Haven't received PR Card. Can I use my student visa to re-enter by plane?

[espg_007]

My "old" but still apparently valid (until 2018) student VISA is in a separate passport than my new PR visa (which I've used for landing in February).

If it is true that CBSA can determine my status from just my passport (and the COPR), can I simply show the airline my old passport with my student VISA so they let me board the plane? I don't think they have access to any databases that could flag that visa as not valid anymore.

I know this is not within the rules (which are absurd if you ask me: if I am a PR why can't I enter the country? and why does it take them so long to print a simple card?), but I don't see how it would fail. I just don't want to/may not have time to get the Travel Document while on my week-long work related trip. The embassy/VAC is not near my destination.

Has anyone ever tried this?

 

[mf4361]

The answer is no.

You have landed as PR. Your Student visa is cancelled immediately after you've completed landing.

PR visa is one time visa, and you've used it.

If you re enter Canada without PR card, you may be refused by CBSA at border. You may get sent back to your country if they refuse entry, even you are PR. (Remember Canadian PR and Citizens requires different sets of documents for reentry, even both are within your right)

You can apply PRTD (google the forms) from CIC before you leave Canada or Canadian Embassy of the country you're visiting. Usually takes a few days depending on countries.

 

[espg_007]

The answer is no.

You have landed as PR. Your Student visa is cancelled immediately after you've completed landing.

PR visa is one time visa, and you've used it.

If you re enter Canada without PR card, you may be refused by CBSA at border. You may get sent back to your country if they refuse entry, even you are PR. (Remember Canadian PR and Citizens requires different sets of documents for reentry, even both are within your right)

You can apply PRTD (google the forms) from CIC before you leave Canada or Canadian Embassy of the country you're visiting. Usually takes a few days depending on countries.

Thanks.

I am aware that the student visa is no longer technically valid, but the airline people wouldn't be able to know that just by looking at it.

Do you have a reference about the chance of being refused? Surely CBSA *can* confirm a PR status, if not, how would it be possible to enter by car from the US?

I haven't been able to find the processing times for the PRTD but as far as I can tell it requires to go in person (they need the passport anyway).

 

[ttrajan]

PRTD takes around 2 weeks time.

 

[Rob_TO]

If you re enter Canada without PR card, you may be refused by CBSA at border.

Completely wrong. You do NOT need a PR card or PR Travel Doc to enter Canada. All CBSA needs is your passport and COPR to confirm your PR status. This is guaranteed to work in all cases. In fact even the COPR is optional, it just makes it easier for them.

The only challenge is boarding an airplane to Canada. I'm not sure if a cancelled student visa in a valid passport would work. But if it does, there will be no problems once back in Canada with CBSA.
Alternatively one can travel to USA and then cross a land border in car to enter Canada, in which case again only passport + COPR will be enough.

 

[espg_007]

Completely wrong. You do NOT need a PR card or PR Travel Doc to enter Canada. All CBSA needs is your passport and COPR to confirm your PR status. This is guaranteed to work in all cases. In fact even the COPR is optional, it just makes it easier for them.

The only challenge is boarding an airplane to Canada. I'm not sure if a cancelled student visa in a valid passport would work. But if it does, there will be no problems once back in Canada with CBSA.
Alternatively one can travel to USA and then cross a land border in car to enter Canada, in which case again only passport + COPR will be enough.

Thanks! This makes sense to me.

I think using my old student visa in my old passport would work because there is absolutely no way of knowing it is not valid.

 

[mf4361]

Thanks! This makes sense to me.

I think using my old student visa in my old passport would work because there is absolutely no way of knowing it is not valid.

Airline people may allow you to board the plane to Canada, but when you arrive at the airport and don't have the document to show CBSA people, you may be refused entry. Doesn't matter if you enter by car coz you will see CBSA people anyway

CBSA don't have a record of all PR of Canada and certainly can't just "enter into their database" to see if you are a PR with a passport.

As you mention, you've landed as PR already. CoPR is invalid because it's been used, Student visa is invalid because it's been superseded by PR

When you land and becoming a PR (not re-entering after becoming PR), They see you have CoPR letters, along with other documents. Then they submit the information to IRCC stating you have officially become PR. After that CBSA knows nothing.

