land before moving then reenter

[wannabeacanuck]

Hey all,

I am an American citizen who just got his Visa to become a permanent resident in canada under the spousal sponsorship.

I am not going to be able to move for a couple months, but am a bit anxious about getting the landing over with. The sheet they sent with my visa says that after I land I can not reenter the country without my permanent residence card. However, I'm wondering whether that restriction applies only to countries whose citizens need a visa to enter the country normally or if any American had experience with this.

My hope was to drive to BC border in a couple weeks and land. Then drive back to Seattle where I live. Would I be able to re-enter canada a couple weeks after that or would I have to wait until they mailed the permanent residence card?

Also, I have an address in Canada where I can mail the permanent residence card, so I'm not worried about that (the most stable place would be in Toronto though--that won't matter will it?)

Thanks for the information!

 

[iarblue]

Well once you land and enter into Canada you should stay till you get your PR card,but its up to the IO at the POE if they let you back into Canada if you leave after you land.So why dont you just wait to land when your ready to stay.You have until your visa expires to land.
Why complicate things if you really dont have to.I understand you want to get it over with but, if your moving here before your visa expires really why bother come and land and leave?

 

[wannabeacanuck]

That certainly is my general thinking here. However, if others could confirm that they had had no problems doing what I'm describing, then there wouldn't be anything to lose.

In general in the future, will I have to bring my PR card with me every time I leave Canada in order to re-enter?

 

[iarblue]

Yes until you become a Canadian citizen you will always have to carry your PR card.And others peoples having done this and have gotten in like i said its up to the IO at the POE someone may get in in the lane next to you no problem because the IO he was dealing with let him and you may be in the next car lane over and that IO says no.
So someone saying they had no problem with this doesnt mean you may not.Its totally up to you if you want to take the chance,but if you come in land and go back to the US and wait for your PR card to come to you before you cross again then their wont be a problem,but coming in and out of Canada after you land without your PR card is a gamble,and you have to make the decision if you want to gamble or not,like i said it is totally up to the IO.

 

[AllisonVSC]

iarblue has a valid point. If you will be returning just a few short weeks later anyway and your visa doesn't expire too quickly, might as well land when you come to Canada to stay. Landing is a very simple process; hand some forms, confirm some info, declare your goods, and answer some questions. It takes about 20 minutes if there is no wait.

In theory (ok, it's MY theory as I tend to think things should make sense, but not all in immigration does, LOL), if you land and then return to cross a few weeks later without your PR card you should be able to cross as any US visitor would. BUT, you never can tell. Try calling the border, pose the question, and ask if they have a written policy regarding whether or not it's allowed. If yes, ask for a copy of the policy and you should be fine. Or, if you decide to land and return to the states...ask the question while you are at the border landing. You may find that you will need the PR card, then you are stuck waiting in the states...and many here are saying that it takes about 2 months now to receive a PR card. Then somebody has to mail it to you.

On a side note. I keep my PR card clipped to the inside back cover of my passport with a small binder clip. You need the passport to leave Canada and the card to get back in. I found it much simpler to keep them both together and just hand over one item when I cross.

Congrats on your PR approval and Welcome to Canada from another ex-patriot 'Mercan!
Allison

 

[wannabeacanuck]

Thanks for the response.

The thing that is confusing to me is if I didn't have the Visa in the passport then I wouldn't worry about this at all (technically, they might refuse me, but I've been to canada many times without it happening) Not that this would be something I'd do as it isn't worth the hastle, but couldn't I just tell the US government that I lost my passport and get a new one that didn't have the visa in it (after landing that is).

