PLEASE HELP: Flagpoling as a tourist for activating working holiday ???

[Mischko]

Good evening from Germany

my husband and I become working holiday visa. Therefore we must enter Canada by May 2017. Before we use and activate our working holiday visa we first want to spend time as tourists in Canada to catch up our honeymoon and to find out if we really like Canada and want to stay one year in Canada to work. Of course we have a return flight to Germany.
We plan to validate our working holiday visa after we found jobs.

Here are my questions:

1.) Do we have to tell the officer at the airport that we have the working holiday visa (although we don`t want to activate it at our arrival) or will he see it automatically while checking our passports?
With our Port of Entry Letter we also got the eTA (Electronical Travel Authorization) which is linked to our passports. So perhaps the working holiday visa is linked to the passport, too?

2.) Is this flagpoling procedure also allowed for us as tourists who wants to validate the working holiday Visa? Can we legal leave and re-enter Canada with tourist status at a land border to activate our work permits?

Thank you everyone for your help.

Mischko

 

[Bs65]

Good evening from Germany

my husband and I become working holiday visa. Therefore we must enter Canada by May 2017. Before we use and activate our working holiday visa we first want to spend time as tourists in Canada to catch up our honeymoon and to find out if we really like Canada and want to stay one year in Canada to work. Of course we have a return flight to Germany.
We plan to validate our working holiday visa after we found jobs.

Here are my questions:

1.) Do we have to tell the officer at the airport that we have the working holiday visa (although we don`t want to activate it at our arrival) or will he see it automatically while checking our passports?
With our Port of Entry Letter we also got the eTA (Electronical Travel Authorization) which is linked to our passports. So perhaps the working holiday visa is linked to the passport, too?

2.) Is this flagpoling procedure also allowed for us as tourists who wants to validate the working holiday Visa? Can we legal leave and re-enter Canada with tourist status at a land border to activate our work permits?

Thank you everyone for your help.

Mischko

There are plenty of posts buried on this forum and other similar forums for working holiday options.

1)No problem at all visiting as a tourist people do this all the time without activating their WHV. You will have a return ticket, travelling assume on a visa exempt passport and whilst it might be possible CBSA will ask you about your working holiday as that like the ETA is linked to your passports you can just say this trip you are simply visiting and doing tourist things and will be activating later on.

Same rule as always answer CBSA questions honestly but avoid volunteering information as that can just generate unecessary follow on questions. So unless CBSA mention WHV do not bother to volunteer it. CBSA will only do something with your WHV if you hand over the POE anyway.

2)Again plenty posts around on this forum and others re flagpoling.

In summary all you do is head for a US land border and at the US side inform them you are flagpoling to activate a Canadian work permit, the US will issue you a piece of paper for an admin refusal of entry which has zero effect on any future trips to the US. You then return to the Canada side with your POE letter and proceed to activate showing your insurance and proof of funds to CBSA.

 

[Mischko]

Hi Bs65

thank you very much for your answer.
We would deregister at the registration office here in Germany before we leave (because of saving money for rent, local insurance etc.).
But then in our passport will be the note "no residence in Germany".

Do you know if this can be a problem for the border officer?

Best wishes from Germany

Mischko