reported date of exit.)
PRs who have been abroad for longer than a year (perhaps longer for a PR within the first three years of landing), and the longer the more so, should be prepared to provide detailed information to corroborate their assertions about time in Canada, in case they are subject to a Residency Questionnaire upon their next arrival in Canada. Something to show their address or employment when they were in Canada.