I'm trying to figure out if is there a better than expected chance that they would hot let me in because I have a US passport with a Visa in it than there is normally going in as a US citizen visiting canada

 

[iarblue]

Well their perspective is you applied to be a resident of Canada and not a dual citizen right so they expect you to be a resident of Canada.And it is true you would likely enter Canada a lot easier if you didnt have a PR visa in your passport,as they have resident rules in place for the PR.
But coming back and forth from the UIS is a lot easier than any other county for sure and who knows they may just ask where you are going what you are doing and wave you through.And i dont know after you land if you report your passport lost it may have an effect on your PR and the PR card.
I have seen on here people have done it and had no problem then there were others that did not get back in and had to go back to the US and wait for their card.
I guess its up to you what you think is best for you,everyones case is different,and everyones cross at the border is different in some way.You may get to the border and they smile and tell you to have a good day,then get another that wants to put you through the ringer.
I know its all just a bunch of crap but i guess they put the rules in place for reasons.

 

[wannabeacanuck]

Maybe the best thing to do will be ask the immigration person when I land if it is worth it to land then or not.

Some of the health insurance stuff has waiting periods, etc too so it would be nice to get that out of the way while I still have US insurance, but if it throws a wrench in the whole plans then it isn't worth it as you said.

The other reason I was thinking it would be nice to land sooner is to get the list of thihngs we are shipping duty-free approved. Then I could have it ready to give to the moving company when we make the move. (Otherwise, is it possible to send goods duty-free via a shipping company---won't they get questioned?)

Thanks!

 

[AllisonVSC]

You must live close to the border, eh? Which province are you moving to? Some have waiting periods, like Ontario 3 months, and some don't. You can purchase a few months of travel insurance for the waiting period at a fairly reasonable price, but it only covers accidents and emergencies, not regular visits or pre-existing conditions.

There is no "approval" per se for your goods (well unless you have something unusual or potentially illegal). You provide a list of the items and they are admitted duty free. Anything not on the list you will have to pay tax on when you bring it to Canada. Are you importing a car? If so, be sure to check if it is admissible and list it on your goods (make, model, year, VIN). If you are, I'll tell you a lot more about it as I just finished the process.

I brought a uhaul truck across the border, they never even looked inside. I don't think you will have a problem with shipping your goods, but I have no experience with that. Someone here will know. You may want to ask that in a new thread.

Allison

 

[wannabeacanuck]

I am importing a car. I looked on the list of admissible cars and it appears to fit. Not sure what else to do beyond that though. It also looks a bit confusing so if you have any knowledge that would be great

I live in Seattle so I'm very close to the border. I don't know for sure whether I'll end up in Toronto or Vancouver yet. My family lives in NYC, so depending on which place I move to, I could conceivably end up wanting to cross at a Quebec border (which apparently I'm not allowed to do now without applying for a special thing from Quebec---but that is another reason why I'd love to get this step out of the way ahead of time).

 

[wannabeacanuck]

You can purchase a few months of travel insurance for the waiting period at a fairly reasonable price, but it only covers accidents and emergencies, not regular visits or pre-existing conditions.

It is semi-important that something I get cover pre-existing conditions, so it would be nice if I could "land" fill out some paper work, and then go back to the US to finalize the moving (will take some time to do that anyway), but it sounds like if I do that, I'm taking a chance that I won't be able to go back to Canada for about a month while the card is getting sent. This wouldn't be horrible though if it's only a month or so.

 

[AllisonVSC]

I know it is a lot more expensive, but have you inquired as to whether Cobra insurance will cover your expenses in Canada. Two or three months would do if you are moving to Ontario. Do you know if there is there a waiting period for coverage in Vancouver, BC?

I'll look for a previous post I made about importing a car so I can avoid re-inventing that wheel so to speak.

I saw you started a new thread; you should get some people responding who have shipped stuff. One thing to note: your goods need to listed on one form but they DO NOT have to be imported at the same time. I brought a car full. Two months later it was a truck full. And because of exceptional circumstances I did not import my car (even though it was already in Canada) until almost 6 months after I landed.

