Hello.
I did my landing on Tue 11th Jan 2022 from Delhi to Montreal by Air Canada direct flight. I travelled further to Vancouver as my final destination.
Sharing hereby my experience which might help those who are planning to travel shortly.
Background
Refer my signature details for detailed milestones. I am pre March 2020 expired CoPR holder and was stamped with new visa and CoPR in Aug 2021
Documents to carry:
- COPR (both copies)
- Passport
- CoVID 19 report ( for travelling directly from India, the only acceptable report is from Genstrings Lab situated at Terminal 3 of IGI Delhi Airport)
- ArriveCAN receipt
- Proof of Vaccination
Pre Departure preparation:
- I landed in Delhi on 10th Jan morning around 6.45 am at terminal 3 of airport.
- As you get out of the terminal gates, ascend to floor where the terminal building connectsto metro station. Connecting bridge has the lab where CoVID samples needs to be provided.
- I had pre booked the RTPCR test for 9.00 am. However I landed much before the appointment time, I went for testing at lab around 8.15 am ( Montreal flight from Delhi leaves at 1.55 am, so 18 hrs before the time meant the earliest I could provide sample was 7.55 am ). However, the lab opens testing at 8.30 am , so I had to wait for 15-20 mins.
- Sample collection was fast and simple process. Test was conducted at 8.35 am and I received soft copy of results at 11.30 am.
- Stayed at sleeping pods for 12 hrs from 9.00 am to 9.00 pm situated at MLCP building of terminal 3.
- Arrived at airport at 9.10 pm, went to collect hard copy of CoVID report. The desk is located at gate 8 of departures. Again, I was asked to wait till 9.40 pm to collect the report. Once done, went to Air Canada check in counters located at pillar D.
Check in, Immigration and Security at DEL :
- At check in counters they verify - Passport, CoPR, ArriveCAN receipt, CoVID report. This was my experience. however please keep vaccination certificate ready in case asked for. I noticed a lot of people were turned away because of lack of documents, so please do your homework of what documents are needed.
- Immigration was simple, no questions asked. Checked passport, boarding pass.
- Security was smooth as well.
- Long queues for Immigration and Security, so ensure you have enough time at hand.
- Flight was delayed by 30 mins, took off at 2.30 am local time on 11th Jan and landed at Montreal at 6.00 am local time
Immigration formalities at YUL:
- Once you land, you’ll make your way to immigration and punch in your details at the kiosk. Enter details like where you’re traveling from, purpose of your visit, customs declaration, vaccination confirmation, if you’ve been to any high risk places etc.
- Print out a kiosk form here and take that to the immigration officer. This process is pretty quick. A single form for family suffices.
- The immigration officer will check your passport, verbally confirm your vaccination status, affix a sticker(for fully vaccinated travelers as well) and direct you to secondary immigration depending upon your visa category (PR, Student, Work, Visitor etc.). I was directed to Immigration 1.
- IRCC website says the the Govt. of Canada would gradually make is compulsory for all Intl travelers to undergo testing at airport. However this rule is already in place and everyone (apart from those who were in the US for 14 or more days prior to landing in Canada) now has to under on arrival testing
- At secondary immigration, you will be allocated a number and will be asked to wait till your number is displayed. We were fortunate to be the first one in queue
- Tell the officer you’re there to complete your residency landing. Hand over passport and COPR.
- Routine questions about whether you’ve married or had kids since the COPR, changes in circumstances etc.
- Was asked questions about whether you’ve been convicted of crimes or asked to leave Canada etc.
- Officer did NOT ask on how much cash I’m carrying in Canadian dollars, goods to follow and accompanying goods, but keep this figure handy (above 10k CAD has to be declared) if asked for.
- Need to sign CoPR at 3 places on both the copies. Officer does also sign both the copies. This is very important and proof that you completed landing before your documents expired, so make sure your copy of the CoPR IS SIGNED AND DATED BY THE IMMIGRATION OFFICER.
- Was asked to update the address where the PR card needs to be delivered.
- They’ll then stamp the passport, take your picture and cancel/cross out out the COPR visa (since it’s single entry visa).
- They’ll give you instructions about maintaining your residency and how to travel internationally before the PR card is delivered.
- After this, you will be directed to undertake RTPCR test. In each province, different vendor is assigned to conduct this test. Make sure you are aware of it, pre register to testing to avoid last minute hassle. (link - https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada#arrival)
- You’re free to leave after this. Since I had a connecting flight to Vancouver, I moved to departures located a level above
- It took around 20 mins from time I de-boarded the aircraft to the time I of out of arrivals. Everything was super smooth.
Other notes:
- I did carry my whole PR application package with me. This included proof of funds (most recent bank statement), IELTS score, WES degree assessment, India PCC, Marriage certificate, photos etc. I was not asked for any of these documents though.
- The picture copy of the CoPR is what they use to produce your PR card. The non-picture copy is for your records.
- Please make sure you are aware of latest entry and testing requirements in Canada (https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid)
- Dynacare, who conducts the on arrival testing at YUL airport, informed that results will be out in 4-5 days. I need to quarantine till then.
- I had high hopes from Air Canada, however having now travelled both Air India and Air Canada on international trips, I found very minimal differences between the two
If anyone has any questions please feel free to reach out to me. Thanks and good luck to everyone here!
PS: This is my experience of all the processes and documents, others may have something else. So, I repeat, please be aware of latest requirements