mikePR said:
Can I play stupid and apply for eTA online? Thanks.
I concur in observation that it should be easy to get the PR Travel Document and that is the better route to follow. Include explanation in application that you accidentally failed to carry current PR card with you.
Generally it would be a bad idea to apply for status you know you are not eligible for. PRs are not eligible for eTA. No complex logic necessary to figure out the right thing to do.
Get the PR TD application in quickly. I do not know individual office time lines but others have reported it just taking a few days to get the PR TD. Include explanation as to why you need it (forgot to bring PR card), ask for urgent processing.
Next best alternative is to make alternative flight plans to travel via the U.S., assuming you can travel to the U.S., and travel by private car to the border.
Yeah, important to carry documents when traveling internationally. Unfortunately, yeah,
stuff happens, we make mistakes, and . . . you have to deal with it. PR TD is way to go.
In recognization that what we should do is not what many will do:
I am not familiar with the eTA application. Obviously, you absolutely should
NOT make any misrepresentation in that application (either overtly or by omission). Thus, if it asks for information which directly or indirectly discloses your PR status, you need to give complete and truthful information. It would be
stupid indeed to fudge this information; consequences for making misrepresentations have been increased and since you have nothing to gain but a slight chance to avoid the minor inconvenience of getting a PR TD or traveling via the U.S., it would be down right stupid to play games.
The eTA may not ask for information which specifically indicates you are a PR. In that case I would not, but you could apply for the eTA and see what happens.
We know what is
supposed to happen, that as a PR you are not eligible for eTA, so the application should be denied. And I suspect that is what will happen, that indeed, you will be denied.
If you decide to apply for the PR TD (which is probably what you really should do) that should be relatively simple and fairly quick -- being sure to both detail dates of presence in Canada but also include information about accompanying Canadian citizen spouse: copy of marriage certificate (or at least statement from spouse if you do not have a copy of marriage certificate with you), copy of spouse's Canadian passport, and statement from spouse stating that you have been living together.
kateg posted in meantime. That appears to answer what I did not know about what they ask for.
I disagree with
spyfy (who also posted in meantime) relative to going ahead and applying for eTA, emphasizing again that giving any misleading information (including by omission) in making the eTA application is a very bad idea.
I would not wait to when you get to the airport to find out if the
airlines will allow you to board the flight without eTA. Just because it is prior to the deadline for when the airlines absolutely must require eTA is no guarantee that the airlines will allow you to board without it. Technically PRs have long been required to present a PR card or PR TD before boarding a flight destined for Canada. Just because the typical practice of airlines, in the past, has been to allow boarding to PRs presenting a visa-exempt does not mean that practice is available today, let alone just a few days prior to the mandatory deadline for eTA restrictions.
