"Landing" at local CIC office? (with valid visitor's record?)

[bonacker]

Hi Gang,

Today is a happy day: PASSPORT REQUEST after a long wait. Hurray!!

Question: I still have a valid visitor's visa.
Does anyone know if I'm still allowed to "land" by going to a local CIC office, as described in this bulletin two years ago?:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english//resources/manuals/bulletins/2008/ob076.asp

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR ALL THE ADVICE OVER THE LONG MONTHS!

 

[rjessome]

Congratulations! Yes, you can land at a local CIC office when PP received with visa.

 

[rubyalabar]

what if the temporary residence visa is already expired and only the work permit is valid because an extension was granted?

can one still "land" at a local CIC office or do flagpoling?

 

[bonacker]

Thanks so much!!

 

[jancath410]

If your application is Outland....you still have to leave canada and come back (flagpoling). I think in order to land you actually need to seek to go in Canada. The reason why I know is when we picked up my husband's PR from Buffalo office and cross the border to come back to Canada and land...there was a family who were trying to land as well but mailed their passport instead of submitting passport personally. They went straight to the canadian immigration and was told that they have to leave canada and come back to actually land because they needed that yellow slip the IO gives out at the border. That was just my experience, anyway.

 

[bonacker]

JANCATH: Hm, your reply is different from the reply above. Wonder which is correct? I am outland, yes, but living in Canada on a visitors' visa and would indeed personally be bringing my passport to the local CIC office -- in Halifax, I guess -- so it doesn't match your scenario, exactly, does it?

 

[Siouxie]

jancath410 is incorrect in his response to you.

You CAN land at a local office, you just need to phone CIC to get an appointment.

If you look at the link on the page you linked to it does explain it.

7.9. Becoming a permanent resident

To become a permanent resident, any foreign national outside Canada needs to present their
permanent resident visa at a port of entry to Canada.

As per policy decribed in Section 5.1 of this chapter, applicants whose permanent resident visa is
issued while they are in Canada with a valid temporary resident status may:

• contact the Call Centre to request an appointment at a local CIC office to become a
permanent resident at that location; or

• leave Canada and become a permanent resident upon re-entry to Canada at a port of entry.
The template letters that accompany the permanent resident visas for provincial nominees must
be amended by the visa offices to include the following paragraph:

Please note that if you are already in Canada and have a valid temporary resident status, you
now have the option of obtaining your permanent resident status in Canada as opposed to leaving
Canada and re-entering at a port of entry. Please contact CIC’s Call Centre at 1 888 242-2100 as
soon as possible to arrange an appointment with the Citizenship and Immigration office nearest to
your place of residence. (You cannot call this number if you are outside Canada

 

[heatherusa]

This cropped up in a previous post just the other day....

it seems that to land inland at a CIC office you must book an appointment and that can take 6+ weeks to get.

 

[rjessome]

This cropped up in a previous post just the other day....

it seems that to land inland at a CIC office you must book an appointment and that can take 6+ weeks to get.

Yes but it depends on the city. In Victoria, BC you can land anytime during business hours and don't need an appointment! Vancouver takes about 6 weeks with an appointment. If the wait was long and I was near the border, I'd flagpole in that situation.

 

[heatherusa]

Yes but it depends on the city. In Victoria, BC you can land anytime during business hours and don't need an appointment! Vancouver takes about 6 weeks with an appointment. If the wait was long and I was near the border, I'd flagpole in that situation.

Thanks for the clarification. I agree... if we were i this situation I would definitely drive to the border versus waiting for an appointment.



As it stands... we are packing up and heading out this weekend sometime.... hopefully landing on Tuesday of next week!

 

[rjessome]

Thanks for the clarification. I agree... if we were i this situation I would definitely drive to the border versus waiting for an appointment.



As it stands... we are packing up and heading out this weekend sometime.... hopefully landing on Tuesday of next week!

Happy landing!

 

[rjessome]

what if the temporary residence visa is already expired and only the work permit is valid because an extension was granted?

can one still "land" at a local CIC office or do flagpoling?

Sorry, I missed this. Yes. The PR visa would allow re-entry to Canada. The WP still provides status even if it was an extension.

 

[rubyalabar]

Sorry, I missed this. Yes. The PR visa would allow re-entry to Canada. The WP still provides status even if it was an extension.

thank you. so i guess hubby doesn't have to do flagpoling and just land at a local CIC office. that's good news since he's at least 2 hours away from the border.

thanks again!

 

[bonacker]

I'm in rural Nova Scotia -- at least 8 or 9 hours from the border -- so I think maybe an appointment is the way to go.

PS: By the way, Siouxie, yes, thanks, I understood the link I'd posted explained the ins and outs of the rule about faux-"landing" locally -- but the link also says that the bulletin explaining that rule has "expired." So it wasn't that I hadn't read my own link, it was that it wasn't clear if the rule was still in effect.

 

[jancath410]

Whoops! My mistake...I did not realized you are able to set up an appointment. But then again, the family that we saw were already so close to the border, that is probably why the IO suggested flagpoling. If you are far from the border and not in a rush to land, getting an appointment might be the most feasible way! Happy Landing!