 

[wannabeacanuck]

Yeah, I'll definitely look into Cobra and also see if there is a waiting period in BC. If there isn't then that would solve some of the problem. If there is a way to get the paperwork started now related to the health insurance then I could keep the US one for the time being while the waiting period went down (I'm fine paying extra tax if that ends up being the case if it means when I fill out tax forms I have to say I was there for an extra month)

At the CIC site, under frequently asked questions-->permanent residence cards, I believe it says I can enter canada again as long as I'm driving (that is the only way I'd likely go to Canada in the next few months anyway). Or am I mis-understanding that? I think it just means I have to bring a couple forms with me.

Regarding the car, I think I'd end up doing the same thing you did in an ideal world--drive the car into Canada in 2 weeks, but not import it at the time. Then import it later. As I understand it, the car is taxed no matter what though, right? (Because it is a use tax not a duty tax? )

 

[wannabeacanuck]

also one more question, I don't have to land with my sponsor (a Canadian citizen) present do I? We applied as common law marriage because she is currently in USA with me. However, by coincidence, she is currently in Canada for the next little bit anyway. But I don't think it's required that she land with me, is it?

 

[AllisonVSC]

wannabeacanuck, I found my previous post regarding the importation of vehicles...edited...

...just finished importing my car from the US. The RIV instructions require that you have a clear title (or a written agreement with your lender to allow you to export to Canada). The owner's name on the title must match the name of the immigrant importing it as goods. In addition the car must be deemed "importable" by the RIV and they provide a list of cars on their website. The car also has to be exported from the US and you must provide copies of the title several days before you wish to export. You could provide this on the US side at landing (wannabe), but getting turned around to go to the export office is a bit of a challenge. The US export officers will check your title, identity, and the VIN on the vehicle to insure they all match. The export office is only open Mon through Fri work day hours and Friday is their busiest day (reference to Buffalo border crossing at Lewiston). All cars require a recall clearance letter which is easier to obtain while you are still in the states. In Canada you will have to pay for any recall work and THEN request reimbursement from the US branch of your car manufacturer. Then there are required modifications to your vehicle (like day time running lights) to meet safety and emission standards in Canada; because it meets US standards does not mean it meets those in Canada.

Here are the costs I incurred in the process...

Cost of the Recall Clearance letter $0, but I had to have several updates which required I returned to the states if I didn`t want to pay the CAN car dealership then request a refund.
Cost to export $0, but took over an hour due to the volume of exporters...mostly truckers loaded with multiple vehicles
Cost to import $204.75 payable to RIV which can be paid online or at the border
Cost to install day time running lights $80 after some searching...Crappy Tire wanted over $400 to do the same work!
Cost for safety and emissions testing $39.99 and $89.99 cost controlled I think. I had this done at Crappy Tire
Cost to register and get tags in ON $125.00
Cost for US driver record for insurance purposes $7
Cost to insure the vehicle in ON even with highest driver safety rating $1741 (almost $1000 more than my US insurance plan)

Some of these costs also included taxes and some were tax exempt because it was on my goods to follow. I did drive my vehicle in Canada for several months before I imported it. And though I did not have any problems, I did have police officers do u turns when they saw my vehicle did not have front tags (when they saw my back tag was from the states they did not stop me).

Geez, I'm exhausted just proofreading and editing my previous post. But you'll get an idea of what you are in for. I suggest you run the recall check now and get fixed anything that shows up, and then request the clearance letter. Get a 10 year driver's record from the state where you are licensed and a 10 year claims record from your insurance company (make copies). You will need one or both for exchanging your license and qualifying for insurance. Make sure you have your car title and make several copies (export office requests two) in preparation to export. Then start saving for all the costs involved. I'm NOT kidding, the insurance prices in ON were quite a shock.

After reading all this I would like to suggest a nice adult beverage, but I guess it is still a bit early for a west coast cocktail hour!
Please, if I can help in any other way, do not hesitate to PM me.

Kindest regards, Allison