 

[espg_007]

When you land and becoming a PR (not re-entering after becoming PR), They see you have CoPR letters, along with other documents. Then they submit the information to IRCC stating you have officially become PR. After that CBSA knows nothing.

Mmmm. Do you know how does CBSA check your status if you enter by car? They must have some record or way of checking, don't you think?

 

[dpenabill]

As Rob_TO already noted regarding similar mis-information previously posted, this post by mf4361 is wrong.

A PR is entitled to entry into Canada. Presentation of passport with cancelled PR visa will easily suffice at the PoE.

As Rob_TO already noted, the only real issue is getting on a flight to Canada.

Regarding this Rob_TO and I tend to perceive the current process for boarding flights differently. My understanding is that the screening is now subject to CBSA giving the passenger clearance to board, through its IAPI system. And contrary to what was said by mf4361, almost all IRCC clients will be identified as a IRCC client in this system (thus revealing current status, including PRs identified as having PR status).

In regards to the latter, in particular, the unique client identifier number for your former student visa and for your PR should be the same, so it will not matter which passport you use. (If the client numbers are not the same, this is probably something you will want to look into and sort out . . . sooner or later that could lead to a problem, a problem which should be fixed by IRCC combining the records, but when things are not properly aligned there is a risk the problem could lead to stumbling into a more difficult scenario. If later this has not been fixed and you apply for a new PR card or citizenship, for example, it could raise issues and cause delays.)

Airline people may allow you to board the plane to Canada, but when you arrive at the airport and don't have the document to show CBSA people, you may be refused entry. Doesn't matter if you enter by car coz you will see CBSA people anyway

CBSA don't have a record of all PR of Canada and certainly can't just "enter into their database" to see if you are a PR with a passport.

As you mention, you've landed as PR already. CoPR is invalid because it's been used, Student visa is invalid because it's been superseded by PR

When you land and becoming a PR (not re-entering after becoming PR), They see you have CoPR letters, along with other documents. Then they submit the information to IRCC stating you have officially become PR. After that CBSA knows nothing.

 

[Rob_TO]

CBSA don't have a record of all PR of Canada and certainly can't just "enter into their database" to see if you are a PR with a passport.

Yes, CBSA does have an ongoing database of all PRs and they can check PR status with passport. You are completely wrong here, please stop repeating your wrong advice here even after you were corrected.

 

[Rob_TO]

Regarding this Rob_TO and I tend to perceive the current process for boarding flights differently. My understanding is that the screening is now subject to CBSA giving the passenger clearance to board, through its IAPI system. And contrary to what was said by mf4361, almost all IRCC clients will be identified as a IRCC client in this system (thus revealing current status, including PRs identified as having PR status).

In regards to the latter, in particular, the unique client identifier number for your former student visa and for your PR should be the same, so it will not matter which passport you use. (If the client numbers are not the same, this is probably something you will want to look into and sort out . . . sooner or later that could lead to a problem, a problem which should be fixed by IRCC combining the records, but when things are not properly aligned there is a risk the problem could lead to stumbling into a more difficult scenario. If later this has not been fixed and you apply for a new PR card or citizenship, for example, it could raise issues and cause delays.)

As I mentioned, I really don't know how it would work with a cancelled student visa. The only recent reports we've seen here are PRs with visa-exempt passports boarding as foreign nationals. In each case the airline was still not able to see PR status on their system, or if they were it wasn't mentioned and they allowed boarding anyways. This may continue as a feasible option right up until the real eTA mandatory date of Sept 29 (or until we see a report that someone was discovered as a PR by an airline).

If OP here is not visa-exempt, then entering on a cancelled student visa may be risky if the airline needs to input the visa info into a database and gets a note back that it is no longer valid. But again I have no idea how airlines screen student visas for check-in purposes.

