Outland Application, Tired of waiting outside of Canada

[mq007]

Sorry, but I have one more question. When we get the PR, does my wife have to fly back to Japan and then fly to Canada in order for the PR to be in effect? I just heard this has to be done for people wanting a US PR. I'm not sure about Canada.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

No, she doesn't have to return to Japan. She can flagpole at the Canada-US border or make an appointment to land at a CIC office. Flagpoling is generally the easiest option, as waiting for an appointment can take weeks or even months.

 

[mq007]

So for flagpoling, is it possible to do it at the border in tsawwassen? Since this type of flagpoling is not extending a visitor's visa, I won't run into any trouble right?

 

[SchnookoLoly]

You can do it at any border. To activate you simply need to leave Canada and return, so any border accomplishes that.

 

[d_j_heckford]

Here's a question. When you get your COPR, and you fly out to Canada, do you have to take it to one of the major airlines for your interview like Toronto? Or can you go to any airline immigration.?

 

[Kayaker]

I booked a non-refundable one way ticket (cheapest available) to Canada, and a refundable one-way business class ticket (it cost over 4000$) back to Japan in 5 months' time. I refunded it the day after I arrived in Canada. I did worry about whether or not it would look suspicious that I booked two separate, one-way tickets, one of them fully refundable, but they did not ask to see the ticket. But that's up to luck, I guess. I had a very easy time at the border (no questions asked except how much money I have for my stay. The immigration officer did not even ask if I am applying for PR (I had all my documents ready to show) and just stamped it and waved me on my way, so I did not bother to stop her to tell her I applied for PR. As long as she says she is "visiting" it's ok - the choice of words is important here.

I extended my visitor status after 5 months - I asked for, and got, a 1 year extension. However, the next month I got my COPR, so my husband and I drove to the US, stayed for a few hours, drove back and I "landed" as a PR. If you choose not to enter the US but turn around at the border, make sure you get a paper from the US side, I forgot what it was called - administrative refusal? or something like that, something that shows that you (your wife) voluntarily chose to withdraw her entry into the US and is turning back. I didn't do it (didn't turn around at the border), so I don't remember why it's important, but I think I heard that getting this piece of paper shows that you (she) chose not to enter the US and that she wasn't refused entry or something like that. This might not be relevant to you guys anyway - like us, you can just cross the border, have lunch or something, and come back. It's people who can't enter the US without applying for a visa that this applies to.

 

[SchnookoLoly]

The above is good advice. A few bits to add:

Re: the plane ticket - it's more for the airline than for immigration. The airline will often refuse you boarding if you don't have a return ticket. When my husband (Who is British and visa-exempt) flew on his one-way to Canada, he had to show proof that he was going to be allowed into Canada when he got there. There have been quite a few stories where someone booked a one-way without proof of being allowed into Canada and were subsequently refused boarding. If you are turned away at the border, the cost of sending you back to wherever you came from is paid by the airline, so obviously they try to avoid that wherever possible. Have a ticket to return, regardless of whether or not it's refundable, is your proof to the airline that you are not staying permanently.

When you get to immigration, I think it's just luck of the draw - the person in the above advice I'd say is in the minority for not being asked very much at all. The vast majority of people are asked for proof of their application being filed, and proof of a return ticket. Better safe than sorry.

As for the bit with the US, yes, it's called administrative refusal. It just means that you did not enter the US voluntarily as opposed to being denied entry to the US. An entry denial would appear on your record (and then you'd have to check "yes" when asked "have you ever been refused entry to a country" on various visa applications!)... an administrative refusal is not the same thing. The administrative refusal basically just means you left Canada but did not enter the US - stayed in "no man's land", for lack of a better word. The paper is important just in case there are any glitches down the road.

Whether you choose to do the administrative refusal route, or whether you choose to head into the US for a few hours or for a weekend (a few people have made celebratory weekend trips of it!) is really up to you.

 

[Kayaker]

Thanks for clarifying about the administrative refusal, SchnookoLoly!

I might also add that while the immigration officer asked very few questions (she might have also asked what my husband's job is and where he lives), when I went to customs (I had cash to declare) the customs officer casually asked if I was doing the "six-months thing" i.e. staying in Canada for six months, leaving and turning around to do another six months. I have no idea if the customs officer (they're also CBSA aren't they?) could have put anything in the system flagging me for future reference, or if he had the right to send me back to the immigration officer if he didn't like my answer. Anyway, I answered truthfully that I already applied for PR and got tired of waiting, so came here to stay with my husband for a while, and that I hoped that I'd get the results of the PR application soon. He seemed satisfied with that and just asked me about the contents of my suitcases. (I had two large suitcases, but I took care not to look as if I was moving permanently - mostly clothes and shoes and whatnot.)

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Here's a question. When you get your COPR, and you fly out to Canada, do you have to take it to one of the major airlines for your interview like Toronto? Or can you go to any airline immigration.?

You don't take your COPR to an airline for an interview and airlines don't have immigration....

Did you mean to say airport? If so, any airport that accepts international flights can process a PR landing.

 

[d_j_heckford]

You don't take your COPR to an airline for an interview and airlines don't have immigration....

Did you mean to say airport? If so, any airport that accepts international flights can process a PR landing.

Whoops I did mean airport yes and thank you for answering the question, wasn't sure if only major airports like toronto, montreal etc.. dealt with them or all international airports did.

 

[SchnookoLoly]

Whoops I did mean airport yes and thank you for answering the question, wasn't sure if only major airports like toronto, montreal etc.. dealt with them or all international airports did.

Any international border will have the capacity to deal with this, else they could not function as an international border!