Need Advice on how to return to Canada! Any input much appreciated!

[kansha]

Hi All,

Thanks in advance for reading our question.

I am a US citizen and I have landed with my COPR last Dec (2014) but needed to leave Canada shortly afterwards due to family and work reasons. After several months, I still didn't receive the PR card and it turned out that I need to re-submit my photos again but this time in person at the Vancouver CIC office.

I plan to return to Canada soon for the re-submission of the photo but I'm not sure if I will be able to get a travel document in time for the trip. After some research, it looks like my options are:

1. Try to get a travel document
2. Enter by private or rented vehicle through the boarder using COPR

I was wondering since I'm only going back to Canada for 2 days to re-submit the photo, can I just enter Canada using my US passport as a tourist? Would that cause any problems?

Thanks again!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hi

You don't need a PR card to return to Canada. You can board a plane on the strength of just your American passport as if you were a visitor and then present yourself as a PR at the border.

Why would you bother with a 2 trip to Canada just to submit the PR card photos? It would be easier and cheaper to wait until you actually return permanently to Canada.

 

[kansha]

To Canuck_in_uk:

If I present myself as a PR at the airport customs without the PR card, wouldn't that be a risky move since the requirement is to actually have a travel document? Would I be able to go through the customs just a tourist since I'm only staying for 2 days in Canada?

I wish I could wait till later but apparently if I don't submit my photos again in person on the scheduled appointment date then they might cancel my PR and ask for a new application.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

To Canuck_in_uk:

If I present myself as a PR at the airport customs without the PR card, wouldn't that be a risky move since the requirement is to actually have a travel document? Would I be able to go through the customs just a tourist since I'm only staying for 2 days in Canada?

I wish I could wait till later but apparently if I don't submit my photos again in person on the scheduled appointment date then they might cancel my PR and ask for a new application.

There is NO REQUIREMENT to have a PR card/PRTD to enter Canada. You simply say to CBSA that you are a PR but haven't received your card; the officer will swipe your passport, see your PR status in the computer and let you in. Don't try to lie and say you are a visitor; they will know as soon as they swipe your passport that you are lying and then you could be in trouble.

I cannot say this with enough emphasis: they CANNOT cancel your PR status just because you don't submit the PR card app photos. They will merely cancel your PR card application. You are a PR, you have rights and it takes something a hell of a lot more serious for CIC to be able to revoke your status.

 

[kansha]

Canuck_in_uk

Thanks for clarifying! That makes a lot of sense.

 

[Rob_TO]

If I present myself as a PR at the airport customs without the PR card, wouldn't that be a risky move since the requirement is to actually have a travel document?

The PR Travel Doc is basically only needed to board an airplane to Canada. Since the PR holder doesn't have a PR card, PR travel doc is the only way the airline staff can confirm PR status.

So for visa-exempt passport holders, they can board a plane anyways just on their visa-exempt passport. It's usually good in this case to not mention your PR status to the airline. Just tell them you're a visa-exempt traveler and that should be all. If you tell them you're a PR but don't have a PR card to prove it, that could lead to problems.

 

[DuberBlue]

This is changing March 15, 2016 it seems....

"Starting March 15, 2016, if you are a permanent resident of Canada and a citizen of a visa-exempt country, you will need to travel with your Canadian permanent resident (PR) card or PR travel document when flying to Canada. Otherwise, you may not be able to board your flight to Canada. PRs who are citizens of visa-required countries will continue to need to show their PR card when boarding a flight to Canada."

 

[Rob_TO]

This is changing March 15, 2016 it seems....

"Starting March 15, 2016, if you are a permanent resident of Canada and a citizen of a visa-exempt country, you will need to travel with your Canadian permanent resident (PR) card or PR travel document when flying to Canada. Otherwise, you may not be able to board your flight to Canada. PRs who are citizens of visa-required countries will continue to need to show their PR card when boarding a flight to Canada."

I read that on the CIC website, but it doesn't say what CIC will be doing to enforce this rule.

Whether it's now or March 2016... all someone needs to do that doesn't have a PR card, is just tell the airline you're a visitor and fly to Canada on your visa-exempt passport. The problem for CIC is that there is no way for the airline to tell if anyone is a PR since it's not stamped on passport or their airplane ticket.

This "new" rule will only mean something if there is some new way introduced to automatically identify permanent residents to the airline at boarding. Perhaps through new eTA system?

 

[Ponga]

This is changing March 15, 2016 it seems....

"Starting March 15, 2016, if you are a permanent resident of Canada and a citizen of a visa-exempt country, you will need to travel with your Canadian permanent resident (PR) card or PR travel document when flying to Canada. Otherwise, you may not be able to board your flight to Canada. PRs who are citizens of visa-required countries will continue to need to show their PR card when boarding a flight to Canada."

This sounds like an airline regulation, rather than a CIC/CBSA regulation...and if so, how would the airline even know that a person traveling with a visa exempt passport is a PR of Canada anyway?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

This is changing March 15, 2016 it seems....

"Starting March 15, 2016, if you are a permanent resident of Canada and a citizen of a visa-exempt country, you will need to travel with your Canadian permanent resident (PR) card or PR travel document when flying to Canada. Otherwise, you may not be able to board your flight to Canada. PRs who are citizens of visa-required countries will continue to need to show their PR card when boarding a flight to Canada."

Yes, it will change when the Electronic Travel Authorization comes into effect.

 

[Rob_TO]

Yes, it will change when the Electronic Travel Authorization comes into effect.

Only problem here is that eTA doesn't apply to US citizens (so would still be no way to check for them), and eTAs are valid for up to 5 years so someone that gets an eTA as a visitor and later becomes PR, may still be able to travel by air without showing PR card at least until they're required to get a new eTA.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

This sounds like an airline regulation, rather than a CIC/CBSA regulation...and if so, how would the airline even know that a person traveling with a visa exempt passport is a PR of Canada anyway?

The visa-exempt person would either need their PR card or an eTA to board the plane. Though nothing has been said definitively, PRs, like Canadian citizens, most likely won't be able to apply for an eTA. This means that a visa-exempt person without their PR card that wants to fly to Canada would need to apply for a PR Travel Document to show in order to board the plane (except Americans, as said above by Rob).

Only problem here is that eTA doesn't apply to US citizens (so would still be no way to check for them), and eTAs are valid for up to 5 years so someone that gets an eTA as a visitor and later becomes PR, may still be able to travel by air without showing PR card at least until they're required to get a new eTA.

I wonder if the eTA would be cancelled on landing like TRVs and work/study permits.