 

[espg_007]

As I mentioned, I really don't know how it would work with a cancelled student visa. The only recent reports we've seen here are PRs with visa-exempt passports boarding as foreign nationals. In each case the airline was still not able to see PR status on their system, or if they were it wasn't mentioned and they allowed boarding anyways. This may continue as a feasible option right up until the real eTA mandatory date of Sept 29 (or until we see a report that someone was discovered as a PR by an airline).

If OP here is not visa-exempt, then entering on a cancelled student visa may be risky if the airline needs to input the visa info into a database and gets a note back that it is no longer valid. But again I have no idea how airlines screen student visas for check-in purposes.

Regarding this Rob_TO and I tend to perceive the current process for boarding flights differently. My understanding is that the screening is now subject to CBSA giving the passenger clearance to board, through its IAPI system. And contrary to what was said by mf4361, almost all IRCC clients will be identified as a IRCC client in this system (thus revealing current status, including PRs identified as having PR status).

In regards to the latter, in particular, the unique client identifier number for your former student visa and for your PR should be the same, so it will not matter which passport you use. (If the client numbers are not the same, this is probably something you will want to look into and sort out . . . sooner or later that could lead to a problem, a problem which should be fixed by IRCC combining the records, but when things are not properly aligned there is a risk the problem could lead to stumbling into a more difficult scenario. If later this has not been fixed and you apply for a new PR card or citizenship, for example, it could raise issues and cause delays.)

Mmmm, my plan is sounding riskier now...

I have travelled to Canada many times under a student visa in my passport (not visa-exempt) and have never noticed the airline employee doing much more than checking my ID and that I do have a valid visa, but if Air Canada in Japan (the place I'll be travelling from) does have access to this IAPI database that /u/Rob_TO pointed out then I guess there is a chance they could know that I'm a PR and expect me to have a PR card :-\

It is so insane that I have both a student visa that could still be valid and PR status and I am still struggling with figuring how to enter to this country!! Why on earth does it take them MONTHS to print a card? In Japan, the immigration officer does it at the booth when you land!!!

 

[steaky]

It is so insane that I have both a student visa that could still be valid and PR status and I am still struggling with figuring how to enter to this country!! Why on earth does it take them MONTHS to print a card? In Japan, the immigration officer does it at the booth when you land!!!

Couldn't you apply a PRTD from the nearest Canadian consulate? I heard the processing time is about 2 weeks. With a multiple entry PRTD, you can enter Canada.

 

[espg_007]

Couldn't you apply a PRTD from the nearest Canadian consulate? I heard the processing time is about 2 weeks. With a multiple entry PRTD, you can enter Canada.

I am travelling for work and my destination is in the opposite direction of the nearest embassy/consulate, so likely I'll need to take 1 or maybe 2 days off to do this. In addition, I'm only there for 10 days so who knows if they can make the PRTD in time (I'm waiting to hear from the Visa office in Tokyo). What a mess.

 

[Rob_TO]

Mmmm, my plan is sounding riskier now...

I have travelled to Canada many times under a student visa in my passport (not visa-exempt) and have never noticed the airline employee doing much more than checking my ID and that I do have a valid visa, but if Air Canada in Japan (the place I'll be travelling from) does have access to this IAPI database that /u/Rob_TO pointed out then I guess there is a chance they could know that I'm a PR and expect me to have a PR card :-\

It is so insane that I have both a student visa that could still be valid and PR status and I am still struggling with figuring how to enter to this country!! Why on earth does it take them MONTHS to print a card? In Japan, the immigration officer does it at the booth when you land!!!

Your student visa is no longer valid, all permits/visas etc are cancelled the second you land as a PR in Canada.

Do you hold a visa-exempt passport? As i mentioned there have been a few reports here very recently of PRs travelling as foreign nationals on just their visa-exempt passport, and the airline didn't mention anything about PR status. It may be they won't be able to tell if you're a PR until the eTA leniency period is over in September, nobody knows for sure.

I think in your case the risk is not the airline determining if you're a PR or not, it's if they can determine that your student visa is not valid anymore. Again on this I have no idea what airline actually checks in this case. If you're visa-exempt it wouldn't be an issue, but of course is very important if you don't have a visa-exempt passport.