Landing, COPR, Travel Document, ETA...what do i do??

[saragunn]

Hi!

I have the most annoying problem (cause I put myself in this situation) and it's really hard to explain..but im gonna give it a try.

Im swedish and Im applying for the common law visa from outside canada. This is taking slightly longer than expected and due to a wedding we have planned to go to on may 3rd, we are now starting to stress out. This wedding is in cuba, and the trip (already booked) is departing vancouver. We are looking into changing our booking, but in case that ends up being super expensive or hard to do, we need to look at other solutions.. Im thinking there are 3 scenarios that can happen (all from the view of me being in canada and flying out from vancouver to cuba on May 3rd):

Scenario 1: The approval of visa and COPR comes before march 20 and I have time to land and get PR card and everything is great. Awesome.

Scenario 2: The approval of visa and COPR comes later than march 20th and I won't have time to get the PR card before leaving canada. I’ll only be away for a week, can I go to the canadian embassy in Havanna and apply for a Travel Document (Permanent Resident Abroad)? how long do they take to process?

Scenario 3: The approval of visa and COPR comes later than the trip and I can return from cuba on an ETA visa (to canada) and I’ll either go back to sweden or stay and wait for approval.
is it possible to stay and wait for the approval in canada as long as i don't overextend my stay as a tourist?
If so, can I have someone mail me my COPR and do the landing by the closest border?

from what i have read, it seems visa exempt countries don't have to send their passports to London to get their COPR, does anyone know if that will still be the case after march 15 when the ETA visa is required to enter the country?

Phew…. sorry about the long novel of an email, I have been scouring this forum for answers but I have so many questions and everything is so case specific i just had to throw this out there and see if someone feels like taking on the subject. Pleeeeease help!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hi

Where did you get this March 20th date? Current processing time for a PR card is 105 days, plus mailing time, so close to 4 months. It doesn't matter when your COPR comes; you are already past the point of your PR card arriving before you leave on your trip.

If your COPR arrives before you go on your trip and is valid past your return date, delay your landing. Apply for an eTA and land on your return from Cuba.

If it expires before your return date, then you will have to land and either get e PRTD in Cuba or fly to the US and cross the Canada-US border.

 

[saragunn]

Thanks for your reply!!

Somewhere on the cic website it says that they can process your or card urgently (they need at least 6 weeks) if you write "urgent! (supporting docs inside)" on the envelope and attach a copy of your ticket. On March 20 I have just over 6 weeks til my trip (cutting it very short).

What if I get a dm while in Canada, can I send Ottawa (or London) the stuff needed for the copr? I have read somewhere they ask for pics, selfadressed envelope etc...Will I have to send away my passport?

Also, I read you can't apply for a eta if you are a pr, if I haven't done my landing yet, am I considered a pr? It's this in between stuff that's confusing me so badly..

 

[truesmile]

No, you are not a PR until you have landed. Don't count on this "urgent" processing that you read of.

 

[Rob_TO]

Thanks for your reply!!

Somewhere on the cic website it says that they can process your or card urgently (they need at least 6 weeks) if you write "urgent! (supporting docs inside)" on the envelope and attach a copy of your ticket. On March 20 I have just over 6 weeks til my trip (cutting it very short).

What if I get a dm while in Canada, can I send Ottawa (or London) the stuff needed for the copr? I have read somewhere they ask for pics, selfadressed envelope etc...Will I have to send away my passport?

Also, I read you can't apply for a eta if you are a pr, if I haven't done my landing yet, am I considered a pr? It's this in between stuff that's confusing me so badly..

You can only do the urgent processing of PR cards when you renew them. For the initial card you get after you land, expect a good 3 months before you get the card in the mail. The card is applied for you automatically by the CBSA agent that does your PR landing, so you don't need to actually mail off anything.

Once you become a PR, you can't get an eTA anymore, and any eTA you may have would be cancelled. So if you land as a PR and during those 3 months you don't have your PR card, the only way you can fly into Canada is by getting a PR Travel Document from a local visa office of whatever country you're going to.

If you don't want to go through this hassle, then delay landing until you are ready to stay in Canada for a while. Even if you get app approved and COPR, you can still come and go from Canada on eTA/visa-exempt passport until you decide to do the official landing.

 

[saragunn]

You can only do the urgent processing of PR cards when you renew them. For the initial card you get after you land, expect a good 3 months before you get the card in the mail. The card is applied for you automatically by the CBSA agent that does your PR landing, so you don't need to actually mail off anything.

Once you become a PR, you can't get an eTA anymore, and any eTA you may have would be cancelled. So if you land as a PR and during those 3 months you don't have your PR card, the only way you can fly into Canada is by getting a PR Travel Document from a local visa office of whatever country you're going to.

If you don't want to go through this hassle, then delay landing until you are ready to stay in Canada for a while. Even if you get app approved and COPR, you can still come and go from Canada on eTA/visa-exempt passport until you decide to do the official landing.

Ooooooh i see..that makes it crystal clear. I'll definitely delay landing until coming back from the wedding then. Thank you so much!!! (that goes to all of you who answered my super confused, long post)