Entering with dual intent questions

[MJSPARV]

Hi All,

My husband is Canadian, I'm American, and our daughter is 12 months and was born in the US. My outland PR application was submitted in January, I have a case number and biometrics request letter. (The baby's citizenship application is also out there somewhere in the wilds of bureaucracy after being submitted in July 2020.) Back before we applied we did a lawyer consult and were assured that the baby and I could almost certainly enter as tourists with dual intent and if need be apply for a visitor visa extension from within Canada, and that all sounded good. Now that my husband has a job that will be starting in mid-May and the prospect of actually talking to a border guard explaining our dual intent is getting closer I am getting nervous. Here is what I am thinking, and I'd appreciate any insight.

1. We will all three be travelling together so that we can quarantine together. I am afraid that this will be a red flag to the border guard that baby and I won't abide by the normal tourist visa rules.

2. We will be sending belongings and I assume we put that and the lease solely in my husband's name.

3. My husband wants to import our family car, I assume that that needs to be done in his name only as well.

4. We will maintain a US address and bank account etc but I won't have a job in the US. Will that raise any red flags?

5. Basically my plan is to say at the border that I've applied for my PR and our daughter's citizenship, and we are coming with him as he repatriates to Canada so that we aren't separated while waiting for the PR/citizenship and are travelling together so that we can quarantine together, and that I understand that the baby and I will have to leave when the tourist visa ends, and that we would have to leave and re-enter if the PR/citizenship came through while we were on the tourist visa. Does that sound good?

Thanks!

 

[armoured]

Small notes:
1) currently they are doing 'virtual landings' so those in-country when COPR comes through don't need to leave and come back. (We don't know how long that will continue. They do not want you to leave and come back during covid for landing purposes only though).

2) I don't believe there should be any question or need for the child to leave and depart. Assuming they accept he is a presumptive Canadian citizen, that is. (Carry copies of the docs you applied with for citizenship, birth certificate with parentage, father's citizenship docs, and the application itself). Not that it bears much on your main question.

The big question: very hard to say whether they will have any issue at border with you entering as a visitor. It would be nice if there was a magic phrase like "I will comply with terms of temporary residency, including leaving when necessary" that would open the gates, but not that simple - even if that is basically what they want to hear. (Dual intent isn't a magic phrase either - it's still up to their discretion)

So it really comes down to whether they wish to make an issue of this or not. You can read other forums here like moving to Canada from US and see what experiences there are. They might just wave you through, or they might not. They might be most or primarily concerned with covid stuff like isolation plan. They might decide for family with a young child to not fuss with the other stuff. It perhaps is true that (as your lawyer advised) they'd most likely just let you through - I don't know.

Take this comment with a grain of salt therefore: to the extent there's a point in your plan that looks least convincing, it's showing up with your husband, with his car he's importing, and essentially showing them the entire household is moving. And at the same time saying it's just a visit.

It might be less of an issue if you were to travel and arrive after him. That might not be practical, I recognize, or a whole lot of extra hassle for a small chance.

So I think impossible to give advice. If you do decide to go ahead together as you suggest, you may just want to consider what would happen if they said no to your entry. (They can't refuse entry to your husband nor probably child as citizens - but one level of complication if you're coming from detroit to windsor and another from Louisiana and have no vehicle at a border crossing in Montana.)

Sorry this likely doesn't help much, but perhaps to think through. Note, if you get lucky and there's further movement on your file before you depart, that might help.

 

[MJSPARV]

Thank you @armoured ! We've talked about the car importation might be a problem - don't see much of a way around him needing to declare his things that we plan to send by one of those pod things. What happens if they deny me entry - am I barred from entering Canada until PR comes through, or can the baby and I just try again another day when we aren't travelling together (possibly after talking to a lawyer)? This was all easier pre-quarantine requirements, sigh - we were going to go separately. I have some small hope that they will change the quarantine conditions for vaccinated individuals before then, since we'll both be vaccinated, but who knows.

I am also wondering if having a one way ticket for me from Canada back to the US at some point before the end of the typical 6 months would be a good idea as added proof that I intend to comply with the temporary nature of the entry?

Thanks also for the advice to look at the other forums on here - will do so.

Thank you again!

 

[armoured]

Thank you @armoured ! We've talked about the car importation might be a problem - don't see much of a way around him needing to declare his things that we plan to send by one of those pod things. What happens if they deny me entry - am I barred from entering Canada until PR comes through, or can the baby and I just try again another day when we aren't travelling together (possibly after talking to a lawyer)? This was all easier pre-quarantine requirements, sigh - we were going to go separately. I have some small hope that they will change the quarantine conditions for vaccinated individuals before then, since we'll both be vaccinated, but who knows.

I don't think you're barred from entering unless they specifically say so - but of course they will see previous refusals of entry and may be higher scrutiny on subsequent attempts.

Again, this may be needless worry - hard to say. In all cases there's nothing wrong per se with coming to help him settle and visit; in the specifics it may just be the optics of clearly moving house. If you had a return ticket (for example) for some date in future may strengthen your case.

Unfortunately the experiences are anecdotal so can be difficult to draw clear conclusions when what's going on in the outlier cases may not be obvious. Obviously in terms of the basics - citizen-husband returning to work, citizen-child and PR in process - there aren't any obvious issues.

 

[MJSPARV]

I don't think you're barred from entering unless they specifically say so - but of course they will see previous refusals of entry and may be higher scrutiny on subsequent attempts.

Again, this may be needless worry - hard to say. In all cases there's nothing wrong per se with coming to help him settle and visit; in the specifics it may just be the optics of clearly moving house. If you had a return ticket (for example) for some date in future may strengthen your case.

Unfortunately the experiences are anecdotal so can be difficult to draw clear conclusions when what's going on in the outlier cases may not be obvious. Obviously in terms of the basics - citizen-husband returning to work, citizen-child and PR in process - there aren't any obvious issues.

Thanks @armoured !